J a z z
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24
- 6:30PM - Artist talk "Homage to Jean Genet"
- 7:30PM - Performance
at La Maison Française
General admission: $15
Tickets: InstantSeats.com
A limited amount of free parking within the Embassy of France will be available on a first come, first served basis. Additional parking is available on Reservoir Road and across the street at Georgetown University Hospital’s pay lot.
Matthew Shipp:
An homage to Jean Genet & piano selections from '4D'
Presentation
Matthew Shipp is one of the most original avant-garde piano voices on the scene today. Initially most active in free jazz, Shipp’s style has developed to explore music that touches on contemporary classical, hip hop and electronica. Shipp has long been a member of saxophonist David S. Ware's quartet. He has collaborated with musicians that include William Parker, DJ Spooky, Joe Morris, Daniel Carter, Roscoe Mitchell, Mat Maneri, High Priest and Beans of Antipop Consortium, and El-P.
This solo-piano performance, co-presented with Transparent Productions, is part of a limited 4-city tour of Matthew Shipp’s 2010 release of "4D," his sixth solo piano album. This performance will be preceded by a discussion with Matthew Shipp, moderated by George Mason University Professor Thomas Stanley, entitled "Homage to Jean Genet." Genet - French poet, playwright, and activist - has been an aesthetic influence on Shipp throughout his career.
Artist website: www.matthewshipp.com/home.html
YouTube clips:
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlpLd34tsdg
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_IZLXMPCNA
"4D" album review - All About Jazz
www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=35316
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10 AT 7:30PM
at La Maison Française
General admission: $45
Tickets: InstantSeats.com
A limited amount of free parking within the Embassy of France will be available on a first come, first served basis. Additional parking is available on Reservoir Road and across the street at Georgetown University Hospital’s pay lot.
Cecil Taylor:
The brilliant pianist, poet and mover returns to DC!
A wine reception to meet the artist will follow the performance.
The American pianist, poet and dancer Cecil Taylor has been applauded as a special breed or artist. Brilliant and controversial, he possesses a rare combination of insight, inspiration and amazing technique.
Mr. Taylor has been an uncompromising creative force since his earliest recordings in the 1950's. His music would become a leading exponent, along with that of John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, of the budding "free-jazz" movement. In the late 70's and early 80's, Mr. Taylor collaborated with the choreographer Diane McIntyre and her dance company "Sound In Motion", that focused on combining jazz and spoken poetry with dance. His art continued to follow this path of melding music, poetry and dance in a wonderful display of beauty and passion.
Cecil Taylor has performed at the world’s most renowned jazz venues, festivals and at the White House; he is also the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Jazz Master Award from the N.E.A. and a McArthur Foundation "genius" grant.
Artist's link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oiJMXAgZR0
Media sponsor:
This performance will be recorded and streamed live via WPFW 89.3 FM.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13 AT 7:30PM
at La Maison Française
Admission:
- General: $35
- Students w/id.: $30
Tickets: InstantSeats.com
A limited amount of free parking within the Embassy of France will be available on a first come, first served basis. Additional parking is available on Reservoir Road and across the street at Georgetown University Hospital’s pay lot.
J A Z Z F U S I O N: A night with the Saiyuki Trio
with special guest Rudresh Mahanthappa
Nguyên Lê, electric guitar & laptop
Mieko Miyazaki, koto & vocals
Prabhu Edouard, tablas & vocals
Rudresh Mahanthappa, saxophone
A wine reception to meet the artists will follow the concert.
"Despite their different cultural backgrounds the players and instruments mesh together perfectly to make a wonderfully homogenized sound with the interplay between guitar and koto particularly engrossing. 'Saiyuki' is quietly adventurous, an excellent distillation of different traditions, times and cultures into a coherent and consistently charming whole." — The Jazz Mann
"The most daring and rewarding fusion at Globalfest was Nguyên Lê’s Saiyuki, the trio of a Vietnamese-rooted French jazz guitarist (Mr. Lê), the Japanese koto player Mieko Miyazaki and the Indian tabla player Prabhu Edouard. Reaching for what Mr. Lê called 'an Asia without borders', Saiyuki used crisp, pointillistic motifs — virtuosic ones, in odd meters — to frame and spur spellbinding improvisations: billowing koto tremolos, fully melodic drumming, sitar-like guitar runs and hovering jazz chords, in a genuinely international music." — The New York Times
"Saiyuki" is the Japanese name for the "Journey to the West", the renowned 16th-century Chinese novel by Wu Cheng’en about a quest for sacred Buddhist texts. Using "Journey to the West" as a metaphor, Nguyên Lê has brought together his trio, along with special guest artist saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, to create and share a special experience in jazz fusion.
Born in Paris to Vietnamese parents, guitarist Nguyên Lê embodies the exotic multi-cultural mosaic fueling the vibrant jazz and world music scenes flourishing today. A self-taught musician, Mr. Lê has developed a distinctive sound that draws upon rock, funk and jazz as well as traditional African, Indian and Vietnamese styles. His has collaborated with musicians who include: Ultramarine, l’O.N.J., Michel Portal, Ornette Coleman, Ray Charles, Peter Erskine, Vince Mendoza, Cheb Mami and Uri Caine. Awarded the "Django d'or" for guitar, Mr. Lê has produced over thirteen albums, including "Purple, Celebrating Jimi Hendrix" and his latest release "Saiyuki".
"...one of the most inventive guitarists/composers today." — Rhythm Magazine
- www.nguyen-le.com
- www.myspace.com/nguyenle1
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6QADivwh0Y
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-aDiQ7PTn8
Prabhu Edouard is one of few Tabla specialists in Europe. Born in Trichy (India), Mr. Edouard studied with master Shankar Gosh in Calcutta and has performed with several masters, including Hariprasad Chaurasia, V.G. Jog, Lakshmi Shankar and Ashish Khan. He has lived in France since 1975 and has explored contemporary, jazz, classical and world music with the likes of David Liebman, Marc Ducret, Magic Malik, Didier Malherbe, Nawal, Kyffiz, Sri Hanuman, Mukta, Hati, Mario Laginha, El Hadj, Maurice Béjart, Jean-Pierre Drouet, Ragunath Manet, the Chemirami family and Jordi Savall.
- www.myspace.com/prabhuedouard
Mieko Miyazaki studied Koto & Shamisen at the Tokyo National University for Arts & Music. She has performed for the Emperor and Empress of Japan as well as numerous radio and television shows. In addition to the Saiyuki Trio, Ms. Miyazaki collaborates with "Koto2Evans", a jazz quartet plying Bill Evans music on Koto and "Voce Ventu", a polyphonic choir from Corsica. She has recorded more than ten albums.
- www.miekomiyazaki.com/
Saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa is one of the most innovative young musicians and composers in jazz today. A Guggenheim fellow, 2009 Downbeat International Critics Poll winner ("Rising Star - Jazz Artist" & "Rising Star - Alto Saxophone") and Jazz Journalist Association’s 2009 "Alto Saxophonist of the Year", Rudresh has created a groundbreaking artistic vision fusing the culture of his Indian ancestry with a myriad of other cultural influences. His recent CD "Kinsmen", with saxophone legend Kadri Gopalnath, was named one of the Top Jazz CDs by The New York Times, NPR, BBC, Boston Globe, JazzTimes and the Village Voice.
- www.rudreshm.com/
- www.myspace.com/rudreshm
Media sponsor:
This performance will be recorded and streamed live via WPFW 89.3 FM.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12 AT 7:30PM
at La Maison Française
Admission:
- General: $20
- Students w/id.: $15
Tickets: InstantSeats.com
A limited amount of free parking within the Embassy of France will be available on a first come, first served basis. Additional parking is available on Reservoir Road and across the street at Georgetown University Hospital’s pay lot.
Vincent Lê Quang Jazz Trio
Jean-Luc Landsweerdt, drums
Christophe Hache, double bass
Vincent Lê Quang, saxophone
A wine reception to meet the artists will follow the concert.
Vincent Lê Quang, French saxophonist and composer, merges both his classical and jazz training with his trio to create dazzling and vivacious improvisational music. Having studied at Schola Cantorum and the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique in Paris, Lê Quang studied under Pierre Doury, François Jeanneau, Riccardo del Fra and Patrick Moutal. Lê Quang is the first prize recipient in both the soloist and orchestra areas of "La Défense" French jazz contest, as well as the recipient of the Meyer Foundation and Sociéte Générale grants.
Lê Quang can be heard on numerous jazz recordings and has collaborated with artists such as Georges Leothaud, Rainer Boesch, Alain Savouret, Jean-Philippe Muvien, Daniel Humair, Jean-Paul Céléa, Louis Sclavis, Vincent Peirani and Maja Pavlovska.
- Artist website: vlequang.free.fr
- Sample: www.youtube.com
Media sponsor:
This performance will be recorded and streamed live via WPFW 89.3 FM.
>> Oct. 24: Matthew Shipp
>> Nov. 10: Cecil Taylor
>> Nov. 13: Jazz Fusion (with the Saiyuki Trio)
>> Jan. 12, 2011: Vincent Lê Quang Jazz Trio
Photo by Peter Gannushkin
Matthew Shipp
Photo by Daniel Sheehan
Photo by JokeSchot
Saiyuki Trio
Rudresh Mahanthappa
Nguyên Lê
Prabhu Edouard
Mieko Miyazaki
Jean-Luc Landsweerdt - Christophe Hache
Vincent Lê Quang - Photograph © Pierre Alzieu