Feast of Music

Erik Charlston and JazzBrasil at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola

by Craig Brinker

Monday evening’s concert at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola featured mallet percussionist/composer Erik Charlston’s diverse and well-rounded group, JazzBrasil, paying tribute to one of Brazil's most interesting and eccentric musicians, Hermeto Pascoal. Even if Pascoal’s name doesn't sound familiar, you might have heard the composer and multi-instrumentalist on Miles Davis' Live-Evil, with Pascoal contributing three compositions. 

JazzBrasil includes the classic jazz rhythm section of drums, piano, and bass, augmented by two percussionists, Zé Maurício and Café, who kept the audience entertained for much of the night with their seemingly endless supply of instruments to be struck, stroked, or shaken. Rio de Janeiro-born Maurício played passionately and unpretentiously with an unfading grin. His tambourine solo during the encore, “Bebé,” was particularly engaging, and the audience enthusiastically applauded his virtuosic effort. Ted Nash, a talented wind player, and Charlston, playing both vibraphone and marimba, rounded out the group.

Erik Charlston and JazzBrasil Play the Music of Hermeto Pascoal

by Craig Brinker

Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal might be best known in the United States as "that guy who whistles and sings on Miles Davis' Live-Evil," but his life's work was far more expansive than that single appearance as a side-man.

Vibraphonist/marimbist Erik Charlston and his band, JazzBrasil, celebrate Pascoal's legacy tonight at JALC's Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola. Tickets for the 7:30 and 9:30 sets can be purchased here.

 

Leni Stern at Iridium

by Sky Disco

Since I didn’t get to fly home this year for Thanksgiving, my experience of seeing Leni Stern perform at Iridium last Wednesday became my holiday. The absolute joy that Leni and the members of her band displayed as they struck each note spread through the space like an earthy aroma.

Smoke, No Fire, Stern's 13th release, was recorded in Bamako, Mali. Live, Stern's sound was so intimate it felt like I was being led on a tour through a small West African town—a community circle where history, legends, and myths are shared. Stern's electric guitar blended jazz with traditional African rhythms, triggering swaying movements that began at the torso.

After her set, I wanted to talk to Leni about her music, but instead joined in on a larger conversation about her experiences in Mali. The great civil unrest that has overtaken the country presents many perils to visitors of other nationalities, where kidnappings and capital crimes are rampant: I even learned that it's wise to have a bodyguard if you're an albino, since albino blood is believed to have magical powers. There were beautiful stories about fun times during every new moon, when kids are gifted with candy and coins. As I listened, I soon realized that all of these experiences directly contributed to the healing energy of her music. 

Leni Stern is a messenger armed with a voice, guitar, and lute. She delivers love, hope, and freedom of spirit, with her songs awakening the soul.

White Light Festival: Mary Chapin Carpenter and Cameron Carpenter

"Poetry (or music)...exists partly for the purpose of showing us ourselves, at our worst and at our best." - Sharon Olds

Before Superstorm Sandy blew into town last week and caused all kinds of disruptions to the NYC music calendar, I was able to make it up to Alice Tully Hall for a pair of performances at the White Light Festival. Now in its third year, White Light has established itself as a fixture in the New York musical calendar, thanks largely to the eclectic, thoughtful programming of festival director Jane Moss. Over the course of numerous conversations with Moss, it has become clear to me that White Light is much more than just a music festival: it's a retreat, an escape that offers time and space to stop and reflect on our lives, both our happiness and our misfortunes. With everything New Yorkers have gone through this past week, this year's White Light Festival seems to have arrived just in time.

Case in point: singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, who performed a two-hour set with her band a week ago Friday. Carpenter has been through some rough times in the past few years: her father passed away, she divorced her husband, and she almost died from a pulmonary embolism. These experiences all went into her cathartic new album, Ashes and Roses, which traces her slow climb back from the edge of despair. With visionary, pain-drenched songs like "What to Keep and What to Throw Away" and "Chasing What's Already Gone," this show was all about healing, about learning from your experiences and moving on. For those in the room who had ever suffered a broken heart, it was hard not to be inspired—or to keep a dry eye.