Music of the Americas: Argentine Guitars, Afro-Dominican Jazz, and more

Tuesday, December 3, 10 am

Argentine guitarist Leo Méndez Ríos is back with "El sueño de un arpa" by his illustrious fellow entrerriano, Chivo López.  

Wednesday, December 4, 10 am 

Josean Jacobo is a pianist, producer and singer-songwriter born and raised in Santo Domingo. He attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston and began writing his own music, performing at international jazz festivals in the Caribbean, including Barranquijazz Festival, the Panama Jazz Festival, and Gwadloup Festival. 

Inspired by Afro-Dominican rhythms, Josean fuses jazz with popular music styles from the Dominican Republic as well as with neo-soul and electronic dance music. His album Cimarrón (2019) reached JazzWeek's top 100 list and the top 50 of the ABC Jazz radio station in Australia. It also appeared in BBC's prestigious list of "most requested jazz records" and was one of Jazziz magazine's best albums of 2019. 

Part of his latest album, Ay Mamá!, the song "Malo" combines merengue with a centuries-old Dominican musical tradition called Los Congos de Villa Mella which comes from Sabana del Espíritu Santo, a region just north of Santo Domingo. Jacobo was joined by Otoniel Nicolás, Mois Silfa, Magic Mejía, and Daroll Méndez. 

Thursday, December 5, 10 am 

Born in 1992 in Buenos Aires, Leo Andersen is an Argentine guitarist, arranger, composer, and producer, with a prolific career spanning musical styles. He has received several awards and collaborated with the most prestigious artists of the Argentine music scene, both live in the country and abroad and on recordings. 

From Naples, where he has been on tour, he sent us this version of "Mbarigüi," a kind of polka inspired by a tour through northeastern Argentina together with the flamenco master Carlos Ledermann (to whom the work is dedicated). It seeks to fuse the colors of the soundscape of the jungle in the province of Misiones with elements of flamenco.

Friday, December 6, 10 am 

On October 22, 2024, Americas Society presented the third night of this year's Momenta Festival, featuring music by Julián Carrillo, Charles Ives, and Florence Price. 

Watch here

The MetLife Foundation Music of the Americas concert series is made possible by the generous support of Presenting Sponsor MetLife Foundation.

The Fall 2024 Music program is also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, by the Howard Gilman Foundation, by the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, by the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, and by the Mex-Am Cultural Foundation.