Music of the Americas, curated by Adrián Iaies

Monday, March 29, 10 a.m.

Argentine pianist, arranger, and composer Ovidio Velázquez has participated in the most important folk festivals in his country, including Festival de Cosquín Festival, Festival de Doma y Folklore de Jesús María, and Festival del Chamamé. He has also toured Asia and Europe as pianist and musical director of Break the Tango and Tango After Dark, and is currently working on the production of the first album with Ovidio Velazquez Trío, featuring his original compositions.

From Buenos Aires, Velázquez and his trio partners bassist Diana Arias and singer Mora Martínez sent us “Volviendo Zamba,” in the form and rhythm of a zamba, a musical genre originally from northwestern Argentina that over time has become a musical symbol of the whole country. 

Tuesday, March 30, 10 a.m.

Italian pianist Andrea Rea was born in Naples and studied jazz and classical piano. He is currently the pianist of (O.N.J.) Neapulitan Jazz Orchestra, conducted by Mario Raja, and of the Stefano Di Battista 4et. In 2010 he released White Room, his first record as a leader, which was followed by Arioso, released in 2014 with special guest Stefano Di Battista on soprano sax and several others. Rea has also performed with Marcello di Leonardo and Daniele Sorrentino, Dianne Reeves Band, and Yotam Silberstain, among many others.

From Rome, he sent us a solo version of Carlos Aguirre's “Milonga gris,” which has become a big hit among En Casa performers over this past year.

Wednesday, March 31, 10 a.m.

Santiago Lamisovski is one of the most active double bass players in the Argentine jazz scene. He has played with Guillermo Romero, Ernesto Jodos, Mariano Loiácono, Rodrigo Domínguez, Luis Nacht, Sergio Verdinelli, Michael Attias, Louis Sclavis, Ed Neumeister, and Yissy Garcia. He’s participated in the Buenos Aires Jazz Festival several times and in 2016 was selected to participate at the Marilyn Crispell Residency. He currently plays in the Adrián Iaies Drumless Trio, the Nataniel Edelman Trio, the Marcelo Gutfraind Quintet, and Emitime with Sanitago Leibson, Samir Böhringer, and Tobias Pfister. Lamisovski graduated with a degree in jazz from Conservatorio Manuel de Falla. In 2016, he participated in the School for Improvisational Music (SIM) in New York, where he studied with Ralph Alessi and took private lessons with Ben Street and Ron Carter.

Pianist, composer, and improviser Nataniel Edelman was born in Buenos Aires. He’s released two albums leading his trio with Guillermo Harriague and Santiago Rapoport: Humedad (2014) and Búfalos (2016). He is a member of the Maximiliano Kirszner Trio, Andrés Elstein Quartet, Lucas Goicoechea Group, Pablo Moser Quartet, Guillermo Harriague Quartet, Renato Bianucci Quintet, Ensamble Kuai, and the European group HUM, with which he has recorded and performed extensively. He has shared stages with Rodrigo Domínguez, Enrique Norris, Juan Bayón, Carto Brandán, Ernesto Jodos, Marcelo Gutfraind, Fermín Merlo, Michael Formanek, Tim Berne, Gerald Cleaver, Michael Attias, and Dave Douglas. among others. He studied piano with Ernesto Jodos and Fernando Pérez, and with Angélica Sanchez and Gary Versace in New York. Edelman is holds a degree in jazz from Conservatorio Manuel de Falla in Buenos Aires, and attended the SIM workshop in New York in 2016, where he took classes with Ralph Alessi, Kris Davis, and Tom Rainey.

The duo sent Edelman's piece “Mudanzas,” a piece that mixes improvisation and written elements. 

Thursday, April 1, 6 p.m.

As we pass a year since the start of the pandemic, we meet again with Juan Carlos Adrianzén, Clemencia Ferreyros, Pamela López Rodríguez, and Igor Lozada to ask them what their year has been like.

Watch the panel and participate in the chat!

What were they able to do to continue promoting the arts in the middle of a pandemic? How do they see the future? What are we learning that is going to change—maybe forever—our way to make art and to connect with audiences?

Friday, April 2, 10 a.m.

Guitarist, composer and teacher Carlos Moscardini is one of the leading voices of Argentinean guitar music, whose compositions are performed by renowned guitarists from around the world and have been included in study programs at conservatories in America and Europe. Moscardini has recorded several albums and has performed over the world. He has given seminars and masterclasses and has juried competitions in Argentina and Europe. He has received numerous awards for his work on Argentinean folk music and tango. He currently teaches at the Conservatorio Manuel de Falla in Buenos Aires, where he founded the degree in Argentine traditional music.

Singer Julia Moscardini has participated in important jazz festivals in Buenos Aires, is a member of the CCK Jazz Orchestra, directed by Mariano Loiácono, and has shared the stage in Buenos Aires with Sheila Jordan, Carl Alen, Antonio Hart, and Cyrus Chestnut. In 2019 she released her first solo album, Stablemates, with Sebastian Loiácono, Ernesto Jodos, Jeronimo Carmona, Carto Brandán, and Mariano Loiácono.

From Buenos Aires, the daughter-father duo sent “Huella perdida,” by Carlos Moscardini and Francisco Lanusse. The huella is a traditional musical form from the Argentine pampas. Its lyrics are usually related to life in the countryside, frequently with probing existential content. This is a contemporary take on this musical style.

Friday, April 2, 7 p.m.

Watch here

This virtual concert is Fonema's Music of the Americas debut.

Program:

Marisol Jimenez, “Caro Cibus”
Mauricio Pauly, “Dust Unsettled”
Pablo Chin, “Green Alter Egos”

Fonema Consort was co-founded by Chin with singer Nina Dante and composer Edward Hamel in 2011. The group is known for their "enthusiastic embrace of daring new music" (Chicago Reader) and is driven by a fascination with pieces that foster rich interplay of voices and instruments.

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

The Spring 2021 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.

Additional support for Fonema Consort: Green Alter Egos comes from The Amphion Foundation, Inc. and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.