Waves of Tradition

Your heart is pounding; you feel the vibration throughout your body, all the way down to your toes.  Music can be all-encompassing, producing a flurry of emotions within us.  This is what I felt while watching some extremely talented performers at last weeks’ ‘Waves of Tradition’ a free art program event held at Brookfield Place, 230 Vesey Street, Downtown NYC.  This week long event held in the Winter Garden showed a performance by a different group each day, it was marketed as a, “celebration of New York City and the waves of immigrant cultures that make up its rich history.”  I felt very fortunate to be able to view these performances. 

Day 1: Africa, performer Salieu Suso & Ebrima Jassey used an instrument called the kora and a balafon to play music as they shared some traditional songs.  I’m sad I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of their performance but the music was moving.  To hear Salieu Suso and learn about the artist check out his site www.salieususo.fourfour.com/home

Day 2: Ireland, group Jameson’s Revenge was a trio of John Walsh (guitar & vocals), Denis McCarthy (fiddler), Andrew McCarrick (flute & tin whistles). They shared with the audience some reels and jigs with a history of which region of Ireland each originated from, the music took you away, especially the fiddle, I got a feeling like I was somewhere outside, enjoying the outdoors.  The cutest part was a toddler listening began to dance to one of the songs; kids are always free to do what we wish we could.  If you want to check out Jameson’s Revenge you can find them on Facebook.

Day 3: Japan, this was a dance company led by Sachiyo Ito, I don’t know any other time I’d get an opportunity to see traditional Japanese dances which according to the event page https://brookfieldplaceny.com/events/Waves  included Kabuki, Noh, Okinawan Court, and Juita-mai.  They also perform contemporary dances.  Their attire, makeup, and performance seemed flawless; I am definitely a fan of this dance troop.  If you'd like to see more photos check our Gallery page  or check out their page http://dancejapan.com/

Day 4: Arab World, the Zikrayat Ensemble explained each piece and performed music and dances from what they dubbed the ‘Golden Age of Egyptian musical cinema, back in the 40’s and 60’s. They played the violin, drum, and an oud (small guitar similar to a lute).  I admit I enjoyed some songs more than others, but they were great musicians.  Toward the end of the performance, they had a belly dance join them, funny how the crowd almost doubled when she made her debut but her dancing was beautiful and brought liveliness to the stage.  Check them out at http://www.zikrayatmusic.com/

Day 5: Latin America, I was very excited to see this performer because the music was described as using sounds from Ecuadorian history.  My father is originally from Ecuador and loves to play old songs on the guitar almost as much as I love listening to him play.  This group was not traditional pan flutes and guitars.  However, Helado Negro (Roberto Carlos Lange) mixed the feeling of those folk tunes with more contemporary sounds.  His group consisted of two saxophones, a drummer, violinist, keyboard, and vocals.  The performance was a great way to close the weeklong celebration of different cultures and sounds.

Finally, I should mention the curator of this program; Live Sounds is dedicated to sharing international music and dance programs.  http://livesounds.org/about/

#music #performancearts #dance