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News Tommy Sands Travels to Israel and Palestine with a Template for Peace Polyrhythmic Peoples: The Jazz Metaphor for Culture Peter Ostroushko’s New Recording, When the Last Morning Glory Blooms Archive April/May 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 October 2009 August 2009 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 |
Tommy Sands Travels to Israel and Palestine with a Template for Peace
From Let the Circle Be Wide, by Tommy Sands Shake the hand of the man Tommy Sands today travels with his daughter Moya and son Fionan to Palestine and Israel amidst the aftermath of the attack on several Gaza-bound aid ships. Tommy says his visit is “in solidarity with all those groups involved in human rights and peace building that feel isolated in an increasing tension of violence, yet more than ever are in need of support.” Originally, Tommy planned to travel with a group of politicians and ex combatants who have been involved in addressing "the impossible problem," but the recent events in Palestine/Israel have postponed this possibility. Tommy is committed to bringing his music of social consciousness and healing to Palestine and Israel in answer to many calls from peace movements in both countries. The ten day tour of "Tommy Sands and his Irish Band" will include meetings with these various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as "The Forum of the Bereaved Families" and "Breaking The Silence". The band will perform concerts in the West Bank as well as Gaza and Israel, where Tommy will continue to use his music and songs to encourage people of opposing viewpoints to coexist peacefully, and to offer an alternative to violence. Mick Maloney: “Tommy’s role in our modern times transcends the traditional role of the bard. The Celtic Bard of olden times praised only his own patron and clan and fiercely castigated all enemies. Tommy, on the other hand, says and writes words that are more likely to bring people of diverse backgrounds together than keep them apart. ’Enlightened bard' might be the most apt description of Tommy. Long may he fill this role.“ Polyrhythmic Peoples: The Jazz Metaphor for Culture
Throughout history, the clash of people, government, even ideals, provided an impetus for change. From the fall of a Salem judge’s guilty gavel to Rosa Park’s echoing "no," one event, a clash, begins the road to social justice. As an adjunct professor teaching the rhythms of the African Diaspora at Gettysburg College, Jazz musician Babatunde Lea sees these clashes in the web of history and within the inner-workings of people. He uses the idea of a clash in a literal sense as well as symbolic. He teaches a jazz metaphor for culture through the process of learning polyrhythms.
With polyrhythms, Babatunde teaches students a jazz metaphor for culture, and through a new institute at Gettysburg College, he’s able to teach it in the very buildings and on the very roads that the Civil Rights Movement staked its claim on equality 70 years ago. The Leadership Institute for Social Change offers representatives from Greek societies a different view of how to approach leadership. Its culminating event is a week-long immersion project in Alabama, where students explored first-hand the Civil Rights Movement and its leadership for social change. The immersion part of the course introduced students to Bob Manz, a civil rights advocate present at the events in 1965. It gave them an opportunity to sit with Amalia Boiton, a civil rights activist who was one of the many beaten protesters on Bloody Sunday. The students received a first-hand account of what happened on that day over 50 years ago that changed the face of social justice in the United States. They also talked with a Haines County (Alabama) sheriff who cut his trip to Africa short to speak to the students about leadership and the problems in Haines. For example, black men are being arrested for non-punitive crimes and given life in prison, because of the way the industrial prison complex is run. They even visited the Southern Poverty Law Center, where the first successful case of suing the KKK came into fruition. All of these experiences were designed to create fresh notions of leadership, and illustrate a major shortcoming. “Hierarchical leadership is problematical,” says Babatunde. “Leading people only by dealing out to them what to do, and not by learning about how people are and feel, and considering the situation and circumstance in which you find yourself leading gives rise to racism, sexism, all the isms. This group learns multiple styles of leadership, with the goal of reshaping leadership within the organizations based on social justice. In doing so, they look at an inclusive model.” The Institute, only in its first year but with plans to continue, wants to produce leaders who are able to deal with current problems that stem from what has taken place in past; for the future, a better understanding of community and how to create a functioning egalitarian type of society. Aside from Babatunde Lea, facilitators include Kim Davidson (Asst. Director of Center for Public Service) Andrew Barclay (Director of the Greek Organization) and John Regentin (Director of Gettysburg Recreational Adventure Board). Learn more about Babatunde Lea and his programs Peter Ostroushko’s New Recording, When the Last Morning Glory Blooms
If I may be so bold to say, frankly this music was too good to not be available for the good of this planet and its inhabitants. Peter Ostroushko Peter is the kind of guy that looks out for the Earth. It probably started with his impressive (and borderline obsessive) gardening, but now it has reached his professional life; his newest album, When The Last Morning Glory Blooms, guarantees a lighter heart and less pollution. If you ask this Emmy Award-winning composer, fiddler, mandolinist and environmentalist why he released the recording he’ll tell you straight out: “If I may be so bold to say, frankly this music was too good to not be available for the good of this planet and its inhabitants.” What makes the album so great? Peter returns to his heartland roots with a rich collection of instrumentals that includes his own blend of Old World, contemporary and traditional sounds. It features master bluegrass musicians Norman and Nancy Blake, and country fiddler Johnny Gimble (of Bob Wills' legendary Texas Playboys), as well as noted Minnesota musicians Richard Dworsky, Pat Donohue, Dan Chouinard, and Joel Sayles. “Of the pieces that I composed,” says Peter, “some were written 10 years ago and others written days before they were recorded in December of ‘09.” That’s over ten years of dedication to saving the planet, in part, by recreating the music for life's moments. Sweet and somewhat nostalgic, the music is fresh, but familiar, like music that has been with you your whole life, keeping you company through the most beautiful times – the last blooms of summer, starry nights, and the wedding days of our loved ones. In fact, a few of the tracks are plucked from life's compositions. Peter wrote the playful Marjorie’s Waltz #4 for his wife, The B and B Waltz for Red House Records' founder Bob Feldman on the occasion of his wedding to Beth Friend, The A and A Waltz for the wedding of friends Andrew Pierzina and Andra Suchy. Personal and moving, these tunes provide a soundtrack to the most important moments in a person’s life. In addition to its ability to stop forest fires in a single listening and reverse the effects of acid rain when listeners hum along, the recording also revels in the world’s natural wonders. Note the charming Down Where the River Bends, or the haunting Napoleon Crossing the Alps, and the warm When the Last Morning Glory Blooms. Evoking a unique landscape, this album is cinematic in scope and sound. It’s a gift really, a dose of beauty and enchantment. And for best results, Peter recommends you take it twice weekly. Peter will tour throughout 2010 in support of the new album. To learn more, visit www.peterostroushko.com.
It’s become one of the biggest European acoustic shows, and gives no sign of slowing down. Beppe Gambetta’s Acoustic Night breaks its own attendance record year after year. In 2001 Beppe premiered this totally self-produced show, inviting musicians from all over the world to come together on the Teatro della Corte stage in Genova, Italy, creating new artistic ideas and forging new synergies. This year, the 10th Anniversary, the show sold out its 1,000-seat venue for three nights. When they added a fourth, that sold out too. “We continue to add evenings, and the event continues to sell out. It’s proof that if you have a facility, and present your form of art in special way, even the independent world can create incredible events,“ says Beppe. “A 4,000-seat sell-out of a self-produced show with acoustic artists… it’s sort of a miracle for modern times.” This year was the Decennale, the 10th Anniversary, and in honor of the special event all the creators of past Acoustic Night unforgettable moments flew in to share the stage with Beppe. The ensemble included Scottish guitarist Tony McManus, new prophet of the Celtic guitar in Genova (as a member of the Men of Steel), Patty Larkin, singer/songwriter from Boston, Darrell Scott, from Nashville, Bruce Molsky from New York, and Mike Marshall from Oakland, CA. Beppe says the success of the show is the mixture of presenting these special groups of artists and working the atmosphere of sets and lights (which are specially designed by artist, Sargo Bianco) with the evolving synergy of the artists. “It’s not only a few artists on stage, but has gained a great theatrical value. It’s a mix of great aspects,“ says Beppe. “It’s just such a great feeling when you work really hard and everything goes well.” Experience a piece of Acoustic Night: Decennale
Each artist Ixtlan represents is a premiere talent in their idiom, and they take audiences beyond daily experience into the arena of performance virtuosity rich in cultural traditions. Ixtlan artists speak directly, not only to performance, but to making an impact, on and off the stage. Through both stage performance and educational outreach, Ixtlan endeavors to provide a venue where performance is used as a bridge to cultural understanding, artistic awareness, educational involvement, and peaceful coexistence of shared ideas. Ixtlan periodically publishes a digest of the latest news about the artists on its roster. |
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“A master drummer learns polyrhythms and how they connect. Polyrhythms are very complex, and not easy to do. I teach the rhythm separately, and get students to do one rhythm with each hand. We have to break it down to see how it goes from bar to hook to bar. With a little concentration and practice they can do it. That’s what we need to do as people with ethnicities, as people on this planet. You can’t assume you know people and different cultures, because they’re actually very complex. People have a tendency to ‘project’ instead of taking the time to know. If you apply the same type of due diligence to learning a polyrhythm to people and surroundings and how you live, we could make a lot of our problems and issues and ‘isms’ surmountable.”
