Music from India, Zimbabwe, Iran and More Set for Robert Browning's Spring 2017 Lineup
By: BWW News Desk Mar. 03, 2017
The spring schedule features Chicago blues legend Lurrie Bell in a rare New York appearance (Mar 25); powerhouse Indian slide guitarist Vishwa Mohan Bhatt with the brilliant tabla (drums) player Subhen Chatterjee (Apr 8); the acclaimed Port au Prince band Lakou Mizik, which brings new life to Haitian roots music (Apr 22); and the third edition of the A World in Trance festival which features the entrancing mbira music of Zimbabwe with master musician Chartwell Dutiro (Apr 28); mesmerizing 21st century global trance music with Niyaz featuring the spellbinding vocalist Azam Ali (Apr 29); and riveting interpretations of Sufi qawwali with the US-based Riyaaz Qawwali (Apr 30).
Sat March 25 Chicago Blues Legend Lurrie Bell
Lurrie Bell has been acclaimed for his intense guitar playing and passionate vocals which have made him a favorite at clubs and festivals around the world and earned him a reputation as one of the "leading lights" in the future of the blues. Son of famed blues harmonica player Carey Bell, he has appeared on over 50 recordings either as leader or featured sideman and received numerous awards and honors, including Best Traditional Male Blues Artist in 2015 by the Blues Foundation in Memphis, and Most Outstanding Musician (Guitar) in 2016 by Living Blues magazine. In this program he will be joined by his band and include selections from his acclaimed Delmark albums, Blues in My Soul and the recent Grammy-nominated Can't Shake This Feeling. His band is composed of Willie "The Touch" Hayes (drums), Roosevelt Purifoy (keys), and Melvin Smith (bass).
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiujMSlrN3s
Sat Apr 8 Indian Music for Slide Guitar & Tabla: Vishwa Mohan Bhatt w. Subhen Chatterjee
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt has been acclaimed throughout the world for his electrifying performances on the mohan veena, a slide guitar that he modified in shape and design and on which he assimilated techniques from the sitar, sarod and veena lutes. A top disciple of Ravi Shankar, he has received many honors including the prestigious Padma Shri, the Sangeet Natak Academy Award, and a Grammy for Best World Music Album for his collaboration with Ry Cooder. He is joined by the brilliant tabla player Subhen Chatterjee, a disciple of Swapan Chaudhuri, who has performed with many of India's major artists, including Bhimsen Joshi, Girija Devi, V. G. Jog and Pandit Jasraj, and created the fusion bands Karma and Friends of Drums (with Sivamani).
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZXgui6GWN0
Sat Apr 22 Haitian Roots & Grooves: Lakou Mizik
Lakou Mizik ("Music from the Homeland") is a powerhouse multigenerational collective from Haiti that blends twoubadou, vodou, rara carnival music, and urban soul. With such legends as master drummer Sanba Zao, and rising stars Steeve Valcourt and Jonas Attis, the group performs an exhilarating mix of traditional and modern roots music. The members of Lakou Mizik range in age from the early twenties to the late sixties and come from across Haiti's musical, social, religious, and geographic spectra. Formed in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake, they communicate a message of pride, strength and hope. Lakou Mizik recorded its acclaimed debut album on the Cumbancha label, calling out "Wa di yo, nou la toujou" - "You tell them, we're still here." The album, Wa Di Yo, was named one of Songlines magazine's Best Albums of 2016.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwXTm3U5buA
Fri Apr 28 - Sun Apr 30: A World in Trance Festival - 3rd edition
Since earliest times music and dance have played a major role in uniting people through ritual, often seeking union with the divine through trance or ecstasy. This festival seeks to bring back some spiritual nourishment to our lives; to focus our physical and mental selves. While the music and rituals associated with each genre are very different from each other, they share a common thread in bringing people together in search of enlightenment. These are just a few of the many forms that music takes to enrich our lives.
Fri Apr 28 Voices of the Ancestors - Mbira Music of Zimbabwe: Chartwell Dutiro
For centuries the Shona people of Zimbabwe have connected with the spirits of ancestors. These spirits are summoned by spirit mediums at biras, all-night ritual ceremonies where mystical mbira (metal-pronged thumb piano) music is played and people participate through dancing, singing, ululating and sometimes whistling. The collective energy created evokes a trance atmosphere that summons the spirits of ancestors to come and give daily guidance and healing. The internationally renowned traditional mbira master Chartwell Dutiro (mbira, lead vocal, dance), who played mbira in bira ceremonies in his native Zimbabwe from the age of four and is best known for his eight-year stint with Zimbabwe's famed Thomas Mapfumo & the Blacks Unlimited, is joined by his son Shorai Dutiro (mbira, vocal), David Holmes (mbira, vocal), Nora Balaban (mbira, vocal) and Bill Ruyle (hosho - gourds tabla - tuned drums, percussion).
"If you can talk you can sing. If you can walk, you can dance - or just sit and reflect." - Zimbabwean proverb
Video: https://vimeo.com/116784971?ref=em-share
Sat Apr 29 Persian Trance Music: Niyaz featuring Azam Ali
Niyaz has created a 21st century global trance tradition by seamlessly blending Sufi poetry and folk songs from its native Iran and surrounding countries with rich acoustic instrumentation and modern electronics. Formed in California in 2004 and based in Montreal, Niyaz has a far-reaching repertoire that tears down cultural boundaries and bridges the gap between East and West. The group was founded by the spellbinding vocalist/composer Azam Ali, whose Iranian heritage and Indian upbringing have deeply influenced her music, and multi-instrumentalist/composer Loga Ramin Torkian (oud & kamaan lutes). They are joined by Didem Basar (kanun-zither), Gabriel Ethier (keyboards, programming) and Vaneet Vyas (tabla-drums).
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at4nOJ5Pl_c
Sun Apr 30 Sufi Music of Pakistan & India: Riyaaz Qawwali
Riyaaz Qawwali performs the ecstatic improvisational Sufi vocal tradition made famous in the West by the late Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, enthralling listeners with its lively rhythms, joyous melodies and inspirational poetry. In addition to paying homage to traditional qawwali that has been in existence for over 700 years, the ensemble also weaves various songs and poetry of South Asia into the qawwali framework, using qawwali as a universal message of oneness that transcends religious boundaries. Most qawwali troupes are composed of Muslim family members, but Riyaaz Qawwali, which is based in Texas, is composed of musicians who represent the diversity of South and Central Asia; they are of Indian, Pakistani, Afghani, and Bangladeshi descent, and come from various spiritual backgrounds, including Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRkx7YLADM0
Please note: The Saami Brothers, who were originally scheduled, have cancelled their US tour.
The concerts at Roulette are made possible in part with public funding provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State legislature.
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