David Buchbinder's ODESSA/HAVANA Set for Skirball's Sunset Concerts Series

David Buchbinder's Odessa/Havana continues the twenty-first season of Sunset Concerts at the Skirball Cultural Center, on Thursday, August 24, at 8:00 p.m. The Toronto-based ensemble explores the exhilarating connections between Jewish and Cuban music. T-Kay of dublab begins the evening by spinning a DJ set at 6:30 p.m.

Sharing Andalusian, Arabic, Roma, Sephardic, and North African ancestry, award-winning Canadian trumpeter David Buchbinder and Grammy-nominated Cuban pianist Hilario Durán team up with a global ensemble of jazz greats to form David Buchbinder's Odessa/Havana. According to LA Weekly, the result is an "absolute cooker ... a seamless mesh of Cuban and klezmer forms that seems like the most natural thing in the world." Their most recent album, Walk to the Sea, was awarded a Juno Award in 2014 for World Music Album of the Year. The band is currently working on a new album, Conversations of the Birds, due out this fall.

The remaining 2017 Sunset Concerts are as follows: the Los Angeles debut of Delgres (August 10); Daymé Arocena (August 17); David Buchbinder's Odessa/Havana (August 24); and the Los Angeles debut of Betsayda Machado y La Parranda El Clavo (August 31). All concerts begin at 8:00 p.m.; doors open at 6:30 p.m. Editors, please note:
2017 SUNSET CONCERTS Skirball Cultural Center 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90049 (310) 440-4500 * skirball.org All concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. Check-in and FREE admission to the Museum and Skirball campus begin at 5:30 p.m. Doors to the concert venue open at 6:30 p.m. FREE concert admission RSVP is requested but does not guarantee admission or seating, which is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Parking: $10 per car (cash only) Carpooling is encouraged. Street parking is strictly prohibited. Or take Metro Rapid 734/234.

All Skirball exhibitions (except Noah's Ark) are free and open until 10:00 p.m. during Sunset Concerts, including Paul Simon: Words & Music. Audrey's Museum Store is open until 8:00 p.m.

Grab-and-go light fare, full bar service, and specialty food items will be available for happy hour and throughout the show. Guests may bring their own food. Note: No outside alcoholic beverages, glassware, or chairs are permitted.

Marking its twenty-first season in 2017, the longstanding summer concert series kicked off just a year after the Skirball Cultural Center opened to the public in 1996. During that inaugural year, the institution drew nearly 300,000 visitors, far surpassing an initial expectation of 60,000. In winter/spring 1997, seeking to build upon this early success, the Skirball began to hold monthly dinnertime concerts inside its restaurant, Zeidler's Cafe. The concerts were so well attended that the staff immediately rethought the event space. The following summer, upon popular demand, the Skirball launched a free four-concert series on Thursday nights. These performances took place in the Skirball's much more spacious central courtyard, offering a view of the hillside at dusk. The series was soon named Sunset Concerts. For several seasons in those early years, along with Grand Performances downtown and Santa Monica Pier's Twilight Concerts, Sunset Concerts represented one of the city's few free outdoor summer music series. Noteworthy Sunset Concerts performers over the years have included Yasmin Levy (US debut), Hugh Masekela, Vieux Farka Touré (LA debut), Natacha Atlas, Red Baraat, Conjunto Chappotín y Sus Estrellas (US debut tour), Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, and Novalima.

The Skirball Cultural Center is a place of meeting guided by the Jewish tradition of welcoming the stranger and inspired by the American democratic ideals of freedom and equality. We welcome people of all communities and generations to participate in cultural experiences that celebrate discovery and hope, foster human connections, and call upon us to help build a more just society.

The Skirball Cultural Center is located at 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049. Museum hours: Tuesday-Friday 12:00-5:00 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; closed Mondays and holidays. Admission to exhibitions: $12 General; $9 Seniors, Full-Time Students, and Children over 12; $7 Children 2-12. Exhibitions are always free to Skirball Members and Children under 2. Exhibitions are free to all visitors on Thursdays. For general information, the public may call (310) 440-4500 or visit skirball.org. The Skirball is also home to Zeidler's Café, which serves innovative California cuisine in an elegant setting, and Audrey's Museum Store, which sells books, contemporary art, music, jewelry, and more.

At 1,200 seats, the Ford Theatres creates an intimate concert experience that is a favorite among Angelenos. Each summer, the Ford hosts a diverse roster of events representing music and dance styles reflective of the communities that comprise Los Angeles County. Ford summer season events are presented in partnership with Los Angeles County arts organizations and producers. The 2017 summer season is complemented by the inaugural "IGNITE @ the FORD!" series. The Ford also presents a Saturday morning family series that is free for kids called Big World Fun and the free participatory arts series JAM Sessions. Located in a County regional park in the Hollywood Hills, the Ford is owned by the County of Los Angeles and operated in partnership with the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Ford Theatre Foundation.

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