Cornell Institute for European Studies and Camargue Productions present:

The French Guitar Master and Composer Stephane Wrembel and the Django Experiment LIVE at the Rongo on Saturday July 11, 2009 Early Show- 8pm, tickets at the door are $10

French guitar master Stephane Wrembel, and his band “The Django Experiment” will perform on the Rongovian embassy’s stage Saturday July 11, 2009 at 8pm. Wrembel has been leaving audiences awestruck with his high energy improvisations and an unparalleled level of virtuosity for over a decade. His ability to blend traditional gypsy jazz with world and rock elements has given new life to the age old music. He finds the space where Django Reinhardt meets Jimi Hendrix on a path laid by John Coltrane.

Growing up only 20 miles from Django’s final resting place, Wrembel discovered the jazz legend in his teens and never looked back. Spending years traveling and studying with gypsy masters he harnessed the soul, passion, and fire of this music. In 2000 he moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music and gain a better understanding of other ethnic musical styles, composition and technique.

Word of Wrembel’s talent reverberated far and fast. Upon arriving in New York, jazz legend Les Paul invited Wrembel to join him at his Monday night concerts in Manhattan. Music icons have been clambering ever since to have an opportunity to work with this talent. He recorded and toured with David Grisman to support their 2005 album “Gypsy Rumble”. Wrembel’s composition “Big Brother” from that album appears on the soundtrack to Woody Allen’s movie “Vicky Christina Barcelona”. He has performed all over the planet with other legends such as Patti Smith, Mark O’Connor, John Scofield, Elvis Costello, as well as Ryan Montbleau Band.

Perhaps that’s why Rolling Stone magazine calls him “A revelation”; the NY times calls him “Fast, intense and full of charisma…radical”; Relix Magazine says Stephane is “One of the greatest guitar players I have ever seen…and I don’t say that lightly”. We should all take the advice of the critics at All About Jazz and “Don’t miss this opportunity to see a truly astonishing talent in action.”

More info about Stephane Wrembel at www.stephanewrembel.com Tickets for Stephane Wrembel and The Django Experiment are $10 at the door. A full house is expected so early arrival is recommended.

The Rongo is located at 1 West Main Street, Trumansburg, Phone: (607) 387-3334 http://www.rongo.com/index.html

Cornell’s Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Music Ensemble (CMEMME) is fortunate to have a highly regarded musican of Armenian heritage this semester.

Harold Hagopian is an Armenian-American violinist and record producer. He operates Traditional Crossroads record label out of New York. He has worked on reissuing diverse styles of Armenian music from Shoghaken Ensemble from Armenia, to original recordings of Gomidas Vartabed and his student the famous Armenag Shah-Mouradian, to the “Kef Time” albums of Richard Hagopian (Harold’s father.) Harold is an accomplished violinist, in the realms of classical music and also playing Armenian music, often with his father Richard on oud. He also plays the kanon and clarinet.

Cornell students can play in the ensemble as a one credit class. The ensemble is also open to the general community. CMEMME performs traditional Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Greek and other music from the Middle East (a.k.a. Near East). Ensemble rehearsals consist of learning and analyzing repertoire from the folk, popular, and classical genres, and several performances are given throughout the semester. Course materials include recordings, notation, and text transliteration. Instruments used by CMEME include voice, oud (lute), qanun (zither), nay (cane flute), keman (violin), tabla (goblet drum), riq (tambourine), and duf (frame drum), as well as Arabic accordion, Saxophone, clarinet, upright bass and cello.

More information here http://www.arts.cornell.edu/cmeme/

On Saturday 25th October 2008 Rami el Aasser, a fine Middle Eastern percussionist, will be in Ithaca. He will be playing in the evening for the Crossing Borders Radio Show, and in the late afternoon he will be giving riq and dumbek lessons at Toko Imports, in the DeWitt Mall. The group lesson class cost will be $15. There will be instruments available for those who do not bring their own. If you wish to take part in these lessons, you can call Tom (the owner of Toko Imports) at 607.277.3780 to reserve a place.

Marty Hatch

http://www.crossingborderslive.org/index.php
http://www.toko-imports.com/
http://www.arts.cornell.edu/cmeme/

SIMILAR LISTINGS http://canaaninstitute.org/mikesmusic/viewforum.php?f=6