Zongo Junction / Turkuaz December 30, 2010

Zongo Junction embodies the wealth of Brooklyn’s musical diversity, by melding traditional West African rhythms with Funk, Jazz and Soul from the U.S. Heavily influenced by Nigerian superstar, political activist and afrobeat pioneer, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the 13-piece ensemble gets audiences riled up and dancing at every show they put on.

The band was conceived in early 2007 by drummer Charles Ferguson and original keyboardist, Adam Coopersmith while the two attended the New School in New York City. When Charles returned from a six-month trip to Ghana, where he studied African highlife music and traditional xylophone technique, he teamed up with Adam and 11 other musicians to form Zongo Junction. The name comes from the bus stop from which Charles lived off of while living in Accra, Ghana.

The band was well received from the start. Their club debut at Public Assembly (formerly the Galapagos Arts Center) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in July was a huge success, and led to a monthly residency for the duration of the year. Since then, the band has performed at some of New York’s most illustrious venues including the Knitting Factory and Le Poisson Rouge as well as Williams College in Williamstown, MA and the Elbo Room in San Francisco where they played a sold out show the night before New Year's in 2009.

The core of the band was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and has been playing music together virtually since they were all still in diapers. Five members of the band were part of the prestigious Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble (alumni include: Joshua Redman, Peter Apfelbaum, Will Bernard, Benny Green) and twice toured Europe. All members moved to New York after High School to attend music programs at The New School and New York University.

Turkuaz is comprised of Brooklyn's funkiest and brightest. The two founding members, Taylor Shell and Dave Brandwein, met at Berklee College of Music in Boston. As members of the Galaxy Smith Digital Media Collective (Galaxysmith.com) they are now kicking things into high gear with their 8 - 13 piece (depending on the occasion) high energy funk band. Influences range from the Talking Heads to James Brown - P-Funk to Jamiroquai - creating a show which is an eclectic mix of funk influences and sounds from all over the board. When the group takes their party to the stage it certainly is a spectacle to be remembered.

Official Website: http://www.slims-sf.com/slims-bin/showcal?date=2010-12-30