Results for "World Music"

Jim Hopson

Michiyo Yagi

Born: November 21

Michiyo Yagi studied koto under the late Tadao Sawai, Kazue SawaiandSatomi Kurauchi, andgraduated from the NHK Professional Training School for TraditionalMusicians. Between 1989 and1990 she was Visiting Professor of Music at Wesleyan University inConnecticut, U.S.A. During hertenure she premiered numerous modern compositions for koto andcameunder the influence ofmaverick American composers such as John Cage, Conlon Nancarrow,andJohn Zorn.

Her solo koto CD "Shizuku" was produced by Zorn and released on theTzadik label in 1999. In 2001she recorded "Yural" with her koto ensemble Paulownia Crush for theEastWorks label. Under theauspices of the Japan Foundation, Michiyo toured Russia withPaulowniaCrush in the fall of 2004.Subsequent CD releases include "Seventeen" (Zipangu, 2005), entirelyrecorded on the giant 17-stringbass koto, and "Live! at SuperDeluxe" (Idiolect/Bomba, 2006), a trioperformance with bassistIngebrigt Håker Flaten and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love. A studiorecordingwith Dresser andRothenberg, a duo album with Sharp, a “Nordic” session with EivindAarsetand Raymond Pellicer, andlive recordings of the touring trio Brötzmann/Yagi/Nilssen-Love areforthcoming. An eclecticperformer who continually challenges conventions, Michiyo has madefrequent appearances onJapanese TV and has performed at the Kongsberg Jazz, Moers Jazz,Punkt,Musique ActuelVictoriaville, Archipel, Bang on a Can, Tokyo Summer, and VisionFestivals.

Teodora Brody

Born: September 30, 1967

Born in Romania, and now based in Switzerland, Teodora Brody initially trained in classical jazz and rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s singing with legendary jazz pianist Johnny Răducanu.

Acclaimed for her extraordinary vocal power and creative vision, Teodora pioneered the fusion of jazz with Doina – Romania’s improvisatory folk singing tradition – and is widely credited with introducing international audiences to this extraordinary, deeply emotive music.

Always searching for new musical territories to explore, Teodora has performed alongside musicians including Stanley Jordan, Theodosii Spassov, Lars Danielsson, Johnny Răducanu, Les Paul, Curtis Fuller, Eric Legnini, Phillippe Duchemin, Guido Manusardi, Benny Rietveld, Daniele di Bonaventura, Ion Baciu and Al Copley. On the world stage, Teodora has regularly appeared at prestigious European jazz festivals including Montreux, Lugano and Marciac, and across the Atlantic she has performed at the US Library of Congress and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and at legendary clubs including Iridium New York and Blues Alley in Washington D.C.

James Popik

With 20 years of professional experience as a musician, James Popik has met and developed high quality working relationships with many talented and creative people. Jazz, Acoustic, Funk, and Jamband.

Currently recording the "Sourland Symphony" an all acoustic all instrumental record inspired by and dedicated to the Sourland mountain, James plans a Spring '24 release. Influenced by guitarist as diverse as Wes Montgomery and Duane Allman, Popik eschews labels and genres. Always striving for the highest level of craft and deepest honesty in musical expression.

Willie Hill

Born: July 1, 1952

Willie Hill Biography

Willie Hill is a veteran musician who spent a number of years playing with touring R&B and soul acts before starting his own recording studio and record label in Durham, NC.

Hill is a native of Durham and attended North Carolina Central University (located in Durham), where he played trumpet in the University's marching band. He began playing guitar as a teenager and soon gravitated to bass guitar, a move which landed him his first band gig, at age 15.

By the age of 19, Hill was playing bass with the Communicators and had written a hit single, "One Chance," which was recorded by the group in 1974 and is featured on the 1999 album Lost Soul Oldies, Vol. 5.

Great Aunt Ruth & the Saucy Cats

It all began when aspiring singer-songwriter Kathryn Joy met veteran pianist Joel Scott at a jazz bar on a cruise ship somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  Scott, who had worked with such notables as the Jackson 5, Aretha Franklin, Lou Rawls, Dionne Warwick, Marlena Shaw and O.C. Smith, heard not only the enthusiasm of Ms. Joy but saw a great deal of potential in both her songs and her voice.  He became her mentor.

Thus began an important–if sadly short-lived–musical collaboration.  Together, they formed Great Aunt Ruth & the Saucy Cats and recorded four of Kathryn Joy's songs.  But just six days after their last recording session in 2015, Joel Scott passed away.  

Fortunately, he left the songwriter in good hands.  Rahn Coleman, a notable vocal coach, arranger and keyboardist, became her producer.  She was also joined by trumpeter-recording engineer Nolan "KatDaddy" Shaheed.  Coleman and Shaheed have been invaluable contributors to Kathryn Joy's career and the recording of their EP All About the Music in Your Heart. 

"The Ballad of Kitty Bandit" (2022) is the group's theatrical follow-on to the Django hot jazz style single "On Ne Sait Jamais" (2021).  It blends a 1920s New Orleans feel with 1950s Dixieland blues and a few modern touches and features Nolan "KatDaddy" Shaheed's colourful trumpet with a swinging band.  

Phil Raskin

Born: June 10, 1957

Phil Raskin is a world-renowned drummer, percussionist, and producer with over four decades of professional experience. His impressive career has taken him to more than 30 countries worldwide.

Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, Phil began working in the music industry as a teenager, mentored by legendary guitarist Bill DeArango. He became a member of the house band at The Smiling Dog Saloon, a renowned jazz mecca in Cleveland, where he performed with talented musicians who would later become internationally acclaimed, including Joe Lovano, Billy Drewes, Skip Hadden, Jamey Haddad, Abe Laboriel, and Kenny Werner. 
Phil has shared the stage with some of the greatest performers in jazz history, such as George Benson, Kenny Burrell, Roy Ayers, Pharaoh Sanders, Stan Getz, Gary Burton, and Weather Report.

Walter Baco

Baco is an artist, active in several art movements. Living in Vienna, he works as a pianist, composer, author, creator of radio dramas, director and conducts a dance theatre company (Carousel Theater). He creates timeless art for savourers, beyond all fashions and styles. Baco has been composing since the age of five - yet hardly using music paper, he simply improvises. He gains inspiration out of every moment, living in and from the flow. During live-performances he often combines several art movements to one holistic experience. Besides commissional compositions for TV, film and stage he also realises cooperations with companies, the media, communities and institutions and is engaged in social and peace activities. Several times Baco has already been working as Artist in Residence and is invited to play concerts and guest performances on various official occasions.The artist has written several books and has released audio books as well as music CDs.

Yogev Shetrit

Born: June 17, 1978

Yogev Shetrit, an international composer and drummer was born in 1978. Earned his BA in Musicology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Shetrit was the founder and member of the famous worldwide Coolooloosh band. Shetrit has performed with notable artists, including Chuchito Valdez, Tia Fuller, Arnie Lawrence, Paulo Morello, & Kevin Mahogany. 

Shetrit, a composer at heart, created his trio in 2016 in order to play his original compositions.

Martin Loyato

Born: February 16, 1971

Martín Loyato is an Argentinean-American composer, multi-instrumentalist, improviser, poet, conductor, educator, and visual artist. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His diverse artistic and educational background includes early studies at the Conservatory Superior of Music in Buenos Aires, a B.F.A. in Composition and Trumpet Performance at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), and a Masters and Ph.D. in Composition at The State University of New York, Stony Brook.

He studied trumpet with Arturo Sandoval, Edward Carroll, Eric Aubier, Howie Shear, Bill Bing, Gabriel Archilla, and Osvaldo Lacunza and has studied with composers such as Evi Giangrante, Stephen Lucky Mosko, Anne Lebaron, Wadada Leo Smith, Ivo Medek, Bunita Marcus, Peter Winkler, Daria Semegen, and Sheila Silver.