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| The National Jazz Museum in Harlem September Events!  NEW EXHIBIT: BEBO VALDÉS, GIANT of AFRO-CUBAN MUSICOpening Night Reception: Tuesday, September 16, 5:00-7:00 pm FOUR JAMS ABOUT BEBO VALDÉS In connection with the exhibit BEBO VALDÉS: HIS MUSIC. HIS CUBA. HIS LEGACY, the National Jazz Museum In Harlem presents four Tuesday night listening sessions with commentary by and conversation with writer, music director and Master of ceremonies Ned Sublette. Ned Sublette is the author of several books, including Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo (Chicago Review Press), and is a musician whose recordings include Kiss You Down South (Postmambo). He is the founder of the Center for Postmambo Studies and co-founder of the public radio program Afropop Worldwide Hip Deep. . Tuesday, September 9th, 7:00 pm Jazz on Film: Old Man Bebo Curated by: The National Jazz Museum in Harlem Tickets: $10.00 Location: Maysles Cinema 343 Lenox Avenue (between 127th and 128th Streets) Screening ofthe 111-minute biographical film by Carlos Carcas, which features Bebo Valdés, Chucho Valdés, the Valdés families, Omara Portuondo, Pío Leyva, Israel López "Cachao, " Guillermo Álvarez Guedes, Paquito D'Rivera, Fernando Trueba, Cesar Portillo De La Luz, Ángel Díaz, Leonardo Acosta. Preceded by a brief introduction by Ned Sublette and a brief Q & A after. . Tuesday, September 16th, 7:00-8:30 pm Jazz For Curious Listeners The Strangeness of Bebo's Century Donation Suggested Location: The National Jazz Museum in Harlem 104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C On the opening night of the exhibit BEBO VALDÉS: HIS MUSIC. HIS CUBA. HIS LEGACY, we'll listen to recordings from different moments of Bebo Valdés' career to get a snapshot of who he was, including: *) one of the originators of the big-band style called mambo; *) the first jazz musician in Cuba to record a jam session; *) arranger, music director, and sometimes mentor for recordings by many famous Cuban singers, including Rolando La Serie, Pío Leyva, Celeste Mendoza, Fernando Álvarez, and many more; *) the high-profile pianist of the famed Tropicana orchestra, personally selected by Nat "King" Cole to be the pianist on his Havana recordings; *) an influential figure in Haiti, where he played for months at a time; *) the creator of the batanga rhythm that brought sacred batá drum rhythms into popular music; *) the star of an unprecedented 21st-century career renaissance with a string of new music and film productions made while he was in his 80s, including the international hit album Lágrimas Negras with flamenco singer Diego El Cigala; and much more. Tuesday, September 23rd, 7:00-8:30 pm Jazz For Curious Listeners Bebo Con Poco Coco Donation Suggested Location: The National Jazz Museum in Harlem 104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C When US jazz producer Norman Granz visited Havana in 1952, Bebo Valdés recorded the first Cuban descarga, or jam, for him. The name of the number, "Con Poco Coco, " means something like, "Without Forethought." In that spirit, we're going to play some of Bebo's smoking-est numbers from the period when he was a leader in Cuban music. SPECIAL GUEST: RENÉ LÓPEZ Friday, September 26th, 7:00pm Harlem in the Himalayas John Escreet & The Sirius Quartet Tickets: $18.00 in advance / $20.00 day of Member Price: $16.20 Location: The Rubin Museum of Art 150 W 17th Street Over the course of his career, John Escreet has earned a reputation as one of the most active and diverse composers working in jazz and improvised music. His prolific output is reflected over the course of 6 diverse and critically acclaimed albums - the most recent being Sound, Space and Structures which partners his working Trio (with John Hébert on bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums) with the iconic free-jazz saxophonist Evan Parker. Born and bred in the downtown scene of New York City, the Sirius Quartet blends the precision of classical music with the raw energy of a rock band. The four conservatory-trained musicians are also highly skilled improvisers, and whether playing acoustic or electric, they push beyond the conventional sonic vocabulary associated with string instruments. From Lincoln Center and the Köln Triennale to the Knitting Factory and CBGB's, Sirius have taken their genre-bending music to halls and clubs across the globe. Tuesday, September 30th, 7:00-8:30 pm Jazz For Curious Listeners Bebo's Greatest Student: Chucho Valdés Donation Suggested Location: The National Jazz Museum in Harlem 104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C This session looks at the career of Bebo's son, Chucho Valdés, who is today one of the world's great pianists. Chucho began playing piano at about the age of three; he doesn't remember not playing it. He tagged along with Bebo everywhere, played four-handed piano with him at home, observed him at work, and subbed for him on gigs until Bebo left Cuba in 1960. Then the 18-year-old Chucho became his family's sole support, and in 1973, with the success of the tune "Bacalao Con Pan, " Chucho's band Irakere became famous in Cuba. Bebo and Chucho did not communicate for eighteen years, then reunited backstage at Carnegie Hall in 1978. Their relationship grew over subsequent decades into a close collaboration in Bebo's final years. write your comments about the article :: © 2014 Jazz News :: home page |