World Class Musicians Brought Together by 'Cuatro' Strings at Joe's Pub

Latin GRAMMY-winning instrumentalist and cuatro virtuosic, Jorge Glem, takes the stage at the iconic musical venue Joe's Pub for a special, one night only, concert featuring guests from all over the musical world, including celebrated Cuban saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera and award-winning pianist, accordionist, and songwriter Sam Reider.

On Tuesday, September the 5th at 7:00 pm, Glem will showcase the infinite possibilities of this instrument, fusing it with an array of musical genres with the NY's soundscape.

Jorge Glem, an acclaimed root music artist from Venezuela and one of the country's most masterful players, will bring a special repertoire tailored for a global audience with the cuatro at the center of the experience. The cuatro, a four string instrument, is often likened to the guitar or ukulele despite their stark differences. It is, in fact, an unsung hero of the music world given its versatility and depth. Glem, known in musical circles as a cuatro master, is out to change that by elevating the instrument in the world stage.

"The cuatro represents such a beautifully complex and complete soundscape. It allows you to engage harmony, melody, and rhythm all at once. That's quite rare. It's the perfect instrument to transcend genres. Music is like land. It doesn't have boundaries or limits except for those that we impose upon it. That's how I see the cuatro, as an instrument with the power to unite international genres, styles, and rhythms. I envision uniting the music we find across the globe with these four strings," shared Glem who began playing music when he was six years old.

Cumaná: Four String Journey Through the World is the first step in what the musician sees as a mandate to shine light onto this powerhouse of an instrument. He will be joined onstage by D'Rivera, Reider, as well as Israeli guitarist Yotam Silberstein and Jazz vocalist Claudia Acuña.

"What Glem is doing, the way in which he is expanding the horizons of this instrument is what all artist should do: evolve their instrument and the music styles for which it's known. That's the kind of artist that impresses me," said D'Rivera, 14-time GRAMMY winner and revered in the music industry for his mastery of the clarinet and saxophone.

"It's an honor to get to play with Jorge and learn more about Venezuelan music, which is one of the most beautiful and complex sounds I have heard. It shares similarities with American genres such as jazz and bluegrass, but it's quite unique. The United State's audience may not be familiar with Cuatro's sound or the instrument itself, but I think that's precisely what Jorge Glem will transform," added Reider.

With that mission in mind, during the concert Glem will release the trailer of an ongoing documentary production about the incorporation of the cuatro to global music. The documentary, which is being produced by visual content studio The Elevator Studios, follows the cuatro's history and uses Glem's efforts to bring it to the masses as a window into the instrument's nascent migration into many corners of the world and into the heart of musicians around the globe.