Mini-Global Mashup: Stride Piano Meets Guinea
SUN, MAY 21, 2023
1:00 PM
In-Person Tickets: $15 General Admission / $12 Members, Seniors, & Students w/ID
Flushing Town Hall no longer requires visitors or performers to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19; wearing a mask is optional but recommended. For more details, please visit www.flushingtownhall.org/covid-safety.
Can't make it in person? Watch this show from anywhere in the world! Get virtual access with a Culture Stream subscription ($5/month - cancel anytime) to get LIVE and ON-DEMAND access to watch whenever you want!
Flushing Town Hall's Mini-Global Mashup series continues through June 2023! Curated by acclaimed trumpeter and composer Frank London (The Klezmatics), the Mini-Global Mashup series is bringing together two amazing global music artists along with accompanists for an afternoon of music, conversation and exploration.
On May 21, 2023, Flushing Town Hall will welcome renowned jazz pianist Anthony Coleman and the globally recognised balafonist Famoro Dioubaté to take center stage for a unique mashup event!
About the Artists:
From the Sarajevo Jazz Festival to the Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow, Poland, Anthony Coleman’s musical odyssey has taken him through many cultures and led him to wear many hats as composer, improvising keyboardist, and teacher. Coleman joined the NEC faculty in 2006, returning to a school where he himself studied in the 1970s, during the birth of NEC’s Contemporary Musical Arts program (then called Third Stream). In addition to his work as a studio teacher and ensemble coach, Coleman works with NEC’s Contemporary Musical Arts students to organize a departmental concert each spring.
Commissioners and performers of Coleman’s work include clarinetist David Krakauer/Concert Artists Guild (The Kaspar In Me, 1985), accordionist Guy Klucevsek (Below 14th Street/Above 125th Street, 1987), Relâche (The King of Kabay, 1988), pianist Joseph Kubera (the hidden agenda, 1989), The Crosstown Ensemble (Latvian Counter-Gambit, 1992), Neta Pulvermacher and Dancers/Meet The Composer (Goodbye and Good Luck, 1993), Bang on a Can All-Stars/Jerome Foundation, (Mise en Abîme, 1997), Kitchen House Blend (Lapidation, 2002), guitarist Marco Cappelli/Associazione Alessandro Scarlatti (The Buzzing In My Head, 2003), TILT Brass Band (Set Into Motion, 2005), the Ruhr Triennale (Dubistmeinichbindein, 2007), the Brecht Forum (Artifacts for String Quartet, 2008), Merkin Concert Hall (Flat Narrative, 2008), the Festival Banlieues Blues/Ensemble Erik Satie (Echoes From Elsewhere, 2011), ISSUE Project Room/ String Orchestra of Brooklyn (Empfindsamer, 2012).
Other key works include the cycle by Night (1987–1992), a series of works inspired by Coleman’s experiences in (the ex-) Yugoslavia (CD Disco by Night, Avant 1993). Coleman has presented his own work at the Sarajevo Jazz Festival (Bosnia), North Sea Jazz Festival (Holland), Saalfelden Festival (Austria), and the Krakow and Vienna Jewish Culture Festivals.
Ensembles led by Coleman have recorded extensively for Tzadik and include the trio Sephardic Tinge (Sephardic Tinge, 1995; Morenica, 1998; Our Beautiful Garden is Open, 2002) and Selfhaters Orchestra (Selfhaters, 1996; The Abysmal Richness of the Infinite Proximity of the Same, 1998). Coleman has also toured and recorded with John Zorn, Elliott Sharp, Marc Ribot, Shelley Hirsch, Roy Nathanson, and many others.
Bio courtesy of necmusic.edu.
Famoro Dioubaté is recognised as one of West Africa’s most talented and graceful balafonists. Hailing from Conakry, Guinea, Famoro comes from a long family lineage of griots (or jeli in Malinké), African oral historians and musicians, a sub-culture dating back to the 13th century. The balafon is a 23-key wooden xylophone in diatonic scale, crafted by hand in the Guinean countryside. The music forms delightful, looping cross-rhythmic melodies that shift shapes as Famoro emphasises different notes.
Famoro's balafon style is primarily traditional, and mixes well with everything from a classical duo to jazz band, to electronic. What makes him stand out from the rest is his absolute confidence and utter grace in his playing style. The way he delicately, yet firmly places the notes around the (often unplayed) beat, is mesmerising.
His band, Kakande, takes this traditional music and turns it into Dance Band with a deep soul. People can't help but to move their bodies to Kakande.
On his father’s side, Famoro descends from the prestigious Dioubaté family of the Kankan region, in Guinea. On his mother’s side, he descends from the great Kouyaté family, the first jeli family named by the great emperor Soundiata Keita in 1235 CE. His maternal great-uncle, the late El Hajd Djeli Sory Kouyaté, was one of the world’s most renowned Manding balafonists and jeli to the former president Sekou Touré. With this pedigree, Famoro was one of the youngest to play in the national Ensemble Instrumental de Guinée. But quickly, he was swept up to play internationally, first in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, followed by Australia, Fiji, Europe, Canada, and ultimately in the United States, where he makes his home.
Based in New York City for the past 23 years, Famoro mixes this profound and sacred West African musical tradition with some of the hottest musicians in New York today. His dance band, Kakande, plays regularly in Harlem at the Shrine World Music Café as well as in festivals throughout the city. Famoro has played with world-famous Mory Kanté, Angelique Kidjo, and other African stars, and has performed in Carnegie Hall, Joe’s Pub, and museums and universities across the country.
Bio courtesy of womex.com.
There will be a Q&A dialogue after the performance for audience members to engage with the artists.
Flushing Town Hall no longer requires visitors or performers to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19; wearing a mask is optional but recommended. For more details, please visit www.flushingtownhall.org/covid-safety.
Can't make it in person? Watch this show from anywhere in the world! Get virtual access with a Culture Stream subscription ($5/month - cancel anytime) to get LIVE and ON-DEMAND access to watch whenever you want!
Flushing Town Hall's Mini-Global Mashup series continues through June 2023! Curated by acclaimed trumpeter and composer Frank London (The Klezmatics), the Mini-Global Mashup series is bringing together two amazing global music artists along with accompanists for an afternoon of music, conversation and exploration.
On May 21, 2023, Flushing Town Hall will welcome renowned jazz pianist Anthony Coleman and the globally recognised balafonist Famoro Dioubaté to take center stage for a unique mashup event!
About the Artists:
From the Sarajevo Jazz Festival to the Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow, Poland, Anthony Coleman’s musical odyssey has taken him through many cultures and led him to wear many hats as composer, improvising keyboardist, and teacher. Coleman joined the NEC faculty in 2006, returning to a school where he himself studied in the 1970s, during the birth of NEC’s Contemporary Musical Arts program (then called Third Stream). In addition to his work as a studio teacher and ensemble coach, Coleman works with NEC’s Contemporary Musical Arts students to organize a departmental concert each spring.
Commissioners and performers of Coleman’s work include clarinetist David Krakauer/Concert Artists Guild (The Kaspar In Me, 1985), accordionist Guy Klucevsek (Below 14th Street/Above 125th Street, 1987), Relâche (The King of Kabay, 1988), pianist Joseph Kubera (the hidden agenda, 1989), The Crosstown Ensemble (Latvian Counter-Gambit, 1992), Neta Pulvermacher and Dancers/Meet The Composer (Goodbye and Good Luck, 1993), Bang on a Can All-Stars/Jerome Foundation, (Mise en Abîme, 1997), Kitchen House Blend (Lapidation, 2002), guitarist Marco Cappelli/Associazione Alessandro Scarlatti (The Buzzing In My Head, 2003), TILT Brass Band (Set Into Motion, 2005), the Ruhr Triennale (Dubistmeinichbindein, 2007), the Brecht Forum (Artifacts for String Quartet, 2008), Merkin Concert Hall (Flat Narrative, 2008), the Festival Banlieues Blues/Ensemble Erik Satie (Echoes From Elsewhere, 2011), ISSUE Project Room/ String Orchestra of Brooklyn (Empfindsamer, 2012).
Other key works include the cycle by Night (1987–1992), a series of works inspired by Coleman’s experiences in (the ex-) Yugoslavia (CD Disco by Night, Avant 1993). Coleman has presented his own work at the Sarajevo Jazz Festival (Bosnia), North Sea Jazz Festival (Holland), Saalfelden Festival (Austria), and the Krakow and Vienna Jewish Culture Festivals.
Ensembles led by Coleman have recorded extensively for Tzadik and include the trio Sephardic Tinge (Sephardic Tinge, 1995; Morenica, 1998; Our Beautiful Garden is Open, 2002) and Selfhaters Orchestra (Selfhaters, 1996; The Abysmal Richness of the Infinite Proximity of the Same, 1998). Coleman has also toured and recorded with John Zorn, Elliott Sharp, Marc Ribot, Shelley Hirsch, Roy Nathanson, and many others.
Bio courtesy of necmusic.edu.
Famoro Dioubaté is recognised as one of West Africa’s most talented and graceful balafonists. Hailing from Conakry, Guinea, Famoro comes from a long family lineage of griots (or jeli in Malinké), African oral historians and musicians, a sub-culture dating back to the 13th century. The balafon is a 23-key wooden xylophone in diatonic scale, crafted by hand in the Guinean countryside. The music forms delightful, looping cross-rhythmic melodies that shift shapes as Famoro emphasises different notes.
Famoro's balafon style is primarily traditional, and mixes well with everything from a classical duo to jazz band, to electronic. What makes him stand out from the rest is his absolute confidence and utter grace in his playing style. The way he delicately, yet firmly places the notes around the (often unplayed) beat, is mesmerising.
His band, Kakande, takes this traditional music and turns it into Dance Band with a deep soul. People can't help but to move their bodies to Kakande.
On his father’s side, Famoro descends from the prestigious Dioubaté family of the Kankan region, in Guinea. On his mother’s side, he descends from the great Kouyaté family, the first jeli family named by the great emperor Soundiata Keita in 1235 CE. His maternal great-uncle, the late El Hajd Djeli Sory Kouyaté, was one of the world’s most renowned Manding balafonists and jeli to the former president Sekou Touré. With this pedigree, Famoro was one of the youngest to play in the national Ensemble Instrumental de Guinée. But quickly, he was swept up to play internationally, first in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, followed by Australia, Fiji, Europe, Canada, and ultimately in the United States, where he makes his home.
Based in New York City for the past 23 years, Famoro mixes this profound and sacred West African musical tradition with some of the hottest musicians in New York today. His dance band, Kakande, plays regularly in Harlem at the Shrine World Music Café as well as in festivals throughout the city. Famoro has played with world-famous Mory Kanté, Angelique Kidjo, and other African stars, and has performed in Carnegie Hall, Joe’s Pub, and museums and universities across the country.
Bio courtesy of womex.com.
There will be a Q&A dialogue after the performance for audience members to engage with the artists.
