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Intersections: Bandung
Meets Bali in Santa Cruz 32nd Annual Spring Gamelan Concert at UCSC Saturday 10 May at 7:30 pm Music Center Recital Hall University of California, Santa Cruz Tickets: $10 general, $8 seniors, $6 students, etc. UCSC Ticket Office (459-2159) and santacruztickets.com The UCSC Department of Music presents its 32nd Annual Spring Gamelan Concert featuring world premieres of new music by Indonesian composer Nano S and traditional Indonesian music & dance featuring the UCSC West Javanese Gamelan directed by Undang Sumarna and the Balinese Gamelan Semar Pegulingan directed by Linda Burman-Hall, with special guest dancers I Made Surya and award-winning UCSC alum Ben Arcangel. |
Gamelan Sekar Jaya Saturday 10 May 2008 - 8pm Noe Valley Ministry 1021 Sanchez Street San Francisco, CA 94114 $15 advance / $17 at the door Advanced tickets 415-454-5238, click www.noevalleymusicseries.com/tickets or visit Streetlight Records in SF, or Downhome Music in El Cerrito or 4th Street in Berkeley. Gamelan Sekar Jaya’s Gong Kebyar (a style known as "the classical orchestra of Bali") will perform two of the most exciting virtuoso classics of mid-20th-century Balinese music and dance, the instrumental Hujan Mas ("Golden Rain") and the dance Kebyar Duduk ("Seated kebyar-style dance"). Hujan Mas was the prize winner at one of the first island-wide music competitions, with its lightning-fast tempos and instrumental brilliance. It was so impressive that it was stolen by a group other than the group that created it—and the group that stole it won the prize! High drama in Bali, you better believe it. Kebyar Duduk is by one of the great choreographers of the world, I Ketut Maria. It features not only the usual beautiful and eye-catching angular movements and sudden changes of mood and personality that Balinese dance is famous for, but the impressive feat of moving quickly around the floor while in a deep seated position. It will be danced by Kompiang Metri Davies, one of its most brilliant interpreters. The rest of the concert is just as good! More dancing, and music by the Gamelan Angklung (often called "the chamber music of Bali). So don't miss it! PS: And on May 24 they'll be performing on the lawn at Yerba Buena Center—for free! And they'll not only be doing the two impressive pieces described above, but three pieces performed by their Gamelan Jegog, the newly popular giant bamboo ensemble from West Bali, the approximate equivalent of a wall of Marshall amps made of bamboo. To the usual rhythmic, melodic, and formal complexity and fascination and powerful dynamics of Balinese music is added the physical spectacle of playing these huge instruments—the largest one has keys that are nine feet long. Sekar Jaya has the only Jegog outside Asia, and one of the pieces they'll be doing was composed especially for us. Click here and find out more and see a good video of jegog. Click here to find out lots more about Gamelan Sekar Jaya. |
Santa Cruz Baroque
Festival presents its FINAL 2008 Season Concert The Flame of Love: The Legend of Tristan and Iseult Patrick Ball & the Medieval Beasts Sunday 11 May (Mother’s Day) 2008 7:30pm $16-25; $2 K-12 & UCSC students UCSC Music Center Recital Hall Tickets: SC Baroque Festival, 831-457-9693, UCSC Ticket Office (831-459-2159), SC Tickets, Civic Center Box Office, etc. etc. UCSC charges for weekend and evening parking. Cheery people will meet you as you drive in and will relieve you of $2. A legend of Celtic origin that predates the Arthurian tale of Lancelot and Guinevere, this medieval romance is filled with love, passion, magic, and death. The faithful knight Tristan is called upon to deliver Iseult, an Irish princess, to her future husband, the King of Cornwall. Yet, while traversing the waves of the Irish Sea, a mix-up involving a potion determines their joint but tragic fate. Surely there’s a lesson here.  For most modern music-listeners, the primary reference-point to this legend is undoubtedly Richard Wagner’s prominent opera “Tristan and Isolde” (premiered 1865). Yet this tale from the Dark Ages has been retold across the centuries and artistic genres. Master storyteller Patrick Ball’s discovery of the romance some 20 ago eventually inspired his own interpretation of the narrative: “We tell this magnificent story much as a medieval storyteller would have done. . . . In medieval times a storyteller looked into the eyes of his audience and told a tale” - using neither props nor scenery, but only words and the limitless imagination of the engaged listener. The instruments - the harp, the vielle, the lute, the psaltery, and percussion - were all carried and played by this storyteller and those who accompanied him.” Indeed, according to backissues of Billboard, the music performed features pieces well-known to medieval audiences at the time. Patrick Ball plays harp and tells the story, and is accompanied by the formidable Medieval Beasts: Shira Kammen, vielle, medieval harp, and voice, and Tim Rayborn, harp, voice, lute, and psaltery. Harp trios, anyone? A meet-the-Artists reception follows for subscribers and donors. Coming up later this month: Music in the Gardens Tour (Sunday, May 25: 1 to 5 pm) Last But Not Least: Boomeria Organ Concert & Crawl (Saturday, July 12: 1 to 5 pm) - organ music in the woods with a tour of the Boomeria grounds, snacks, drinks, and wine. Major fun at Preston and Sara's. More information on all events at: http://www.scbaroque.org | 831-457-9693 | scbaroque@baymoon.com Celebrating our 35th
Anniversary!
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It's May and that
means opera at UCSC The Consul, by Gian Carlo Menotti UCSC Opera Theater Directed by Brian Staufenbiel, orchestra conducted by Nicole Paiement Thursday 29 May 2008 / 7:30 PM Friday 30 May 2008 / 7:30 PM Saturday 31 May 2008 / 2:00 PM Saturday 31 May 2008 / 7:30 PM Sunday, June 01, 2008 / 2:00 PM Music Center Recital Hall $24 general, $20 senior, $10 students -- RESERVED seating UCSC Ticket Office: (831)-459-2159 | artsevents@ucsc.edu | http://www.santacruztickets.com The Consul, performed in English, is set in post-war Europe, in a country torn by civil strife. The resistance fighter John Sorel, wounded by a gunshot, enters his home desperately searching for his wife, Magda. John explains to his wife that he must cross the frontier to safety since he is hunted by the secret police. They agree that Magda will go to the consulate of a neighboring country to ask for asylum. At the consulate by an oblivious secretary whose only job seems to be to give people the run-around. This tireless bureaucratic machine slowly drives Magda to complete desperation. Composer of the much-loved Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors, Gian Carlo Menotti (1911–2007) won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for The Consul. Over 100 students, faculty, and community members are involved in the production as musicians, singers, and production staff. When UCSC’s Opera Workshop does its annual, you know you want to be there. |
 This is a view of Kolkata (the City Formerly Known As Calcutta). I love this photo. It has nothing to do with anything, except there are a lot of good musicians from here. And it looks really humid. |
And getting back to
the
Sangati Center... Jody Stecher, sursringar Saturday 7 June 2008 8pm The Sangati Center 3049 22nd Street San Francisco, CA 94110 Jody Stecher's music exemplifies the open door (a large one) between tradition and creative personal expression. A renowned singer and multi-instrumentalist, his recordings have been Grammy finalists, won Indy Awards, and been a musical influence spanning generations and continents. Jody learned sursringar from Zia Mohiuddin Dagar during the decade spanning the mid 1970s-80s and more recently has had significant input and guidance from Zia Fariduddin Dagar. The sursringar originated as a modification of the large Dhrupad rabab (seni rabab), that was made to increase the sustain of the strings and improve the tonal clarity. It is has a voice similar to the bin, in case you know what on earth that is, though sweeter in the mid and upper range. The Sangati Center is located in San Francisco's Mission District at the intersection of 22nd St. and Shotwell St., very near the 24th St. @ Mission BART stop. They are on the ground floor, and monopolize their streetcorner unmistakably. Street parking is available nearby, for free. |
Congregate in the
wildly scenic Mill Valley  DjangoFest San Francisco / Mill Valley 8th-11th June 2008 142 Throckmorton Theatre Mill Valley, California DjangoFest San Francisco/Mill Valley, returns to the 142 Throckmorton Theatre for a four-day festival celebrating the music and spirit of the great Gypsy guitarist, Django Reinhardt and all he had begat. Join Gypsy Jazz fans, players and enthusiasts from around the world to congregate in “the wildly scenic Mill Valley” (I did not write this!) and attend a series of concerts, workshops and impromptu djam sessions featuring top internationally renowned players mixing it up with local stars and aficionados of the genre.  Among the performers: Gaucho; Hot Club Pacific with Bruce Forman; Howard Alden with Gonzalo Bergara, Simon Planting and Greg Ruby; Stéphane Wrembel: Ned Boynton and the Hot Club of North Beach; Hot Club Sandwich, Kruno, Stéphane Wrembel; Paul Mehling; Kruno; John Jorgenson Quintet; Hot Club of Berkeley; Dan Hicks and the Gigolos; Samson Schmitt Trio with Tim Kliphuis; Pearl Django, Sammo Miltich, Samson Grisman, Annie Staninec and Jason Vanderford. This is enough to fill several days, non? Thursday June 8 thru Sunday June 11, 2006 Thursday June 8 8pm $30 General $40 SOLD OUT Friday June 9 8pm $35/$45 Saturday June 10 3pm $25/$35 Saturday June 10 8pm $35/$45 Sunday June 11 3pm $25/$35 Sunday June 11 7pm $30/$40 All Workshops $40 - Festival Pass is SOLD OUT Preseating: Doors open one hour prior to performance. General Admission: Doors open 15 minutes prior to performance. |
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Once again, the mandolins invade...  Monday 23 June through Saturday 28 June. Click on the image for all the pertinent info. Another all-star lineup, and one of the nicest music camps anywhere on the planet. Always sells out early, don't wait! |
And in case you just want to spend one evening listening...  Mike Marshall & Choro Famoso with Danilo Brito, Caterina Lichtenberg, and Dudu Maia World Mandolin Extravaganza, thanks to Fiddling Cricket Concerts Saturday 21 June 8pm $16 adv./$18 door Don Quixote's International Music Hall 6275 Highway 9 in festive downtown Felton, right by the main traffic light 831.335.2800 The Mandolin Symposium tried to do public concerts on campus and hit major snags, so this is how to catch a bit of it off-campus. It'll be a warmup for the Symposium itself, starting just before the event above. Mike Marshall, at age 19, was invited to join the nearly-original David Grisman Quintet in the SF Bay Area. That association quickly lead to his recording and touring with some of the top names in acoustic music today including Tony Rice, Mark O'Connor, Stéphane Grappelli, Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer. In 1986, while still a member of Montreux (with Darol Anger and Barbara Higbie), Mike founded a quartet of mandolin family instruments -- two mandolins, mandola and mandocello. The Modern Mandolin Quartet released four recordings for Windham Hell Records, and persists. Meanwhile, Mike had traveled to Brazil and began a love affair with Brazilian choro music, a delightful and venerable musical form that combines virtuosic instrumental playing with rhythmically complex improvisations. Danilo Brito (crooning into the mike above) is from Brazil. He was a stealth guest last summer of Hamilton de Holanda, and took everyone’s breath away. After winning the seventh annual Premio Visa de Musica Brasileira award in 2004 for the best instrumentalist (on any instrument) in all Brazil, 19 year old Danilo Brito went into one of the top studios in Sao Paulo and recorded Perambulando. Caterina Lichtenberg was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. She studied in Magdeburg and finished with distinction in the fields of mandolin and guitar at the Cologne Academy of Music. She is the first-prize winner of many national and international music competitions and was a scholarship holder at the Richard Wagner Foundation. In stark contrast to many people in the classical mandolin world, she is totally fearless when it comes to exiting the printed page, and has a great sense of humor as well. Dudu Maia is also from Brazil, and one of Brazil's top bandolim players (that’s a mandolin to you, grasshopper). Artist sites: www.mikemarshall.net
www.danilobrito.com.br/index_en.html www.caterinalichtenberg.com/english/ www.dudumaia.com |
So many banjos, so
little time... Jody Stecher and Bill Evans Saturday 21 June 2008 Freight and Salvage 1111 Addison Street Berkeley, CA 94702 (510) 548-1761 | folk@freightandsalvage.org Door 7:30 P.M., Music 8:00 P.M. | Purchase advance tickets: $18.50 Another evening of interactive banjolity the likes of which have rarely been heard before or since, featuring two masters of this five-or-so-string instrument. Jody Stecher and Bill Evans combine their passionate lifelong fascination with the banjo in a concert that further explores the diversity, excitement, charm, and history of one of America's most celebrated but misunderstood instruments. You'll hear solos and duets; original pieces, chestnuts and rarities; 19th century minstrel and classic banjo; bluegrass, rags, blues and old-time playing; banjo songs and instrumentals and much more, all performed on a truly vast array of fretted and fretless banjos. There will even be singing! Jody, who's been playing five string banjo (and quite a few other things - scroll up for his Sangati listing) for 48 or more years, exemplifies the open door between tradition and creative personal expression. He has played the Freight numerous times as a solo act, in duet with la belle Kate Brislin, in the bluegrass band Perfect Strangers, and in many other combinations, but this will be one of his rare "Banjo Only" shows. Jody's recordings, which have greatly influenced several generations of musicians around the world, have won Indy Awards and have been Grammy finalists. Bill, who embarked on his musical path in middle school after seeing Roy Clark play the banjo on television, has spent the last 35 years applying what he's learned one-on-one from such masters as Sonny Osborne, J. D. Crowe, Bill Keith, and Tony Trischka into an original fusion of old and new approaches. Bill's interest in banjo history has also led to a lifelong exploration of 19th century minstrel and classic styles. Bill's latest accomplishment is authoring the recently published Banjo for Dummies (Wiley Publications). He'll surely have copies available at this evening's performance, whether you're a dummie or not. As many people have discovered, each time these guys come out to do their Secret Life of Banjos, it's a brand new show. Which is why people come again and again. The lives of these various banjos becomes less secret each time they get played in public. |
Afro-Cuban roots from
Africa, of course Orchestra Baobab In the Bay Area: 5 June 2008 8:00PM Yoshi’s San Francisco 6 June 2008 8:00PM Yoshi’s San Francisco 7 June 2008 8:00PM Yoshi’s Oakland 8 June 2008 8:00PM Yoshi’s Oakland 10 June 2008 8:00PM Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz brought by Zookbeat! 11 June 2008 8:00PM Opera House Napa Why is it "Afro-Cuban" music sounds so much better played by Africans than anyone else? These are some true pioneers of contemporary African music. Photographed at the Plage d'Ifan (is that an LP in the sand there?), in Dakar, Senegal, we see Ndiouga Dieng, Thierno Koite, Charlie Ndiaye, Issa Cissokho, Rudy Gomis, Mountaga Koite (that's his head sticking out the bus window), Assane Mboup, Barthélemy Attisso, Balla Sidibe, Latfi Ben Geloune. More than 20 albums, including the 1982 classic Pirates Choice; two BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music (critics' choice and best African artists, 2003). Like the long-lived tree it's named after, this band's got deep roots, tapping into powerful African traditions along with undulating Cuban rhythms. Orchestra Baobab, formed in Dakar in 1970 to entertain businessmen and government officials, developed a fluid fusion style that made them red-hot in Senegal and beyond, until Youssou N'Dour and his revved-up mbalax sound eclipsed their deceptively laid-back groove. The group broke up in 1987, but the reissue 14 years later of Pirates Choice, composed mainly of often-bootlegged session tracks, led the core members—singers Rudy Gomis and Balla Sidibe and guitarist extraordinaire Barthélemy Attisso—to get back together. In 2002 their reconfigured band put out, to great acclaim, Specialist in All Styles, co-produced by none other than Youssou N'Dour. Coming soon to a location near you, thanks to Zookbeat. More at www.myspace.com/orchestrabaobabofficial and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestre_Baobab. The myspace site has a great current soundtrack. OK, how about this:  Habib Koité and Bamada will be in Santa Cruz on the 19th of August. More on this soon. I'd sort of given up on African bands ever touring here again. There are now two of the very best in the offing. Let's keep our fingers crossed! |
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I
usually
list things here that I personally think are interesting, but find it
impossible to be comprehensive. Please forgive oversights on my part.
It takes a lot of time and I don't even get comps to the gigs for doing
this. A
generous benefactor would probably help make it more regular though!  If you want to check broader listings, from the sublime to the ridiculous, here are two fat links that I think may be of great help: |
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My pal Bruce Bratton has an online weekly newsletter with the latest news and (gasp - can you handle it?) opinions about Santa Cruz that I cannot recommend highly enough. He also covers music, local films, community events, and so on. He also runs Tim Eagan's weekly strip - alone worth the price of admission. Bookmark this link, or better yet, simply subscribe and get the nudge in your email regularly. Invaluable, yet it doesn't cost a penny.
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 Yes, that's a sandstorm in the background. Music is a service industry. |
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 Know of something I and everyone else should
know about? And please check the community links above, too. They lead all kinds of interesting places. I erratically update and then gladly email
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