Author Archives: Mel Minter

Dafnis Prieto Goes Large

Dafnis Prieto Big Band (L to R). Front row: Roberto Quintero, Josh Deutsch, Román Filiú, Dafnis Prieto, Peter Apfelbaum, Ricky Rodríguez. Middle row: Michael Thomas, Tim Albright, Jeff Nelson, Manuel Valera, Mike Rodríguez, Alex Sipiagin. Back row: Nathan Eklund, Alan Ferber, Chris Cheek, Joel Frahm, Jacob Garchik.

Since his arrival in New York from Cuba in 1999, drummer/composer/bandleader Dafnis Prieto has proven himself an adventurous musician in a variety of settings—trio, quartet, sextet—with a healthy disregard for genre. His latest release, Back to the Sunset,* is his most ambitious to date.

Prieto will bring his Sí o Sí Quartet, with Peter Apfelbaum on saxophones, Alex Brown on piano, and Ricky Rodriguez on bass, to the Outpost this Sunday, April 29. Go here for details. Continue reading

Strange and Beautiful: New Releases from Manuel Valera and Sourena Sefati

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Cuban pianist Manuel Valera and Iranian santourist Sourena Sefati have each released new albums that live outside the musical mainstream but which are nonetheless quite comfortable inside the ear. Valera’s compositions draw on the theoretical constructs of Russian composer and conductor Nicolas Slonimsky, and Sefati employs ancient Persian elements in his modern compositions. Continue reading

Newest Releases from Ron Miles and Bill Frisell

Cornetist/composer Ron Miles delivered a spellbinding evening of music for an Outpost Performance Space fundraiser a few weeks ago with his trio, which includes guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Brian Blade. On his latest release, I Am a Man(Yellowbird Records), Miles adds a couple of players to the trio. Meanwhile, Frisell’s latest release, Music IS* (Okeh/Sony Masterworks), goes in the opposite direction: it’s a solo effort. Both, unsurprisingly given the participants, are worthy of attention. Continue reading

Rahim AlHaj Trio Celebrates New Album at the Outpost

Rahim AlHaj Trio: Issa Malluf, Rahim AlHaj, Sourena Sefati.

Eighteen years ago, Iraqi oud virtuoso/composer Rahim AlHaj, his life threatened by the Saddam regime, which had already imprisoned and tortured him twice, emigrated to the United States with his oud, a few books and paintings, and $60. (A heavy smoker at the time, he claims, with a laugh, to have smoked the $60.) His trouble with the regime had its seeds in the early days of the Iran-Iraq War, when he was just 13 years old. He submitted a composition in Maqam Dasht (an Iraqi scale) to the quadrennial youth competition and won. Because Maqam Dasht is closely related to the Iranian Maqam Āvāz-eDašti, the composition was heard by some as an antiwar statement, a gesture of peace toward Iran. This Saturday, at the Outpost, AlHaj celebrates the release of his latest recording, One Sky(Smithsonian Folkways), which includes that same composition, enriched by AlHaj’s mature mastery of his instrument. He will be joined by his trio mates on the album: Iranian santur virtuoso Sourena Sefati, and Palestinian-American percussionist Issa Malluf. Continue reading

Enginergy: The Trio Engine Channels a Magical Energy (Updated)

Engine: Robin Gentien, Pierre Lauth-Karson, Alejandro Tomás Rodriguez. Photo by Ian Rivera. Courtesy of Engine.

On Wednesday evenings through May 2, in a funky back room at Dialogue Brewery, with its rebar-protected windows and its mismatched collection of office chairs, stools, folding chairs, and legless sofa, a series of Encuentros Íntimos—Intimate Encounters—offers an exciting musical experience with the trio Engine. The group, comprising Alejandro Tomás Rodriguez (vocals, acoustic guitar) from Argentina, and Robin Gentien (vocals, electric guitar, percussion) and Pierre Lauth-Karson (vocals, harmonica, percussion) from France, plays an unclassifiable genre of music that includes original and ancient songs delivered with irresistible rhythms, theatrical savvy, and transformative intention.

Update: Given the enthusiastic reception they’ve had in Albuquerque, Engine has decided to record their new album here, and they’ve launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the project. Please visit their Kickstarter page to learn more and to contribute. Continue reading