Composer-pianist Vijay Iyer (pronounced “VID-jay EYE-yer”) has carved out a unique path as an influential, prolific, shape-shifting presence in modern music. He was described by Pitchfork as “one of the best in the world at what he does,” by the Los Angeles Weekly as “a boundless and deeply important young star,” and by The New…
Lakou Mizik is a multigenerational collective of Haitian musicians formed in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake. The group includes elder legends and rising young talents, united in a mission to honor the healing spirit of their culture and communicate a message of pride, strength, and hope to their countrymen and the world. Lakou…
Pianist Emmet Cohen began Suzuki method piano instruction at age 3. In 2011, he was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition. He recently won the Cole Porter Fellowship, which is awarded every four years by the American Pianists Association. In addition to leading his own trio (with Russell Hall and Kyle Poole),…
Allison de Groot (clawhammer banjo) & Tatiana Hargreaves (fiddle, vocals) are an old-time duo that creates a sound that is adventurous, masterful and original, as they expand on the eccentricities of these old songs while never losing sight of what makes them endure. Please note: To ensure the well-being of our patrons, artists, and staff,…
Creole-born musician C.J. Chenier delivers soulful vocals along with masterful accordion-driven zydeco and blues. Chenier has performed alongside many internationally-recognized artists including his father, Clifton Chenier (“The King of Zydeco”), Paul Simon, Joe Sample and Ray Parker, Jr. In addition to his Grammy Award nomination in the Best Regional Roots Music Album category, C.J. Chenier…
Pianist Emmet Cohen began Suzuki method piano instruction at age 3. In 2011, he was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition. He recently won the Cole Porter Fellowship, which is awarded every four years by the American Pianists Association. In addition to leading his own trio (with Russell Hall and Kyle Poole), Cohen is…
Samara Joy recently won the Sarah Vaughn International Jazz Vocal Competition, and released her debut recording. Growing up in the Bronx in a musical family, Samara Joy was influenced by the sounds of gospel and R&B, and artists including Stevie Wonder, Lalah Hathaway, George Duke, and many others. Her first exposure to jazz was at…
Jon Cleary’s work pays obvious homage to the classic Crescent City keyboard repertoire created by such icons as Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Art Neville, Dr. John, and James Booker – while also using it as a launching pad for a style that incorporates such other diverse influences as ’70s soul and R&B,…
Lakou Mizik is a multigenerational collective of Haitian musicians formed in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake. The group includes elder legends and rising young talents, united in a mission to honor the healing spirit of their culture and communicate a message of pride, strength and hope to their countrymen and the world. Lakou…
Cedric Burnside still lives on several acres not far from the Holly Springs, Mississippi, home where he was raised by “Big Daddy,” his grandfather, the late singer/songwriter/guitarist R.L. Burnside. Cedric was literally born to the blues, more specifically, the “rhythmically unorthodox” Hill country variant which emerged from Mississippi, where he grew up surrounded (and influenced)…
In a first for the SMF chamber music series, we travel to the magnificent surroundings of the Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden, for a program of fantasy and drama. In a semi-staged, partly programmatic concert, Impressionist France meets the mysterious world of Edgar Allan Poe, with a reading of Poe’s macabre tale “The Masque of…
This one-time-only bill showcases several giants of the six-string. Formed in 2004, the John Jorgenson Quintet is the only American act to ever headline the prestigious Django Reinhardt Memorial Festival in France. While the band’s style has been called “Gypsy Jazz” for its dynamic string-driven swing sound based on the music played by Django Reinhardt…
This one-time-only bill showcases several giants of the six-string. Formed in 2004, the John Jorgenson Quintet is the only American act to ever headline the prestigious Django Reinhardt Memorial Festival in France. While the band’s style has been called “Gypsy Jazz” for its dynamic string-driven swing sound based on the music played by Django Reinhardt…
Les Filles de Illighadad come from a secluded commune in central Niger, far off in the scrubland deserts at the edge of the Sahara. Fatou Seidi Ghali, lead vocalist and guitarist, is one of the only female Tuareg guitarists in Niger. Les Filles de Illighadad perform tende music, a traditional form dominated by women and…
A rising star of the explosive and multi-dimensional Colombian music scene, Diana Burco is a singer-songwriter and accordion player. A native of Bucaramanga in the Andes mountains district of Santander, Burco has played and investigated Colombia’s traditional music since she was a child. She has traveled throughout Colombia searching out the country’s varied forms and…
Called “one of the most exceptional violinists and fiddlers of his generation” by WGBH, Grammy-nominated violinist and composer Jeremy Kittel’s music inhabits the space between classical and acoustic roots, Celtic and bluegrass aesthetics, and folk and jazz sensibilities. According to The Bluegrass Situation, Kittel & Co. has “accomplished a feat of new acoustic, string band-rooted…
A rising star of the explosive and multi-dimensional Colombian music scene, Diana Burco is a singer-songwriter and accordion player. A native of Bucaramanga in the Andes mountains district of Santander, Burco has played and investigated Colombia’s traditional music since she was a child. She has traveled throughout Colombia searching out the country’s varied forms and…
Called “one of the most exceptional violinists and fiddlers of his generation” by WGBH, Grammy-nominated violinist and composer Jeremy Kittel’s music inhabits the space between classical and acoustic roots, Celtic and bluegrass aesthetics, and folk and jazz sensibilities. According to The Bluegrass Situation, Kittel & Co. has “accomplished a feat of new acoustic, string band-rooted…
