Dan Kuramoto, co-founder of the two-time Grammy nominated jazz fusion band HIROSHIMA, was in the middle of laying down tracks for their next CD, when I chatted on the phone with him recently. He asked me to hold a moment while he put down his saxophone, then shared that HIROSHIMA is performing a Benefit Concert for Japan at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York on September 21, 2011.
I am psyched as the unique concert will feature songs that have been the hallmark of HIROSHIMA’s 30 year career. Special guest stars on the bill include Machan on vocals, Kaoru Watanabe on Fue/percussion, Jazz Pianist Helen Sung, David Henry Hwang on Electric violin and a surprise guest artist.
Nominated for a 2010 Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album, HIROSHIMA are the only Asian American Band to receive a coveted Grammy nomination and LEGACY marks their second.
Hiroshima embraces cultural diversity with innovative music that blends Jazz, Pop, R&B, and World music with Eastern and Western instruments. The group crossed over into Smooth Jazz stardom with the smash hit “One Wish” from the best-seller Gold album “Another Place.” Hiroshima’s “Go” topped Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart and won a Soul Train Award for “Best Jazz Album.”
The
Three
Chinese
Tenors,
Dai
Yuqiang,
Wei
Song
and
Warren
Mok
are
currently
on
a
a
world
tour
marking
their
appointment
as
China’s
cultural
ambassadors.
Ten years after the original Three Tenors performed live in the Forbidden City, China returns the favor. In anticipation of their by-invitation-only performance, “A Night with Beijing” at Alice Tully Hall, they’ll make a special appearance at the China Institute in New York on January 21, 2012 from 5:30pm – 7:30pm. Financial Times music critic Ken Smith, whose role for many years has been to explain opera in the West to the Chinese, and the opera in China to the West, will discuss with The Three Chinese Tenors, their respective roles in Western Opera’s recent success in China both in public visibility and recent prominence in the nation’s cultural agenda.
The China Institute is located at 125 East 65th Street in New York. The program also includes a pre-talk reception. Advance registration is required due to limited seating; $10 suggested donation toward supporting future Arts & Culture programming. Call 212-744-8181, ext. 111.
WQXR
Celebrates
Chinese
New
Year
with
“China in New York: A WQXR Festival”
January 23 – 29
An Exploration of China’s Rising Classical Music Scene
With LANG LANG, HUANG RUO, TAN DUN, among others
In Partnership with the New York Philharmonic, Queens Council on the Arts and Crossing Art
(January
X,
2012
-
New
York,
NY) –
As
China
grapples
with
its
relationship
with
Western
culture,
one
Western
art
form
is
booming:
classical
music
of
the
European
canon.
Approximately
50
million
children
study
classical
instruments,
new
concert
halls
have
appeared
in
major
cities
and
provinces,
and
an
increasing
number
of
Chinese
artists
are
gaining
international
recognition.
From Monday, January 23 – Sunday, January 29, WQXR will ring in the Year of the Dragon with CHINA IN NEW YORK: A WQXR FESTIVAL, an exploration of the work of Chinese-born composers and musicians now active in New York, as well as some of the economic and political issues surrounding classical music in China, through live events, radio specials, and online exclusives available at www.wqxr.org/china.
CHINA
IN
NEW
YORK will be
book-ended
by
THE
YEAR
OF
THE
DRAGON
begins January 23, 2012 with observances that continue 15 days.
The
Dragon
is
considered
by
many
to
be
the
most
auspicous
year
in
the
twelve
year
cycle
of
the
Chinese
zodiac.
Go
out
and
bring
in
the
new
year!
Read author and Feng Shui expert Angi Ma Wong's predictions here.
Here
are
just
a
sample
of
the
many
events
celebrating
the
Year
of
the
Dragon
around
the
country,
from
the
San
Francisco
Bay
Area
to
Las
Vegas,
Los
Angeles,
Beverly
Hills,
Monterey
Park,
CA,
New
York
City,
Flushing,
Queens,
Vancouver,
Portland,
Oregon,
Richmond,
British
Columbia,
Toronto,
Washington
DC,
Milpitas,
Fremont,
Palo
Alto,
Campbell,
San
Jose,
Foster
City,
Redwood
City,
Saratoga,
Cupertino,
Newark,
CA,
San
Bruno,
and
beyond!
(Compiled
from
news
sources
around
the
country. Please
confirm
all
dates,
times
and
locations
independently
if
you
plan
to
attend
any
of
these
events.
Dragon
photo
by
Lia
Chang.)
SAN FRANCISCO:
Jan 14-15: San Francisco Flower Market Fair and Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
Yesterday, I met up with David and his cast members Jennifer Lim, Angela Lin, Christine Lin, Johnny Wu and Larry Lei Zhang at Ruby Foo’s Dim Sum Sushi Palace, where they were having a pre-show Year of the Dragon dinner.
CHINGLISH