Results for "World Music"

Taeko Kunishima

Born: September 2

"I was born in Japan and studied classical piano performance at university. When I heard Miles Davis on the radio, I switched to jazz.

I had a long absence from musical activity while living in the Middle East, and shortly after, in my youth. By experiencing different cultures and listening to Japanese, classical, jazz and  Arabic music I was inspired to write my own diverse compositions ." —Taeko Kunishima (June 2022)

Kunishima has released five albums on 33 jazz records and been played on  BBC Radio 3 Late Junction, Jazz FM, BBC World, and Resonance FM.

Gary Meyers

Flamenco guitarist, composer, and performer Gary Meyers didn’t grow up immersed in the exotic rhythms of Andalusia, but he intuitively taps into the Spanish spirit to perform this storied traditional music with reverence and dazzling virtuosity. The Castle Rock, Colorado-based artist’s story is how a lifelong musician who played Van Halen- style electric guitar heard a friend play flamenco, and then experienced a revelation that sent him on a transformative artistic adventure. “Flamenco is the sister music of Northern America’s blues—both come from oppressed people. The passion of flamenco is like that of the original blues artists, and, when I first heard it, it touched my soul, There’s a lot of struggle and pain in this music, and that melds us together,” Meyers says

Dan Costa

Born: April 7, 1989

Dan Costa is a cosmopolitan jazz/ world music pianist, composer and producer, praised for melodic sensibility (DownBeat), rare and luxurious output (All About Jazz) and profound expression (Jazziz). His music reflects his mixed cultural background as well as his fondness for the natural environment, bringing together philosophical concepts, modern jazz colours and world music rhythms. It has been featured by Rolling Stone Magazine, Sky and the BBC, among others. As an educator, Costa has been a guest lecturer at institutions such as the Royal Academy of Music, Monash University, University of New South Wales and University of Auckland

Francis Jocky

Multitalented singer, songwriter, producer & actor, Francis Jocky is something of an enigma, an artist with universal appeal and blessed with a unique voice. Raised in Paris, France and now living in New York City, Francis Jocky has developed a sound that transcends borders.

He’s rapidly becoming an international personality, sharing the microphone with the likes of Bono of U2 and Stevie Wonder, just to name a few.

From an early age he learned to express himself through music and by the age of twelve had begun playing piano and writing his own songs

Mark Lotz

Born: June 12, 1963

Mark Lotz – Flutist, Improviser, Composer

Mark Lotz is more than just a leading voice in the European jazz scene. He stands at the intersection of jazz, classical, and world music – and enjoys every second of it! (Tomas Peña, Jazz.com & Latin Jazz Network)

Raised in Thailand, Uganda, and Germany, Lotz’s musical journey has always been global. His collaborations extend far beyond jazz, encompassing world music, theater, performance and visual arts, film, dance, and live visuals. As an improviser and composer, he continuously pushes the expressive possibilities of his instrument, blending the aesthetics and techniques of contemporary and classical music with the energy of jazz.

Ludwik Konopko

Born: December 7, 1970

Ludwik Konopko - Polish guitarist and composer. He was born in Lviv and has been living in Poland since 1991. He had his first public appearance as a guitarist at the age of 19, when he performed in an orchestra at the Lviv National Philharmonic. In 1989 he co-created his first band Tea Fan Club (TFC), which is still considered today a legendary musical project in Ukraine. In 1999 he created the band Cocotier together with Andrzej Krośniak and in 2002 Ludwik Konopko founded his own Acoustic Travel Band. Both groups performed all over Europe for several years and participated in many musical festivals

Alan Chan

Born: May 5, 1978

Working musicians in some large ensembles can be forgiven for zoning out from time to time between their assigned parts, as long as they come through on cue. But when you’re performing the challenging big band music of Alan Chan, there's a good chance you’ll mess up if you’re not constantly on alert. “I like there to be surprises in my pieces, places where the music doesn’t go where or how you’d expect,” says the leader. Shrimp Tale, the captivating debut album by the Alan Chan Jazz Orchestra—one of the brightest of recent additions to the Los Angeles jazz scene—is full of unexpected turns and instrumental combinations

Nymphya

Born: June 25

California-based NYMPHYA is an Ethereal Baroque Pop / Folktronica Art-Pop recording artist / producer whose music is lightly suffused with Worldbeat, Classical and Avant-garde. Her Art-Pop style is best described as a stirring collage of eclectic beats, soaring vocals, haunting soundscapes, and captivating samples mixed with acoustic and electric instruments. Nymphya's lyrics, inspired by Nature and the Mystical, are most often philosophical or transpersonal, and transport the listener to a mystical land or a place of deep reflection ... “more of an immersion than a listening session” wrote one of her fans. Prior to launching NYMPHYA, Valentina O has appeared throughout the United States as an opera singer (NYCO and SF Opera), actor (Magic Theater), performer and musician, guesting on numerous soundtracks for television, film and commercials (Time/Life Warner, IMAX, and Garfield), on multiple CD projects for recording artists,(Sky Cafe and Royal Fingerbowl) backing up John Cale (The Velvet Underground) on the Tonight Show, appearing on MTV with her group Screaming Divas, and opening for Todd Rundgren at the Fillmore in San Francisco, for George Benson at Villa Montalvo, and Dana Carvey at the Shoreline Ampitheatre. NYMPHYA has released three albums: Her all original debut, DREAM DANCE, in December 2017, her all-acoustic anthology of Kate Bush cover songs, NAKED KATE, in December 2019, and her sampler 6 song EP CURIOS in October 2021

Dave Schoepke

Born: July 15, 1969

Dave Schoepke is an accomplished drummer from the Greater Milwaukee area. He has been the drummer for The Willy Porter Band since 2002 with three acclaimed albums with Willy. In addition to recording and touring he has numerous television and radio appearances. Dave has had the pleasure of working with the Legendary Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre. Dave toured with Martin’s band in 2017 and briefly in 2018. He appears on his Live At The Factory Underground album released in 2019. His project, Drums On Low, has received acclaimed reviews from Modern Drummer, Recording Magazine, and numerous global on-line music critics

Max ZT

“I think we’re in the midst of a mass awakening,” says Max ZT, “a kind of collective reprioritization. It feels like we’ve been forging our way through the darkness, and now the light is finally about to break through.” 

With Daybreak, Max’s mesmerizing new album of hammered dulcimer music, the light has arrived. Recorded at home in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fully-improvised instrumental collection channels all of the hope and fear and pain and discovery of these past few years into a captivating sonic journey that’s equal parts medicine and meditation. The songs here are spare and deliberate, calling on Indian, African, and Celtic traditions as they move with grace and wonder, and the performances are nothing short of entrancing, managing to showcase both Max’s virtuosic command of his instrument and the innovative approach that’s earned him widespread acclaim. A national champion performer, Max has been praised as the Jimi Hendrix of the hammered dulcimer by NPR, but Daybreak isn’t about fireworks or flash. Instead, the album is an offering, an ego-sublimating invitation to step outside of yourself and find peace and comfort in reflection.