Satalla June 2005 Calendar June 6, 2005

Tuesday, June 7 at 7:30 PM
Svetlana Portnyansky
Admission is $15
The internationally beloved Russian-Jewish singing star Svetlana Portnyansky's youthful style, sensational voice and personal charm have made her one of the leading singers in her homeland of Russia as well as among millions of Russian expatriates all over the world. In recent years, audiences everywhere have become enamored with her powerful performances. In the midst of a successful career in radio, television and the concert stage she developed a yeaning for Yiddish and Hebrew, music and introduced it into her repertoire which had consisted of Russian and international music. Since that time Svetlana has enjoyed the status of an international Jewish singing star with concert tours all over the world, including USA, Canada, Argentina, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, Western and Eastern Europe, and of course, Israel. Svetlana's songs are creating a new bond between the Jewish communities of this world. Through her art she reawakens the best of the Jewish spirit - faith in God, respect for tradition and love the eretz Israel.

Tuesday, June 7 at 9:30 PM
Howard Fishman
Admission is $12
Howard Fishman, bandleader, guitarist and songwriter, began his career on the streets of New Orleans and in the subways of New York before making his debut at The Algonquin Oak Room in 1999. He has since headlined in major venues both in the States and abroad, including: The Steppenwolf Theater, The Blue Note, NJPAC, MassMOCA, Stamford Center for the Performing Arts, The Bottom Line, Le Petit Journal, and Joe's Pub. A Connecticut native, he spent his musically formative years in New Orleans. The All-Music Guide has called him "an important force in creative music," and The New York Times has written that his work "transcends time and idiom." Fishman has been a featured guest on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, World Café with David Dye and on The Leonard Lopate Show. He maintains a full-time touring schedule and has recorded five critically acclaimed CDs for his own Monkey Farm label. His most recent, "Look at All This!" is scheduled for worldwide release this summer. "we are destroyed," Fishman's first foray into music theater, was recently workshopped at the Lincoln Center Directors Lab West.

**CALENDAR CHANGE**
Wednesday, June 8 at 7:30 PM
Gráda
Admission is $15 in advance and $18
Gráda are based in Dublin, Ireland, where they began playing together in 2001.
The group draws from a wide range of influences, which has seen them working with Dave Hingerty (ex Frames drummer, now working a lot with Josh Ritter); Vyviene Long (cellist with Damien Rice); and, as a producer, Trevor Hutchinson (Lúnasa, Sharon Shannon, The Waterboys). Further additions have included Dublin jazz personality Kevin Brady (of The Organics) on percussion & trumpet, and Danish percussionist exrtaordinaire, Rasmus Skovmund. The Landing Step is the second album from the innovative young Irish ensemble, a band poised at the brink of international recognition for their multi-faceted take on traditional Celtic music. Taking their influences from Irish, Breton, eastern European and other diverse regional styles, Gráda compliment their instrumental virtuosity with an elegant, timeless vocal style.

Thursday, June 9 at 7:00 PM
Chiara Civello
Admission is $20 in advance and $25 at the door
Debut albums are greeted with the hope that they will offer a first glimpse of great musical talent. Last Quarter Moon, the Verve recording debut of Italian singer, songwriter and pianist Chiara Civello, makes good on the promise of discovery. This collection's enchanting originals should establish her in the firmament of today's songwriting talent. It's certainly an auspicious beginning for Chiara, yet the 28 year-old is quick to point out that it is also the culmination of her young life's work. "Is this a first album? A first attempt?" she questions. "Yes, it's the first step into this world, but it's the first step from a person who has already come from a long way."

Thursday, June 9 at 9:30 PM
Laura Love
Admission is $20 in advance and $25 at the door
Laura Love is not a household name. She has never had a hit record. She plays fewer than a hundred dates a year. And yet, she has thousands of fans throughout North America and Europe, Billboard magazine continually includes her CDs on their annual top ten lists and the first gig she ever played on the East coast was at Carnegie Hall. In the summer of 2004 she released her ninth CD, You Ain?t Got No Easter Clothes, on Koch Records, and became a published author when Hyperion Books published Laura?s memoir of the same title.

Friday, June 10, dance lesson at 6:30 PM, music at 8:00 PM
Let?s Zydeco: Geno Delafose
Admission is $22
Living Blues magazine praised La Chanson Perdue , the latest of Geno Delafose's three Rounder Records CDs, as "...one of the most remarkable releases in the new era of zydeco." Hailing from the small town of Eunice, deep in Southwest Louisiana's bayou country, Geno cut his musical teeth at the age of seven in his father's legendary John Delafose & the Eunice Playboys ensemble. Now 29, he and his house-rocking band, French Rockin' Boogie, have tapped the wealth of inspiration found in the traditional Cajun and Creole repertoires and created their own rich gumbo of Cajun, zydeco, r&b, country and blues. By taking his explosive live show to nearly 200 arts centers, festivals and nightclubs each year, Geno Delafose has undeniably earned his place as "...the young hope of traditional zydeco." (The Boston Herald).

Saturday, June 11 at 7:30 PM
Laurie Lewis, Tom Rozum and the Guest House Band
Admission is $20 and $23 at the door
Since forming a musical partnership in 1986, when Tom first joined Laurie?s acclaimed band Grant Street, Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum have recorded 12 albums and performed around the globe. These Grammy-nominated artists (for their 1995 album The Oak and the Laurel) are widely regarded as among the leading lights of modern bluegrass and are highly-prized by their peers as sidemen and producers.

Saturday, June 11 at 10:00 PM
Soulfege
Admission is $15
So what is Soulf?ge? Glad you asked. Put it like this - if Fela Kuti, Bob Marley, Lenny Kravitz and Gwen Stefani were all jammin' with the same band, it would be this one. Fusing funk, reggae, hip-hop, and highlife, Soulf?ge is more than a band...it's a big FUNKY band. Electrifying audiences, from Boston to Ghana and beyond, with its positive vibe and relentless groove, the members of Soulf?ge have performed with and for some of the world's most talented artists and distinguished dignitaries, including Debbie Allen, Janet Jackson, Steven Spielberg, Bobby McFerrin, Nelson Mandela, the Reverend Al Sharpton, Dr. Cornell West, and Al Gore. The group is known for building sonic bridges that fuse the influences of the African Diaspora into a musical vision all its own. Soulf?ge not only shines with creativity, it thrills audiences with a golden foundation in rhythm and harmony.

Sunday, June 12 at 7:00 PM
Gerard Edery and Danny Maseng
Admission is $15
This collaboration between two highly acclaimed singers/guitarists/composers in the Jewish world brings together their multicultural backgrounds to a repertoire of traditional and original songs. Their virtuosic skills and arrangements will transport you to another time and place. A cultural powerhouse?, Gerard Edery, ?juggles musical roles with almost surreal ease? (Seattle Jewish Transcript and The New York Jewish Week). Gerard was born in Casablanca and raised in Paris and New York City. Speaking several languages throughout his childhood, he absorbed a variety of musical traditions spanning three continents. Trained as a classical baritone at The Manhattan School of Music, he has sung more than thirty roles with opera companies around the United States. Danny Maseng was born and raised in Israel to American parents. He first came to the United States to star on Broadway in ?Only Fools Are Sad.? A playwright, actor, singer and composer, Danny has served as Evaluator of New American Plays/Opera-Musical Theater for the National Endowment For The Arts. He is currently the Director of the Spielberg Fellowships for The FJC as well as the Artistic Director of The Brandeis-Bardin Institute in California, a center for Jewish culture and learning.

Tuesday, June 14 at 9:30 PM
Howling Makams
Admission is $15
The NYC-based Howling Makams play a unique blend of Near Eastern music with a free jazz sensibility. Working within the incredibly rich "maqam" (modal) system of the East, they constantly trying new forms and approaches to stretch the canvas and fill it with new sounds. Led by Brandon Terzic (oud, saz), the Makams boast an outstanding lineup of musicians, including master multi-instrumentalist Tom Chess (ney, flute, oud) and a rhythm section featuring Matt Kilmer (percussion), Rich Stein (percussion) and Michael Savino (acoustic bass). The Village Voice calls them "The Arabic Sun Ra." Bellydancing by Kaeshi from Bellyqueen and her students.

Wednesday, June 15 at 7:00 PM
Negroni?s Trio
Admission $15
Jose Negroni, a brilliant pianist and composer of remarkable creativity is one of jazz?s prominent musicians. Negroni?s Trio was his own vision and the fulfillment of a longtime dream. The Trio, composed of drummer Nomar Negroni, José?s son, who is gifted and powerful in his own right and bassist Jaime Rivera, an accomplished player of both electric and acoustic bass, make up a true combination, fusing straight ahead jazz, classical lyricism and Latin Caribbean beats. Jose Negroni, a native from Puerto Rico, received a bachelor's degree from the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico where he also taught for over sixteen years. A disciple of salsa legend Papo Luca, he performed with salsa greats, La Sonora Ponce?a and the Apollo Sound. While establishing a successful career as one of the island?s most sought-after musical directors, producers, and arrangers, he toured as director and pianist for Latin sensations Jose Luis Rodriguez ?El Puma?, Chayanne, Carminta Jimenez & Braulio.

Wednesday, June 15 at 9:30 PM
Hamell on Trial
Admission is $12
Hamell on Trial is a one-man punk band?and by punk we mean (mostly) loud, fast music informed by politics, passion, energy and intelligence, played by a guy with a sharp tongue and a wicked sense of humor. As The London Times recently noted, Hamell's "explosive strumming style and well-defined sense of the absurd" make for a live show that's "thought-provoking and hilarious."

**CALENDAR CHANGE**
Thursday, June 16 at 7:00 PM
Gandalf Murphy
Admission is $15 in advance and $18 at the door
Formed in 1998 in Sleepy Hollow, New York, Gandalf Murphy and The Slambovian Circus of Dreams quickly became known as one of the most intriguing new bands in the Hudson Valley. Voted the 'Best Unsigned Band of 1998' by the Hudson Valley AFM, the group quickly graduated from playing small coffeehouses and open mics to playing some of the best venues in the region, ie. The Bottom Line, The Towne Crier, Bowery Ballroom, The Palace Theater, Club Passim as well as festivals like Clearwater Hudson River Revival and Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, headlining and sharing the stage with Dar Williams, Greg Brown, Ani DiFranco, Garth Hudson, Pete Seeger, Fred Eaglesmith, Cui Jian, The Kennedys, Jeffrey Gaines, and many others. The Circus seems to defy the concept of generation gaps. College students invite their parents to Circus shows. Parents come back with the younger siblings in tow. This band is a strange phenomenon; hardcore folkies to hard rock purists have embraced them and spread the word.

Thursday, June 16 at 9:30 PM
Chris Berry and Panjea
Admission is $7
Panjea is a high energy dance band that originated its grooves in the ghettos of Zimbabwe. The bands first break came in 1992 when Panjea recorded its first hit Album "Vanhu Vamwe", that remained number one on the Zimbabwean charts for nearly the whole year. It was also during this time that Panjea played to thousands in sell-out stadium shows. Audiences flocked to see American born Chris Berry dancing and singing in Shona for at the time no-one believed it was a white man who sang out to them over the radio waves. After sweeping success in Africa, Panjea hit the international scene adding new members and fusing new sounds from around the globe. African Rhythms were crossed with funk beats, Ancient Mbira (thumb piano) melodies were overlain with soulful jazz inspired horn lines and African melodies became the vehicle for Berry's deeply inspired parable like English lyrics. The end result of this fusion being a unique music that dances the body, sends the soul soaring and takes the mind to a place of positive introspection.

Friday, June 17 at 7:30 PM
Pork Belly Futures
Admission is $17 in advance and $20 at the door
Pork Belly Futures takes, writers, rockers, classical musicians and does the only logical thing. It creates a sort of jazzy blues band. The Porkers reunite the singer/song-writing team of Paul Quarrington and Martin Worthy, whose 1980 album produced by John Capek and engineered by Daniel Lanois yielded the #1 hit single Baby and the Blues. Quarrington is one of Canada's best-known literary figures, having won awards for his novels, TV scripts, screenplays and songwriting. Completing the exciting new Pork Belly Futures band are some of Canada's busiest musicians. Stuart Laughton substituted his classical trumpet for guitar/harmonica, vocalist extraordinaire Rebecca Campbell adds her deft song stylings, ace bassist Chas Elliot continues to do what he does best and keyboard wizard Richard Bell fills out one of Canada?s hottest new bands. Pork Belly Futures' debut release ?Way Past Midnight? was produced by David Gray, former guitarist with Parachute Club and Paul Butterfield.

Friday, June 17 at 10:00 PM
Latin Dance Fridays: Son Sublime
Admission is $15
Son Sublime is a Cuban Charanga orchestra based in the New York City area, playing the classic styles of Danzón, Mámbo, Chá-Chá-Chá, and Són. SonSublime embraces these classic styles and enhances them with a fresh, energetic sound adored by young and mature dancers alike.

Saturday, June 18 at 7:30 PM
Ric Cherwin
Admission is $15
Ric Cherwin was born into a family of singers, musicians, writers, artists and actors. From his first first public singing performance at the age of 7 (for which he received a prolonged standing ovation and a whopping $20 tip for his medley of Al Jolson tunes), singing, playing, writing and performing has been Ric's unabated passion. He has been acclaimed as a virtuoso on the recorders and wood flutes and also plays piano, percussion and various woodwinds. Although a folk/rock/blueser at heart, Ric has become more of a world and jazz vocalist over the last several years.

Saturday, June 18 at 10:00 PM
Grande Soiree Senegalaise with Cheikh Tairou M'Baye & Sing Sing Rhythm with Arona Ndiaye Marimba
Admission is $20
Cheikh Tairou M'Baye is the nephew of indomitable griot and master drummer Doudou N?Diaye Rose, with whom he has toured the world. Surrounded by his brothers and cousins who make up Sing Sing Rhythm, M?Baye has shared the stage with Youssou N?Dour, Peter Gabriel, Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock. A formidable percussionist who draws his power from the traditions of his people. He offers up a transcendent, hypnotic festival of sound that sets bodies in motion. A positive, potent, percussive force of nature!

Sunday, June 19 at 5:30 PM
Lets Zydeco: Fathers Day with CJ Chenier
Admission is TBD

Tuesday, June 21 at 9:30 PM
Monika Jalili: Noorsaaz
Admission is $15
The music of Iran has a rich history that was temporarily interrupted in the late 1970's with a revolution. NoorSaaz, an ensemble based in New York City featuring vocalist Monika Jalili, performs traditional Persian folk favorites and love songs from pre-revolution Iran. With songs in Farsi and a touch of English and French, Monika Jalili and Noorsaaz take you on a tour through Iran?s entrancing music. Hear the timeless passion and pain of love; close your eyes and enjoy the sweeping and inspired sounds fashioned from the fusion of western influences and Persian music. Feel the sadness, the joy, the rhythms, the calm, and the stirring beats produced by this talented group. Monika's sincere and touching interpretations, combined with her pure voice, have moved audiences across the globe. NoorSaaz is completed by the talented Megan Weeder (violin), Timothy Quigley (percussion), Nathan Dillon (guitar), and Mavrothis Kontanis (oud). The name "NoorSaaz" is a combination of Farsi words that mean both "musical instrument of light" and "creator of light." NoorSaaz is proud to have the creative contribution of the great music producer Jamshied Sharifi.

Wednesday, June 22 at 7:30 PM
James Hammel
Admission is $12
James Hammel has had a passion for singing and playing guitar that spans decades. When he was a youngster, his guitar teacher, the late Sal Salvador (a former jazz great), told James that he belonged in the world of music, and that one day he would be compelled to embrace it completely. For the better part of his adult life, he considered those words to be wishful thinking and his music remained on the sidelines. Instead he took a 20-year detour building and leading large companies. Since 2001 James has been living in New York City pursuing his music, performing at clubs and private events, and has recorded his first full-length CD, Do It All Over Again.

Wednesday, June 22 at 9:30 PM
Hamell on Trial
Admission is $12
Hamell on Trial is a one-man punk band?and by punk we mean (mostly) loud, fast music informed by politics, passion, energy and intelligence, played by a guy with a sharp tongue and a wicked sense of humor. As The London Times recently noted, Hamell's "explosive strumming style and well-defined sense of the absurd" make for a live show that's "thought-provoking and hilarious."

Thursday, June 23 at 7:30 PM
Jaruslav
Admission is $15

Thursday, June 23 at 10:00 PM
Brave Combo
Admission is $15 in advance and $18 at the door
Brave Combo. Rarely, if ever, has a band name been more apropos, not only at the group's inception, but even more so 25 years after the fact. At first glance, back in 1979, the Denton, Texas, based outfit was, in shorthand, pegged as a New Wave polka band, a courageous if not almost oxymoronic endeavor during that particular rebirth of the cool. Yet it clicked and launched a stunning run that has now catapulted it into the new century. Over the last 25 years, Brave Combo has collected a dizzying array of descriptive musical pegs, boldly going where few bands have gone before, and even fewer could (or would) dare to venture. Succeeding in its first mission, Brave Combo is America's premier contemporary polka band, and a Grammy winning one at that. In the same breath, to name some but hardly all of the colors found on Brave Combo's musical palette, one can describe them as a groundbreaking world music act, a hot jazz quintet, a rollicking rock'n'roll bar band, a Tex-Mex conjunto, a sizzling blues band, a saucy cocktail combo, a deadly serious novelty act, a Latin orchestra, and one of America's dance bands par excellence. It's all in a night's music for Brave Combo, often in a synergistic fashion that includes everything from klezmer surf rock to rocking cha cha to what The Washington Post calls "mosh pit polka," as well as to the hokey pokey and the chicken dance. And zyedeco, acid rock, Muzak, bubblegum, cumbia, classical, and the twist, to still not exhaust the list. This plethoric multitude of musical styles and flavors is frequently mixed, matched, and melded, into delicious, new concoctions by an imaginative team of musical gourmet master chefs

Friday, June 24 at 7:30 PM
Aztec Two-Step
Admission is $18 in advance and $22 at the door
Rex Fowler from Pittsfield, Maine and Neal Shulman of New York City met one "open mic" night at a Boston folk club in the spring of 1971. Each impressed by the other's talents, they joined forces and (named for a line from "A Coney Island of the Mind" by Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti) Aztec Two-Step was born. Just one year later, signed by Elektra Records, Neal and Rex were in Los Angeles putting the final touches on their debut album, Aztec Two-Step. Quickly becoming a staple of FM and college radio the album remained in print for fifteen years and was the foundation for a performing and recording career that continues to the present day.

Friday, June 24 at 10:00 PM
D?Gary
Admission is $18 in advance and $22 at the door
?Pure genius? is not too strong a term to describe the blend of virtuosity and expressive feeling, anchored by the incredible precision of playing that distinguishes D?Gary from most other musicians. His extraordinary talent places him squarely in the pantheon of the world?s most accomplished guitarists. A self-taught musician, this son of a Bara shepherd from the southern part of the island of Madagascar began playing guitar as a young teenager, borrowing the guitar from his brother?s band after they were finished performing. He was soon playing not only the sega and blues typical of his hometown of Betroka, but the tsapika from southern Africa as well. He began performing in the late 1970s, but it wasn?t until ten years later that his first recording came out on the Madagascan label Discomad. Along the way he invented numerous open tunings, astounding colleagues including the American guitarist Henry Kaiser, who has this to say about D?Gary: "I truly doubted both my ears and eyes as these tunes were played inches in front of me. If you're a guitarist at home trying to figure out what's going on, all I can say is Good Luck."

Saturday, June 25 at 10:00 PM
Soulfarm
Admission is TBD
Soulfarm?s exciting sound combines the musical roots of their heritage with a shared passion for melodic song writing and modern, progressive arrangements. Soulfarm's flavor stems from an incredible blend of influences, which include classic rock, funk and soul, a little Irish folk and a generous sprinkling of Middle Eastern spice. Soulfarm's music is nothing if not unique, and offers one of the rarest of qualities in contemporary music: multigenerational and cross-cultural appeal. Live, the band's riveting beat and tangible energy always leaves crowds standing on their feet, begging for more.

Sunday, June 26 at 4:00 PM
Curry Club
Admission is $15
New York City?s hottest multi-culti gay dance party takes place once a month at Satalla. DJs spinning soca (modern Calypso), reggae and chutney (Indo-Caribbean Calypso), Bollywood music, Bhangra (Punjabi), house, hip-hop, Latin house and reggueton. For more information visit: www.curryclubnyc.com.

Tuesday, June 28 at 7:30 PM
Samuel Torres
Admission is $15
Born in Bogota, Colombia, Samuel Torres graduated with a degree in Music Composition from Universidad Javeriana of Bogota. He started playing at age twelve and recalls learning a great deal from in-home jam sessions with friends of his musically inclined grandparents and relatives. Although a classically trained percussionist, Samuel was drawn by the sound of rhythms of different styles, especially Latin American and Jazz. In 1998 he traveled to the United States, where he was contracted with Grammy Award winner Arturo Sandoval, with whom he toured throughout the world for four years. At Satalla, Samuel will debut material from his upcoming CD release, Skin Tones.

Tuesday, June 28 at 9:30 PM
Howling Makams
Admission is $15
The NYC-based Howling Makams play a unique blend of Near Eastern music with a free jazz sensibility. Working within the incredibly rich "maqam" (modal) system of the East, they constantly trying new forms and approaches to stretch the canvas and fill it with new sounds. Led by Brandon Terzic (oud, saz), the Makams boast an outstanding lineup of musicians, including master multi-instrumentalist Tom Chess (ney, flute, oud) and a rhythm section featuring Matt Kilmer (percussion), Rich Stein (percussion) and Michael Savino (acoustic bass). The Village Voice calls them "The Arabic Sun Ra." Bellydancing by Kaeshi from Bellyqueen and her students.

Wednesday, June 29 at 7:30 PM
Razia Said
Admission is $12
Razia Said grew up listening to everything from traditional Malagasy music to the Beatles to James Brown. Born in Madagascar to an Afro-Arabic mother and Indian father, she draws on a vast diversity of cultures reflecting the many countries she has lived in. Razia has a refined mellow sophisticated voice. She adds wah-wah and staccato horns to create a compelling deep R&B tinged sound. Her haunting melodies and unforgettable hooks combined with ethnic percussions makes her music more than accessible to western ears, propelling her Malagazy spirit into the heart of pop?s mainstream. Razia is currently finishing her debut album, ?Magical,? due out in late 2005.

**CALENDAR CHANGE**
Wednesday, June 29 at 9:30 PM
Hamell on Trial
Admission is $12
Hamell on Trial is a one-man punk band?and by punk we mean (mostly) loud, fast music informed by politics, passion, energy and intelligence, played by a guy with a sharp tongue and a wicked sense of humor. As The London Times recently noted, Hamell's "explosive strumming style and well-defined sense of the absurd" make for a live show that's "thought-provoking and hilarious."

Thursday, June 30 at 7:30 PM
Lucia Pulido
Admission is $15
Since her arrival in NY in 1994, the singer Lucia Pulido has mined the rich musical traditions of her native Colombia in her ongoing search for new and distinct musical possibilities, incorporating different elements from contexts as varied as jazz, contemporary music, and chamber music. This has initiated a host of different projects and in 1996 in collaboration with the composer Iván Benavides and the pianist Hector Martignon she inaugurated the first stage of her New York experience: an ensemble of original and traditional compositions that effortlessly combined elements of Latin jazz with popular Colombian rhythms. Drawing attention to her "gutsy" voice, The New York Times wrote, "Ms Pulido holds on to the rawness of the original melodies while giving them a sophisticated new context."

Thursday, June 30 at 9:30 PM
Chris Berry and Panjea
Admission is $7
Panjea is a high energy dance band that originated its grooves in the ghettos of Zimbabwe. The bands first break came in 1992 when Panjea recorded its first hit Album "Vanhu Vamwe", that remained number one on the Zimbabwean charts for nearly the whole year. It was also during this time that Panjea played to thousands in sell-out stadium shows. Audiences flocked to see American born Chris Berry dancing and singing in Shona for at the time no-one believed it was a white man who sang out to them over the radio waves. After sweeping success in Africa, Panjea hit the international scene adding new members and fusing new sounds from around the globe. African Rhythms were crossed with funk beats, Ancient Mbira (thumb piano) melodies were overlain with soulful jazz inspired horn lines and African melodies became the vehicle for Berry's deeply inspired parable like English lyrics. The end result of this fusion being a unique music that dances the body, sends the soul soaring and takes the mind to a place of positive introspection.

Satalla - 37 West 26th Street between Sixth Avenue and Broadway
212.576.1155 ? www.satalla.com