Jazz/Blues
EXCLUSIVE: Classicalite Q&A with PROTOTYPE Festival Founders Beth Morrison and HERE's Kristin Marting, Kim Whitener on Courtney Love, Stefan Weisman, Bora Yoon and What's Next
New York City Disability Pride Parade Set to Run July 12, Mike LeDonne Holds Fundraiser at (L)PR Jan. 8
New York City is known as a cultural stomping ground for those of any stripe — or rainbow — but a new festival is set to take place a month after next year's Gay Pride festival in July: the Disability Pride NYC Parade.Perhaps the driving force behind the march is a bit unusual but, according to "The New York Times," jazz pianist Mike LeDonne has a firsthand experience with disability in his home as his daughter, Mary, suffers from Prader-Willi syndrome.PWS, according to the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association, is a genetic disorder that affects appetite, growth, metabolism, cognitive function and behavior. The disorder also causes blindness and requires Mary to use a wheelchair some of the time. Bluegrass Pioneer Jake Schepps Releases New Album 'Entwined' with Matt Flinner, Marc Mellits, Matt McBane and Gyan Riley; to Play Show at SubCulture in February
Jake Schepps, banjo pioneer and trailblazer in the contemporary bluegrass scene, will release his latest album "Entwined" Jan. 27, to be performed live on his North American tour.The latest album will features bold, new work by ingenious classical composers written for the quintessential bluegrass combo of banjo, mandolin, guitar, violin and bass and will be performed at an intimate evening show at Subculture in New York City Feb. 4. The show will highlight the album’s all-acoustic work by Schepps from contemporary-classical composers Marc Mellits, Matt McBane and Gyan Riley, as well as mandolinist-composer Matt Flinner.Schepps reached out to musicians who have compelled him in the hopes that "Entwined" would make a big statement. The musicians all responded in their own unique ways.Mellits’s reckless and highly rhythmic eight-part Flatiron and McBane’s five-movement Drawn translates traditional bluegrass instrumentation into the age of electronica. Riley’s Stumble Smooth combines free jazz, bluegrass, gypsy music and jagged modernism, which Schepps calls “the burliest piece of music I’ve ever worked on in my life.” Flinner rounds out the group with bluegrass-infused, classically-inspired modernism. The result is an album with beautiful Appalachian tones but also bold, thrilling, new textures.
