Brooklyn Qawwali Party at Lincoln Center

How fantastic that Lincoln Center hosts outdoor concerts, and even more fantastic that it showcases new talent. Last night the rain clouds held out as the crowd of 2,500 listened to Brooklyn Qawwali Party rock the Damrosch Park Bandshell last night. A fusion of Pakistani Qawwali music and jazz instruments, the band embodies globalization at its best. Paying tribute to one of the world's great vocalists, the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, BQP reworked his songs to create an eclectic, groundbreaking jazz. Check out their YouTube of an earlier performance.

A Global Perspective

Imagine if you can, opening your email and finding something that inspires you to share it with others. No, it's not a prayer that you have to send to ten of your best friends RIGHT NOW, but an account of a recent trip to Equador. Jazz trumpet player Jesse Neuman of Brooklyn Qawwali Party, spent the month of July in Equador teaching music to children. What he shared with them, and with me in this story, is incredibly moving.
By the way, you can catch Jesse and the Brooklyn Qawwali Party at the Out of Doors program at Lincoln Center next Wednesday, April 12th at 7:30 pm.

Buenas--

An amazing day today. We went to play a concert at the Miraflores community within their central park (apparently they 'owned' the land before the city built the park, so now they live in a sort of
'reservation' and work...for very little...for the park). These people are so poor---I mean, shacks and chickens and dirty faces, like in the commercials, but they are so warm and beautiful. I got there early in a cab, and a little boy literally ran up to me, touched my scruffy face, and asked me why my hair was blonde! They rang this siren that is a signal for them to all gather by the community house, which is like a broken down barn, with one outlet dangling from the ceiling and zero furnishings save for a bench or two, and lots of people gathered. They were all a little shy but as soon as the truck with the instruments arrived they all wanted to help unload it. We sat in a circle on the floor and talked and played for the better part of an hour (amidst kids who were 3 and 4 up through 12 and 13). I showed them the instruments and how they work, we pretended to use all
of our limbs to play the drums and then 4 kids came up to try them for real. We tried the electric bass too, and at the end I had 9 girls up playing percussion. It was really fun, and felt pretty amazing to give the kids an experience that have never had and probably won't for a while if at all in the future.

Later in the afternoon, all of the students gathered at the school for a final concert featuring the various jazz ensembles. The kids were all standing in a big circle with drums and bass in the back. We played along with techno-tango in a trio, "Unravel" in a quartet, "What Reason" as a quintet, with two 'mujeres' for a popular spanish power ballad, and then with the bigger bands (Hottentot, Your Pleasure..., Batman, Watermelon Man, Canteloupe Island, and Too Kareemi). The kids took solos and were basically awesome. This 11 year old cornet player was amazing, and even the littlest kids were able to play with confidence. Afterwards I got to give Pedro Morales (who lives with his 5 brothers and sisters and parents in one room) a new silver trombone. He looked like he was walking on air, and must have thanked me a dozen times! When we were finished playing I felt like a celebrity/santa claus posing for pictures and hugs and pictures of hugs. Lila (whose undone braid revealed hair down to her knees) was almost in tears, and Joel begged his mother for a sixth posed photograph. I got so many hugs and thanks, but the best came from Maria Jose. This is a girl with no parents, no money, living with her aging grandparents and wearing the same clothes to school every day. She gave me a stuffed animal dog that says, "Un regalo con amor" (A gift with love)---the likes of which she probably hasn't in her own home. Wow.

I'm here for 4 more days, but finishing classes today somehow brought a palpable closure to this experience. So many of these kids have so little, and yet are more motivated, more positive, and more loving than others I have met with considerably "more" of everything. Life here is sometimes clumsy, spread a little thin, and certainly involves less 'stuff', but it has a warm and caring quality based on family and camaraderie that is dwarfs the richer and more developed ways I have known. I'll be sad to go and already thinking of my return.

Tea Lounge and the Barbarians

Last week, jazz trumpet player Jesse Neuman invited Olivia to sit in with eight-plus member band The Barbarians at the Tea Lounge in Brooklyn on the night of their last performance. Her solo is about two thirds into the first song. Even Jackson got into the act with some swift dance moves to the song "Nice Feet." The place was packed-- people lounging on the couches with their laptops, others crowding the bar, and a healthy dose of Barbarian fans. Founded by Tony Barba, a tenor sax player, the band plays some awesome original rowdy jazz pieces mixed with covers of "Everybody's Working for the Weekend" and my personal favorite, "Barracuda". Barba, now moving to Chicago, was roasted by night's end, lofted high in the air with drummer Brook Martinez leading the crowd in chanting his name. It was a great way to celebrate the music these talented musicians have created over the years as both the Barbarians and the ongoing Brooklyn Qawwali Party.

Brooklyn Qawwali Party Fundraiser

BQP will be performing this Thursday at Crash Mansion in Manhattan at a benefit for underprivileged children in India organized by CRY America, a not-for-profit dedicated to Children's rights around the world (cry.org). Please come out and support this noble cause and to hear one of the best jazz/global synthesis bands I've ever seen live. 12 talented musicians-- one amazing sound. Check out their website for a sample of their music: http://www.bqpmusic.com/
Thursday, May 14, 2009: 7-10 pm
Mikey and Jonny Wax: 7-8 pm
Brooklyn Qawwali Party: 8:30-10 pm
Tickets: $25 (all donations are tax deductible)
Crash Mansion, 199 Bowery, (between Spring Street & Rivington) New York, NY 10002

In other BQP news, they will be performing on the Damrosch Park Bandshell as part of the Lincoln Center Out of Doors festival, August 12th, sharing the stage with Susheela Raman and her latest artistic endeavor, OuterIndia.

Also, stay tuned for the exact broadcast time of the CBS documentary about religion and music featuring BQP. Tentatively June 7th at noon (on CBS), but subject to change.