Sita Frederick (Artistic Dir., Areytos Performance Works) is a choreographer, performer, and dance instructor of Caribbean and contemporary dance forms. She has studied traditional and social dances from Cuba, Haiti, & Dominican Republic with Ricardo Colon, Richard Gonzalez, Rosamaria Roberts, Pedro Raposo, Marily Gallardo, Ajna Kramer, Pupy Insua, Jean-Leon Destiné, Carolyn Web, Rebecca Bliss, Chino Pons and members of Cuban dance companies from Ban Rarra and Yoruba Andabo. Her latest dance-theater project, “What Do You Dance On?”, depicts the tension between Cuban and On 2 Salsa dancers in New York City.
For more info on Sita Frederick go to: www.myspace.com/areytos
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Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Cuban Dance Workshop
Areytos Performance Works Presents:
Cuban Dance Workshop
with Sita Frederick & Carlos Mateu
New Classes for July & August - ¡Ahí Na' Ma!
Learn The Roots Of Salsa In A Class
featuring both
"Cuban Son" (the origins of On 2)
"Casino Dance" (Salsa Cubana)
Short lectures on the evolution of Afro-Cuban music will inform each class and help dancers distinguish between various claves, Son, Guaracha, Guajira and Mambo. Appropriate for Beginner-Intermediate Salsa Dancers.
Tuesdays - July 14, 21, 28, Aug 4, 11, 18, 25
Fee: $20 per class (new students $10 the first class)
Time: 7:00 - 8:30pm
Location: Harlem Dance Foundation
144 West 121 St. (btw Lenox & AC Powell)
New York, NY 10027
DJ Medina: A musicologist on the ones and twos
In the 90’s, just as Cuban timba was earning its stripes on the New York City music scene, Brooklyn native David Medina, fresh out of art school, got his first gig as a professional DJ, specializing in Latin music parties. Today, it’s how he earns a living.
DJ Medina: A musicologist on the ones and twosby Raquel Penzo
Reporting from New York City
“I’m not much of a beat-matcher—that’s not my thing,” Medina tells me during our interview, on a hot and humid day in Union Square Park. “I’m about the music. I love music. I love rhythms. I can listen to a punk rock tune now, then a merengue tune two minutes later and then a reggae tune and it all makes sense to me rhythmically.”
I caught up with Medina this summer after a weekend of shadowing him at two events: a Brazilian Party at Luke and Leroy’s in the village, and his semi-regular gig at Williamsburg’s hot spot, Bembe.
“I enjoyed [the gigs that weekend]. I love the fact that they’re not the same. Friday with the Brazilian Party and Saturday at Bembe…it’s actually the most fun party because of the place. And I get to play really amazing music there, because I prefer music from all over the world At Bembe I really get to showcase a lot of my African, Brazilian, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican merengue…it’s a nice venue for that. The people appreciate it there.”
It was Medina’s third party with the promoters of the Brazilian party, which usually includes one-to-two live bands and a DJ. The night I went, the band featured the Samba New York percussionists. Partygoers got so into it that the floor shook on the venue’s second floor.
When Medina took over for the band, he mixed Afro-Brazilian favorites with a little salsa and merengue. Enough so that, even though I was “on assignment” I just had to dance. The feedback I received from revelers was all positive. “If you knew DJ Medina was spinning, would you come back?” I asked a few people. Each time I got a resounding, “Absolutely” and “Definitely. He was off the chain!”
That tidbit humbles Medina. “It’s a good feeling; that’s why I still DJ and I’ve been doing it for a while. It’s great to know that in some small way I’m affecting people in a positive way.”
Medina starting “positively affecting” people way back in 1998, when, after DJ-ing at a slew of friends’ parties, he was invited to spin at promoter Roger Barr’s Cuban Soul Wednesdays at Nell’s, a now defunct City club. Medina stayed with that gig for six years, earning another regular spot with the Havanarumba promoters and garnering a small following of old school Cuban music aficionados. At the weekly events, he played more traditional Cuban son and guanguanco…with a little Los Van Van thrown in for the young bloods in the crowd.
“From 1998-2003, I saw a lot of the same people out 2 or 3 times a week, but the energy has changed. They’ve gotten older, married…I haven’t had a gig like that since, where the old Cuban cats in their suits and hats and black and white shoes…those old rumberos…I miss those guys…that was a great party.”
His love of music started way back, when he would listen to his dad’s old records. Although they’re of Dominican ancestry, David and his father favored the more intense and syncopated rhythms of the Cuban son. “My father was a dancer and a percussionist in DR, and he knew a lot of musicians. And he had a big record collection, including a lot of Perez Prado and Cuban music.”
In his teens, Medina rebelled from his Latin music roots and got into punk rock, etc, but while studying art in college asked himself: who am I? That’s when he began to rediscover merengue and salsa. And his affinity for Cuban timba music.
His art and music have always meshed, even as a young boy. One of his earliest music-art-related memories are of him drawing all over his dad’s Willie Colon records. “My music and my art influence each other, because I’m Dominican and that means knowing that we are a mix of African and indigenous peoples, and with my artwork I have references to Orishas, which have their basis in the Cuban culture, which in turn influences my music taste.”
A recent work included sculptures of the “typical” instruments of merengue: the tambora, guira and accordion, which was on display at El Museo del Barrio. “I have a great time making art. I have a great time playing music. It makes people happy.” And Medina’s key to success with both mediums is simply, make other people happy.
The best parts of his life as an artist and NYC DJ is that he’s made a life for himself doing what he loves everyday; he’s his own boss. On the flipside, his schedule often causes him to miss out on family events and other happenings in the city. His future plans include a higher concentration of private events and an exhibit, “Sacred Rhythms,” that features instruments from different cultures used to commune with god.
His biggest moments as a DJ? Taking his dad to see Cachao at S.O.B.’s in ’95, where he met trombone player Jimmy Bosch. “After that I kept seeing him at events I would work at, and now he’s a good friend of mine.” Medina has also had the pleasure of meeting greats like Joseito Mateo, Juan DeMarco, making Stevie Wonder dance, and sharing a stage with Andy Montañez and Los Van Van at the Hammerstein Ballroom. “That was definitely my greatest moment.”
Today, Medina sticks to his musical guns in the face of audiences’ changing tastes and fused genres. “A lot of people in New York don’t get timba.”
“Right now it's time for reggaeton to be in the forefront,” Medina wrote me in an email. “There was the big Latin Jazz/Palladium mambo craze of the 50's and 60's. Later that craze faded and than the Fania salsa boom of the 70's reignited the flame. Later the late 80's and early 90's brought salsa romantica. In the mid-late 90's Cuba came back strong with BuenaVista Social Club.”
“The fact that DJ's like myself are playing this classic music is really a breath of fresh air for people who appreciate quality salsa. It does keep this music alive in the underground scene.”
And his hopes for a turn-around in the trend remain strong, if not mixed. “I think that people will come back to salsa sooner than later. I still don't see timba catching on with the masses. I kind of prefer it that way. I never was one to follow the crowd and I prefer my music to be more underground.”
To get a head’s up on where Medina will be next, log onto www.djmedina.com; you won’t be disappointed!
DJ Medina: A musicologist on the ones and twosby Raquel Penzo
Reporting from New York City
“I’m not much of a beat-matcher—that’s not my thing,” Medina tells me during our interview, on a hot and humid day in Union Square Park. “I’m about the music. I love music. I love rhythms. I can listen to a punk rock tune now, then a merengue tune two minutes later and then a reggae tune and it all makes sense to me rhythmically.”
I caught up with Medina this summer after a weekend of shadowing him at two events: a Brazilian Party at Luke and Leroy’s in the village, and his semi-regular gig at Williamsburg’s hot spot, Bembe.
“I enjoyed [the gigs that weekend]. I love the fact that they’re not the same. Friday with the Brazilian Party and Saturday at Bembe…it’s actually the most fun party because of the place. And I get to play really amazing music there, because I prefer music from all over the world At Bembe I really get to showcase a lot of my African, Brazilian, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican merengue…it’s a nice venue for that. The people appreciate it there.”
It was Medina’s third party with the promoters of the Brazilian party, which usually includes one-to-two live bands and a DJ. The night I went, the band featured the Samba New York percussionists. Partygoers got so into it that the floor shook on the venue’s second floor.
When Medina took over for the band, he mixed Afro-Brazilian favorites with a little salsa and merengue. Enough so that, even though I was “on assignment” I just had to dance. The feedback I received from revelers was all positive. “If you knew DJ Medina was spinning, would you come back?” I asked a few people. Each time I got a resounding, “Absolutely” and “Definitely. He was off the chain!”
That tidbit humbles Medina. “It’s a good feeling; that’s why I still DJ and I’ve been doing it for a while. It’s great to know that in some small way I’m affecting people in a positive way.”
Medina starting “positively affecting” people way back in 1998, when, after DJ-ing at a slew of friends’ parties, he was invited to spin at promoter Roger Barr’s Cuban Soul Wednesdays at Nell’s, a now defunct City club. Medina stayed with that gig for six years, earning another regular spot with the Havanarumba promoters and garnering a small following of old school Cuban music aficionados. At the weekly events, he played more traditional Cuban son and guanguanco…with a little Los Van Van thrown in for the young bloods in the crowd.
“From 1998-2003, I saw a lot of the same people out 2 or 3 times a week, but the energy has changed. They’ve gotten older, married…I haven’t had a gig like that since, where the old Cuban cats in their suits and hats and black and white shoes…those old rumberos…I miss those guys…that was a great party.”
His love of music started way back, when he would listen to his dad’s old records. Although they’re of Dominican ancestry, David and his father favored the more intense and syncopated rhythms of the Cuban son. “My father was a dancer and a percussionist in DR, and he knew a lot of musicians. And he had a big record collection, including a lot of Perez Prado and Cuban music.”
In his teens, Medina rebelled from his Latin music roots and got into punk rock, etc, but while studying art in college asked himself: who am I? That’s when he began to rediscover merengue and salsa. And his affinity for Cuban timba music.
His art and music have always meshed, even as a young boy. One of his earliest music-art-related memories are of him drawing all over his dad’s Willie Colon records. “My music and my art influence each other, because I’m Dominican and that means knowing that we are a mix of African and indigenous peoples, and with my artwork I have references to Orishas, which have their basis in the Cuban culture, which in turn influences my music taste.”
A recent work included sculptures of the “typical” instruments of merengue: the tambora, guira and accordion, which was on display at El Museo del Barrio. “I have a great time making art. I have a great time playing music. It makes people happy.” And Medina’s key to success with both mediums is simply, make other people happy.
The best parts of his life as an artist and NYC DJ is that he’s made a life for himself doing what he loves everyday; he’s his own boss. On the flipside, his schedule often causes him to miss out on family events and other happenings in the city. His future plans include a higher concentration of private events and an exhibit, “Sacred Rhythms,” that features instruments from different cultures used to commune with god.
His biggest moments as a DJ? Taking his dad to see Cachao at S.O.B.’s in ’95, where he met trombone player Jimmy Bosch. “After that I kept seeing him at events I would work at, and now he’s a good friend of mine.” Medina has also had the pleasure of meeting greats like Joseito Mateo, Juan DeMarco, making Stevie Wonder dance, and sharing a stage with Andy Montañez and Los Van Van at the Hammerstein Ballroom. “That was definitely my greatest moment.”
Today, Medina sticks to his musical guns in the face of audiences’ changing tastes and fused genres. “A lot of people in New York don’t get timba.”
“Right now it's time for reggaeton to be in the forefront,” Medina wrote me in an email. “There was the big Latin Jazz/Palladium mambo craze of the 50's and 60's. Later that craze faded and than the Fania salsa boom of the 70's reignited the flame. Later the late 80's and early 90's brought salsa romantica. In the mid-late 90's Cuba came back strong with BuenaVista Social Club.”
“The fact that DJ's like myself are playing this classic music is really a breath of fresh air for people who appreciate quality salsa. It does keep this music alive in the underground scene.”
And his hopes for a turn-around in the trend remain strong, if not mixed. “I think that people will come back to salsa sooner than later. I still don't see timba catching on with the masses. I kind of prefer it that way. I never was one to follow the crowd and I prefer my music to be more underground.”
To get a head’s up on where Medina will be next, log onto www.djmedina.com; you won’t be disappointed!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
First World Music
First World Music is a radio programme focused on presenting great global African music. To listen to the live stream on Sundays at 9 PM, click on the following link. www.wvkr.org
To listen to an audio file of the show if you missed the live broadcast, click here.
To view the current WVKR world music top ten report to CMJ, click here.
To listen to an audio file of the show if you missed the live broadcast, click here.
To view the current WVKR world music top ten report to CMJ, click here.
Jazz in the Valley Festival
Transart Inc. is a not-for profit educational and cultural organisation whose worthy mission is the promotion of the art, history and culture of African peoples. Their "Jazz in the Valley" festival has become an annual fixture in the Hudson Valley, NY. The programme this year features the great Eddie Palmieri. Check it out. August 14th to 16th
At the Queens Theatre in the Park
Afro-Colombian singer Toto la Momposina will take the stage at Queens Theatre in the Park on August 7th, bringing the cumbia and other African rhythms of Colombia's Caribbean coast with her. Check it out.
At the Central Park Summerstage
Korafola extraordinare; Toumani Diabaté, will be in concert with Béla Fleck at Central Park Summerstage on August 3rd.
A screening of the film; "Throw down your heart" will follow. This film documents American banjo player; Béla Fleck, on his journey to Africa to explore the roots of the instrument. Béla's adventures took him to Ouganda, Tanzania, the Gambia and Mali and offers a glimpse into the complexity and ingenuity of African music.
A screening of the film; "Throw down your heart" will follow. This film documents American banjo player; Béla Fleck, on his journey to Africa to explore the roots of the instrument. Béla's adventures took him to Ouganda, Tanzania, the Gambia and Mali and offers a glimpse into the complexity and ingenuity of African music.
This week at the MetroTech Plaza
Triple Grammy award winners; Ladysmith Black Mambazo, will give a free performance at MetroTech Plaza in Brooklyn at noon on July 30th.
First World Music CD of the Week
Kouyaté Kandia; the great Malian dièlimousso, suffered a stroke in 2004 and had not be able to perform in public since then. Her recovery has been slow but steady and it was reported this past February, that she was back in the studio. "N'gara", a new ceedee released on the Syllart imprint, is not a product of these sessions.
The material here was culled from K7 and vinyl recordings released in 1999, 1981 and 1984. As a result of these songs having been recorded under different conditions and maybe, even in different studios, there is a noticeable difference in the quality of the sound, giving the collection an uneven feeling. Nevertheless, just one listen assures that both the singer and the ceedee are worthy of the title, for among n'garaw the consensus is that Kandia is the embodiment of n'garaya, her knowledge and improvisational verbal skill being equal to the best.
The collection opens appropriately with "Kandia Dièli Nana". Acoustic guitar, bala, kora and ngoni develop a steady circular melody upon which constructs a tower of words, sung with great passion and authority. On "Sora", the stacatto motifs of Koïta Moriba's ngoni make for a dignified and austere melody.
Cissoko Ballake improvises around this structure with bright notes on the kora. Kandia's voice soars to the steeples and dramatically holds notes in praise of Malian millionaire; Cissoko Babani dit Sora. This is peerless dièliya! But wait! There's more! "Bouka" [a version of "Taara" unfamiliar to me] follows, and this louange to the Toucouleur warrior; El Hadj Omar Tall, finds Kandia at the height of her art, soaring over a pentatonic melody created by Moriba the brilliant.
On "Douwawou", it appears to my ears that Kandia is tackling a song in the Bamana style. The voice is not as intense, but dark, matching the minor note melody of the music. An uncredited, reedy saxophone?, clarinet?, opens "Sarama" and pops in and out between the vocal pauses. It's not that incongruous. "Yo lélé" closes the collection.
The recording itself sounds bizarre; the kora seems more in the forefront of the mix than Kandia's voice. It does not sound as bright and clean as the rest of the tracks, and this distracts. A bad way to close a great collection of songs that is an object lesson on dièliya and n'garaya.
The material here was culled from K7 and vinyl recordings released in 1999, 1981 and 1984. As a result of these songs having been recorded under different conditions and maybe, even in different studios, there is a noticeable difference in the quality of the sound, giving the collection an uneven feeling. Nevertheless, just one listen assures that both the singer and the ceedee are worthy of the title, for among n'garaw the consensus is that Kandia is the embodiment of n'garaya, her knowledge and improvisational verbal skill being equal to the best.
The collection opens appropriately with "Kandia Dièli Nana". Acoustic guitar, bala, kora and ngoni develop a steady circular melody upon which constructs a tower of words, sung with great passion and authority. On "Sora", the stacatto motifs of Koïta Moriba's ngoni make for a dignified and austere melody.
Cissoko Ballake improvises around this structure with bright notes on the kora. Kandia's voice soars to the steeples and dramatically holds notes in praise of Malian millionaire; Cissoko Babani dit Sora. This is peerless dièliya! But wait! There's more! "Bouka" [a version of "Taara" unfamiliar to me] follows, and this louange to the Toucouleur warrior; El Hadj Omar Tall, finds Kandia at the height of her art, soaring over a pentatonic melody created by Moriba the brilliant.
On "Douwawou", it appears to my ears that Kandia is tackling a song in the Bamana style. The voice is not as intense, but dark, matching the minor note melody of the music. An uncredited, reedy saxophone?, clarinet?, opens "Sarama" and pops in and out between the vocal pauses. It's not that incongruous. "Yo lélé" closes the collection.
The recording itself sounds bizarre; the kora seems more in the forefront of the mix than Kandia's voice. It does not sound as bright and clean as the rest of the tracks, and this distracts. A bad way to close a great collection of songs that is an object lesson on dièliya and n'garaya.
Jamaica JAMS Arts and Music Summer Festival
Yomo Toro & Zon del Barrio headline:
Jamaica JAMS
Arts & Music Summer Festival
Friday, July 31, 2009
Kings Park
Jamaica, Queens
7 p.m.
JAMS Festival
Originating in 1996, JAMS is currently held during the first weekend in August along ten blocks of Jamaica Avenue, which are closed to vehicular traffic. Attracting upwards of 150,000 people. The JAMS festival showcases the diverse cultural and ethnic talents, foods, arts & crafts of the Borough of Queens, promoting family and Youth centered activities, the work of Collaborative members, community partnerships and tourism for Jamaica. A highlight of the festival is the JAMS under the Stars evening concerts.Originated in 1996 at York College , JAMS is currently held during the first weekend in August along ten blocks of Jamaica Avenue , which are closed to vehicular traffic. Attracting upwards of 150,000 people. The JAMS Festival showcases the diverse cultural and ethnic talents, foods, arts & crafts of the Borough of Queens, promoting family and Youth centered activities, the work of Collaborative members, community partnerships and tourism for Jamaica. A highlight of the festival is the JAMS under the Stars evening concerts.
Getting to CCJ There are a lot of ways to come visit us at Cultural Collaborative Jamaica. General Directions are below but if you want to get more detailed directions you can check out Google maps, orHopStop.com.Jamaica, Queens hosts the transportation hub providing transportation to and from all of Long Island, New York City and beyond. Using the Air Train from JFK Airport travel from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Nagasaki or Nigeria you are only minutes away from our doorway.
Take E, J or Z to Jamaica Center (last stop). Exit station via furthermost left to the 153rd Street.
-Walk to the end of block turn left on Jamaica Avenue.
-Proceed four blocks North to Cultural Collaborative Jamaica, 161rd Street make left at corner of North Fork Bank to 90-25.
-Take Long Island Railroad to Jamaica Station at Sutphin Blvd. and Archer Ave.-Walk 1 block North on Sutphin Blvd. to Jamaica Ave., then walk six blocks east to Jamaica Ave. or take the E, J or Z train one stop to Jamaica Center and follow subway directions.
Jamaica JAMS
Arts & Music Summer Festival
Friday, July 31, 2009
Kings Park
Jamaica, Queens
7 p.m.
JAMS Festival
Originating in 1996, JAMS is currently held during the first weekend in August along ten blocks of Jamaica Avenue, which are closed to vehicular traffic. Attracting upwards of 150,000 people. The JAMS festival showcases the diverse cultural and ethnic talents, foods, arts & crafts of the Borough of Queens, promoting family and Youth centered activities, the work of Collaborative members, community partnerships and tourism for Jamaica. A highlight of the festival is the JAMS under the Stars evening concerts.Originated in 1996 at York College , JAMS is currently held during the first weekend in August along ten blocks of Jamaica Avenue , which are closed to vehicular traffic. Attracting upwards of 150,000 people. The JAMS Festival showcases the diverse cultural and ethnic talents, foods, arts & crafts of the Borough of Queens, promoting family and Youth centered activities, the work of Collaborative members, community partnerships and tourism for Jamaica. A highlight of the festival is the JAMS under the Stars evening concerts.
Getting to CCJ There are a lot of ways to come visit us at Cultural Collaborative Jamaica. General Directions are below but if you want to get more detailed directions you can check out Google maps, orHopStop.com.Jamaica, Queens hosts the transportation hub providing transportation to and from all of Long Island, New York City and beyond. Using the Air Train from JFK Airport travel from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Nagasaki or Nigeria you are only minutes away from our doorway.
Take E, J or Z to Jamaica Center (last stop). Exit station via furthermost left to the 153rd Street.
-Walk to the end of block turn left on Jamaica Avenue.
-Proceed four blocks North to Cultural Collaborative Jamaica, 161rd Street make left at corner of North Fork Bank to 90-25.
-Take Long Island Railroad to Jamaica Station at Sutphin Blvd. and Archer Ave.-Walk 1 block North on Sutphin Blvd. to Jamaica Ave., then walk six blocks east to Jamaica Ave. or take the E, J or Z train one stop to Jamaica Center and follow subway directions.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Bill Morton Promotions on myspace
Connect with our Artists on myspace.
Bill Morton Promotions on myspace:
www.myspace.com/BillMortonPromotions
Bill Morton Promotions - Publicist, Public Relations, Radio Promotion, Branding, Marketing and SEO.
(773) 850-0029
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Bill Morton Promotions on myspace
Connect with our Artists on myspace.
Bill Morton Promotions on myspace:
www.myspace.com/BillMortonPromotions
Bill Morton Promotions - Publicist, Public Relations, Radio Promotion, Branding, Marketing and SEO.
(773) 850-0029
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
SIRIUS / XM Blues
SIRIUS / XM Blues
Bill Wax
Washington, DC
Bill Morton Promotions - Publicist, Public Relations, Radio Promotion, Branding, Marketing and SEO.
(773) 850-0029
Bill Wax
Washington, DC
Bill Morton Promotions - Publicist, Public Relations, Radio Promotion, Branding, Marketing and SEO.
(773) 850-0029
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Bill Morton Promotions on myspace
Connect with our Artists on myspace.
Bill Morton Promotions on myspace:
www.myspace.com/BillMortonPromotions
Bill Morton Promotions - Publicist, Public Relations, Radio Promotion, Branding, Marketing and SEO.
(773) 850-0029
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