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3DFamily artists roster for 2011. We have some exciting artists and projects to propose for the upcoming year 2011. Check out the Ghanean musician Ebo Taylor, the Japanese ensemble Shibusa Shirazu Orchestra, the new albumDavid Murray Cuban Ensemble plays Nat King Cole and also major flamenco artist such as Enrique Morente and his project on Pablo Picasso's poems... and this is not all of course, we have many other interesting artists to offer.
www.3dfamily.org
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DAVID MURRAY PLAYS NAT KING COLE "En Español" [USA/Cuba]
On tour in May, July/August and Autumn | Universal Jazz |
This is a heartfelt love letter to one of the great figures in popular music who was nonetheless a phenomenally gifted jazz musician. Nat ‘King’ Cole had a piano technique that belied the gilt edged romanticism of his voice, yet it was as a singer that he achieved worldwide fame. One of Cole’s most charming recordings were the 1958 and 1962 albums, Cole Español and More Cole en Español, recorded in Havana and featuring Spanish lyrics. Now, more than 50 years after its release, saxophonist David Murray, a contemporary jazz great, reprises Cole Español as Cole ‘En Español’, in the company of a Cuban string band, giving the original repertoire a lush sonic canvas full of shimmering, sensual hues. [... more info]
------- Our agents are : Spain/Plan B -------
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ENRIQUE MORENTE [Spain]
Available upon request | Universal Jazz |
68 year-old Granada-born singer Enrique Morente is very possibly the Ornette Coleman of flamenco; an adventurous and idiosyncratic artist who scandalized purists of the genre through his desire to break with orthodoxy and embrace other approaches to a music that he spent years learning in the celebrated ‘peñas flamencas’ bars in Madrid.
Over the years, Morente has shown a remarkable thirst for new sounds and musical encounters, sharing the stage with punk icons Lagartija Nick and virtuoso guitarist Tomatito. Furthermore, he has reprised the texts of both Leonard Cohen and Federico Garcia Lorca. But it is when he brings his searing, incandescent voice to bear on his own songs that he creates moments of mesmerizing and artfully wounded beauty. [... more info]
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TONGUES ON FIRE, A TRIBUTE TO THE BLACK PANTHERS [USA]
March/April 2011... more TBA
Although the Black Panthers were an uncompromising militant group who led the frontline struggle for the equality of African-Americans in the ‘60s, their fearless self-empowerment chimed with both oppressed people and intellectuals around the world, notably the brilliant French playwright Jean Genet. Although a political force, the Panthers were dynamic champions of grass roots black culture, be it oral or visual art. Published every week in the Panthers’ fanzine, the drawings of Emory Douglas had a considerable influence on trailblazing spoken word artists such as The Last Poets, and now those images, which number 180, will be used as a stunning backdrop to new music that celebrates art as a primary form of resistance. Jazz saxophonist David Murray, a self confessed ‘hippe, Hendrix fan and Panther supporter’ has written music for a mouthwatering line-up of musical agents provocateurs who will play alongside The Last Poets - Living Colour, The Roots and others. [... more info]
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EBO TAYLOR & AFROBEAT ACADEMY [Ghana]
On tour in May, July/August 2011 | Strut Records |
What happens when you mix a sweet, free-flowing tropical guitar with infectious horns and keys and the gut-busting kicks of West African rhythms? Highlife? Afrobeat? Funk? Or is it a sort of wicked popular infusion, sweetened with the traditional yet salted with the future, unashamed to entertain and make you dance? One legendary guitarist has worked ceaselessly to develop exactly this sound, and in doing so, he’s made a music that is uniquely his own. He is Ebo Taylor. This fearless composer, arranger, and solo artist who cut some of the best Highlife, Jazz and Funk tunes to come out of Africa during the 1970s, has embraced a fusion of traditional and Western forms of popular music. Now, Ebo Taylor has joined with the Afrobeat Academy, Europe’s hottest proponents of afrofunk music to record a new album that will surely launch his reputation as a master innovator, as great as anything to come from the coasts of Africa or the Caribbean with a sound in which everything is in it's place and designed for the ultimate destination: your hips. [.. more info]
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SHIBUSA SHIRAZU ORCHESTRA [Japan]
On tour July/August 2011 | Plankton Records |
If the Skatalites had met Sun Ra playing the repertoire of Frank Zappa as well as Fletcher Henderson then the result may have sounded like Shibusa Shirazu Orchestra. This is music to turn heads and move feet.
Hailing from Japan, the ensemble is a shifting community of players, and the numbers vary from 20 to 40, often with a substantial horn section sending some of the arrangements right off the Richter scale and into deepest, darkest space. The English translation of the band’s name is ‘Never know borders’ and that ethos is taken seriously by founder and conductor Fuwa Daisuke, who has brought together players from the Tokyo avant-garde, classical, jazz and punk scenes to perform under his riotous marquee. In fact, Shibusa’s commitment to the dramatic arts has seen the band bring in a number of actors, dancers and performance artists to give an intensely theatrical edge to concerts that have been the talk of major European festivals like Glastonbury, Molde and San Sebastian. See, hear and be truly “étonné.” Jean Cocteau would have no doubt been a fan, if not a guest member. [... more info]
------- Our agents are : Spain/Wam Producciones -------
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TONY ALLEN [Nigeria]
On tour in March/April and July/July | World Circuit Records |
Tony Allen would have had a secure place in history even if he had not launched a solo career. As the drummer of choice of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, he was heard by millions around the world as the Nigerian legend created Afrobeat in the late 60s. Allen’s intricate, lithe and constantly perambulating groove was a key component of Fela’s warrior funk sound. In the last fifteen years, Allen has fully established himself as a solo artist, and albums such as Black Voices won enormous critical acclaim, revealing a dynamic bandleader as well as wizard drummer. Collaborations with such luminaries as Grace Jones, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Damon Albarn, and a recent deal with World Circuit records, have seen Tony Allen reach bigger audiences than ever. [... more info]
------- Our agents are : Germany / Bacana - Spain/Wam Producciones ------- |
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OMAR SOSA [Cuba]
On tour in March/April, June /July/August | Ota Records |
Omar Sosa is one of the most original voices to have emerged from Cuba in the past two decades. Although his main instrument is the piano, he is also a skilled percussionist and marimba player who has built an ambitiously baroque, texturally rich composing and arranging style around extensive research into Afro-Diasporan and African music, be it Cuban son, American jazz or Moroccan gnawa.
A prolific recording artist, Sosa has worked with a wide range of musicians from around the planet in the last decade and his albums, such as the latest, Ceremony, a collaboration with Brazilian cellist Jaques Morelenbaum and Germany’s NDR Big Band, consistently break new stylistic ground. [.. more info]
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LAIKA [France]
Available upon request | Universal Jazz |
Although little known outside of France, Laika Fatien, a Parisian of Ivory Coast and Moroccan parentage, has a highly successful dual career as a singer and actress. Having won widespread critical acclaim for her delicately handled 2000 Billie Holiday tribute album, Misery, Fatien has just finished Nebula, her most adventurous album to date with the brilliant Meshell Ndegeocello in the producer’s chair. Fatien’s finely shaded voice excels on a repertoire that includes Stevie Wonder, Thelonious Monk, Jackie McClean and Joe Henderson, for whose music the singer has written lyrics in the past. [... more info]
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CHEICK TIDIANE SECK [Mali]
Available upon request | Universal Jazz |
Malian colossus Cheick Tidiane Seck is one of the most charismatic and resolutely individual artists to have ever emerged from Africa. He willfully defies categorization. He is his own genre of music.
A former bandmate of Salif Keita and Mory Kante, with whom he worked in the legendary Rail Band Of Bamoko, Seck has played with a dazzling array of artists drawn from jazz, soul, rock and all points in between: Hank Jones, Ornette Coleman, Living Colour and Marque Gilmore’s Drum FM, to name but a few. However, it is his solo works that are essential documents of the sumptuous beauty that can be created when the deep river of African music flows into its many tributaries in the Black Diaspora. Mandingroove, Sarala and Sabaly are all works that are undoubtedly destined for classic status. [... more info]
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M'BOOM MEETS WORLD SAXOPHONE QUARTET [USA]
Available upon request
Seminal drummer, educator and political activist Max Roach led many great groups during five decades at the cutting edge of jazz but one that was close to his heart was M’Boom, a great percussion ensemble that featured such fine players as Joe Chambers, Ray Mantilla, Roy Brooks and Freddie Waits. M’Boom enabled Roach to show that drums of both determinate and indeterminate pitch could achieve the same sophisticated orchestration as western harmony instruments. Today the group reforms with the horn section of the renowned World Saxophone Quartet for a one-off concert in praise of Max Roach. [... more info]
------- Our agents are : Italy / Rat Pack Music -------
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DAVID MURRAY & THE GWO-KA MASTERS [USA/French West Indies]
Available upon request | Justin Time Records |
One of the most energetic and rousing acts in contemporary jazz, David Murray & Gwo Ka Masters leave no audiences unmoved wherever they appear in the world. Bringing together American tenor sax titan Murray and Guadeloupe’s superlative percussionist-vocalists, Klod Kiavue and Francois Ladrezeau, this unique project reveals the artistic richness of Gwo Ka, the drum-based music derived from Guadeloupe’s African heritage and its compatibility with jazz improvisation. The ensemble, which also features brilliant soloists such as Senegalese guitarist Hervé Samb, has cut several acclaimed albums, the latest of which The Devil Tried To Kill Me, boasts a guest appearance by the great globetrotter troubadour of the blues, Taj Mahal. [... more info]
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MELISSA LAVEAUX [Haïti/Canada]
Available upon request | No Format! |
Singer-guitarist Mélissa Laveaux is a global citizen. Of Haitian parentage, she divides her time between her native Canada and Europe, having recently moved to Paris. In any case, she has a maturity beyond her tender years. At just 24 years old, Laveaux already has the worldly-wise vocal and lyrical content of an illustrious lineage of singer-songwriters that would include such as Odetta, Joni Mitchell, Rokia Traore and Tracy Chapman. Her vibrant and well-crafted tales draw on African-Caribbean rhythmic and storytelling traditions, and the seamless way she moves from English to French to Creole on her assured debut Camphor And Copper make for a heady cultural and musical mosaic. [... more info]
------- Our agents are : Germany / F-Cat - Spain/Wam Producciones -------
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BONGA [Angola]
Available upon request | Lusafrica |
Sport’s loss has been music’s gain. A 400 m record holder in Portugal for almost 10 years, Bonga was nonetheless destined for a career as an artist. Born in the former Portugese colony of Angola, the sprightly sexagenarian was given his first music lessons by his accordion playing father before getting to grips with a dikanza, a percussion instrument that is inextricably linked to local folkloric culture.
In fact, Bonga’s entire growth as a musician has been underscored by a desire to assert Angolan identity in the face of Portugese colonialism, and the classic albums that he recorded almost four decades ago, Angola 72 and Angola 74, are deeply felt cultural manifestos for a unified and free homeland. Often writing in the lilting ‘semba’ style of Angola, Bonga is a superior songwriter who is also possessed of an otherworldly, intriguing voice, at once harsh and authoritative yet tinged with a vulnerability and tenderness that say much of the fundamental humanity that defines his creative drive. [... more info]
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THE LAST POETS [USA]
Available upon request
Along with the Watts Prophets and Gil Scott-Heron, The Last Poets have their rightful place in the pantheon of hip-hop’s founding fathers. Active since the late 60s, they pioneered rhythmically complex spoken word often set to African percussion or jazz arrangements. In addition to their musical richness, The Last Poets, whose original members include Abiodun Oyewole, Umar Bin Hasan, Suleiman el-Hadi, Jalal Nuriddin and Babatunde, provided a vital, radical political voice for post-Civil rights black America. Pieces such as Niggers Are Scared Of Revolution, It’s A Trip and This Is Madness were an essential wake up call to an oppressed people, and paved the way for successive exponents of conscious hip-hop, from Chuck D and KRS-1 to The Roots and Common, with whom The Last Poets collaborated in 2006.
Claude Santiago’s excellent 2009 documentary Made In Amerikkka produced a fitting summary of the group’s essential legacy. [... more info]
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ROBERTO FONSECA [Cuba]
On tour in June, July and August | Enja Records |
Although European audiences first noticed Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca when he was touring with the legendary Buena Vista Social Club, he came into his own as a solo artist after he released his excellent debut Elengo in 2001, which was followed by the equally impressive Temperamento in 2004, Zamazu in 2007 and Akokan in 2009. It revealed a composer and soloist of great technical skill and emotional depth, a player who had harnessed both the harmonic ingenuity of American jazz legends such as Herbie Hancock and the rhythmic flourish of Cuban trailblazer Chucho Valdes. As great as Fonseca’s improvisatory gifts are, he also has a real understanding of folk music and the populist leanings of Akokan, most notably on pieces which featured the gifted soul singer Raul Midon, simply widened the appeal of his work. Fonseca has the clear potential to play a very significant part in the future of Cuban music. [... more info]
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MAMANI KEITA [Mali]
Available upon request | No Format! |
Malian vocalist Mamani Keita has been touching hearts and minds in both Africa and Europe since the release of the universally applauded 2002 album, Electric Bamako, a collaboration with French musician Marc Minelli. The record saw the singer lend her powerful, graceful tone to skillfully constructed electronic beats. Since that time Keita, who worked with the Malian theatre company Oulofobougou in the early stage of her career, has gone on to fulfill her enormous artistic potential. Yelema, a recent album with producer Nicolas Repac, has revealed great versatility on the part of the singer, who clearly has an eye and an ear for adventurous and unusual projects. Having already shared both the studio and stage with such luminaries as Salif Keita, Manu Dibango, Tama, Jeffrey Smith, Hank Jones and Cheick Tidiane Seck, Keita has made it clear that she is not just ‘another’ African diva, which is one of the reasons why she is so exciting a prospect. [... more info]
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MIGUEL POVEDA [Spain]
Available upon request | Universal Jazz |
Barcelona-born vocalist Miguel Proveda is one of the most spellbinding voices in contemporary flamenco music. Having raised many an eyebrow with his performances since the ‘90s, he has become a celebrated champion of Catalan culture and has won countless prizes over the years, the most prestigious of which is the Lamapa Minera.
Furthermore, he has collaborated with noted film directors such as Nicolas Klozt and Pedro Almodovar but his work in the recording studio has also yielded outstanding results. His latest 2CD release Coplas Del Querer is a quite stunning set of finely wrought, jazz-tinged ballads that features guitarist Chicuelo and pianist Juan Albert Amargos. [... more info]
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ORCHESTRA BAOBAB [Senegal]
40th Birthday tours! March and Summer 2011 | World Circuit Records |
Like the tree that inspired its name, Orchestra Baobab stands tall and majestic on the landscape of African music. Formed in Dakar in 1970, the band has been something of a Senegalese super group and exerted a considerable influence on future stars such as Youssou N’Dour, Ismael Lo and Omar Pene. Baobab’s sound reflects the intriguing relationship that Africa has with Latin-American music and the group’s dizzyingly complex rhythmic arrangements have elements of salsa, rumba, high life and m’balax. After enjoying immense popularity in the 70s, Baobab suffered a period of decline in the 80s but nonetheless the band kept going and has recently been recognized by a new generation of fans through the exposure provided by a contract with World Circuit records. The 2007 re-issue of the classic 1982 album Ken Dou Warente under the new title of Pirates Choice confirmed the majestically timeless nature of Boabab’s music. [... more info]
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DAM [Palestine]
Available upon request
The first of its kind, Dam is a Palestinian hip-hop group that takes a firm stand for the sovereignty of its homeland as well as the need to find a peaceful solution to the Middle East problem and ensure that women enjoy equal rights. Hailing from the ghetto of Lod on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Dam, comprising brothers Tamer and Suhell, and their childhood friend Mahmoud, came together in 1999 and drew inspiration from American and French rappers such as Nas and Saian Supa Crew. They have been steadily building a fan base for the last decade, developing a sound that blends heavy, bulky funk bass lines and crisp, mellifluous Arabic percussion. After releasing two albums in Palestine, they made their international debut with Ihad.
In Arabic Dam means that which is thicker than water. Yet they are a different kind of ‘blood’ to the one found on the streets of New York. [... more info]
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