Category Archives: Previews

Miguel Zenón Explores Changeable Identities

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Cole, Zenón, Perdomo, Glauwischnig.

Cole, Zenón, Perdomo, Glawischnig.

When saxophonist Miguel Zenón, who was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, first
encountered New Yorkers of Puerto Rican heritage, he was astonished to find that despite
being two or three generations removed from life on the Caribbean island, they were as
connected to its traditions as the people he knew back home in San Juan. This discovery set Zenón off on a three-year voyage to understand the way in which “Nuyoricans” experience their national identity.

What he learned can be summed up in the title of his new album, Identities Are Changeable (Miel Music), to be released November 4. “The idea that I had is to try to represent musically this
concept of identity being multiple and being able to change,” Zenón explained in a phone
interview from California.

In characteristic fashion, Zenón brings to bear on the project a lively curiosity, an intellectual
rigor, a supple and muscular emotionality, and a musical sophistication capable of translating his social research into an eloquent artistic statement. Backed by Luis Perdomo (piano), Hans Glawischnig (bass), and Eric Doob (drums), Zenón brings his discoveries to the Outpost this Thursday. Continue reading →

Eric Vloeimans’ Oliver’s Cinema: Moving Sounds

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Photo compilation by Abe Goldstien.

Photo compilation by Abe Goldstien.

The last time gregarious Dutch trumpeter Eric Vloeimans (pronounced Vlouie-mahns) came through Albuquerque, he brought his electronically supplemented quartet Gatecrash, which
delivered eloquent and funky kick-ass jazz at a fairly high volume. No louder than Vloeimans’ wardrobe, though, which is as floridly splendid as anything Carnaby Street ever produced.

This time around, Vloeimans, as sartorially colorful as ever, enlists his stunning virtuosity in the service of a very different musical experience: Oliver’s Cinema, a trio that also includes
Belgium’s Tuur Florizoone on accordion and Germany’s Jörg Brinkmann on cello, virtuosi in their own right, and which inhabits the other end of the volume spectrum. The three, who sound as if they’ve been together for years, draw on both original and popular compositions to produce
expressive, delicate, and uncategorizable chamber music played in the open air of jazz. Forget “third stream.” This music blends several streams—from jazz with a folkloric memory, to
popular movie scores with a classical sensibility.

This Thursday at the Outpost, if their eponymously titled album (Buzz/Challenge Records
International) is any indication, Eric Vloeimans’ Oliver’s Cinema will unreel an evening of lyrical moving sounds. Continue reading →

Roots Music, Cuban Style

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Tradiciones @ OutpostNear as I can tell, Havana in the forties and fifties was a universe of its own, kind of a
combination of Las Vegas and New Orleans. As the former is now, it was a gambling and
entertainment center, a vacation destination where much was permitted. But unlike Las Vegas, what happened in Havana did not stay in Havana—at least not musically speaking. In that
regard, it was much more like New Orleans: a great port city that imported all manner of
people, blended their musics together, and exported its unique hybrid to the rest of the world, infecting one genre after another with its irresistible creation. Continue reading →

Samba the Night Away

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Baracutanga

Baracutanga.

When vibes/percussion player Nick Baker—anyone ever seen him without a smile on his face?—slipped me the word about a celebration of Brazil Independence Day this Friday at Sister Bar, featuring Baracutanga, PANdemonium, and Odara Dance Ensemble, I did some quick research on Brazilian Independence Day, since I knew absolutely nothing about it. Yet another gap in my education.

According to Wikipedia, on January 9, 1822, when Pedro, Prince of Brazil, refused to return to Portugal from the Kingdom of Brazil in response to the Portuguese assembly’s demand, he
created Dia do Fico, which Wikipedia freely translates as “I’ll Stay Day.” On September 7, the same cat declared Brazil’s independence, which is celebrated in Brazil by big military parades.

Outside Brazil, there’s no Brazilian military to appease, so people celebrate in a more Brazil-
appropriate way: with music and dancing. Wikipedia tells us that the 2008 celebration in New York City, called Brazil Day, drew 1.8 million people and was broadcast live in Brazil, so the folks down there had a choice other than military exhibitionism.

This Friday, Frank Leto’s PANdemonium, along with Pilar Leto’s Odara Dance Ensemble, will get things started. You won’t have to fight a crowd of 1.8 million, and you will likely be saying “Eu
ficarei” along with Prince Pedro. Then, Baracutanga, fronted by singer Jackie Zamora, will justify your wise decision. Continue reading →

The Beautiful Sound of Resistance

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Rahim AlHaj

Rahim AlHaj.

For oud master Rahim AlHaj, music is not just a lovely sound, but a tool to open the senses to the world’s beauty, to open the mind to the possibility of peace, and to open the spirit to the guidance of love and compassion. He recognizes that music may appear to be a hopeless weapon against the harrowing madness careering across the planet these days—with particular brutality in his native country of Iraq—but he also believes that it holds the best and perhaps the only hope for bringing people together.

“That is what the significance is about music because it’s always united us. It always brings us together and makes life really beautiful,” he says. “As a musician—and as a human being first—it’s our job, it’s our duty to make peace to this world. This is not politicians’ job, this is not police job.”

This Saturday at the Outpost, AlHaj will shoulder the task once more—with help from David
Felberg (violin), Megan Holland (violin), Justin Pollock (viola), and James Holland (cello) of Chatter Ensemble, and Issa Malluf (percussion)—in a varied program of original music, including a new composition, Smai Hijaz. Continue reading →