matinae’s blog

Jazz and so much more to enjoyJazz saxophonist Brad Leali and his quartet were performing in Athens, Greece, last spring when a reporter asked him why jazz, with its African American roots, now appeals to a global audience.”Music is about bringing people together, learning about different cultures, different peoples and different traditions,” Leali said.His answer about jazz could speak for all of the forms of music that will fill UNC Charlotte’s Robinson Hall this week — American jazz, European and American classical, and Romani, klezmer and Russian folk.Three of the performances also will feature exceptional guest musicians. Leali, for instance, has performed with the Count Basie Orchestra, the Harry Connick Jr. Orchestra and several other jazz artists. He is director of jazz studies at Texas Tech University.Leali will be at UNCC next weekend as guest director for the second annual TIAA-CREF All-Star College Jazz Ensemble.Top jazz musicians from Carolinas colleges and universities will study under Leali for two days, then offer a free concert of Big Band music at 2 p.m. next Sunday.Jazz lovers can also come on Tuesday evening when the UNCC jazz ensembles perform.While jazz traces its origins to African American spirituals, the music performed Wednesday evolved over hundreds of years in Eastern Europe.”Dostoevsky, Jews and Gypsies” will bring together Russian folk, Russian-Romani (Gypsy) and Jewish klezmer music and dance.The main performers are among the best in their fields. Vadim Kolpakov, UNCC’s artist in residence, and Oleg Timofeyev of the University of Iowa will perform on the seven-string Russian guitar.”There are just two people in North America who play this instrument, him and me, basically,” said Kolpakov, who will direct the show. Kolpakov’s residency is supported by the Chancellor’s Diversity Challenge Fund.Performing with them will be Romani dancer, singer and accordion player Petra Gelbart; Arkadiy Gips, whom Kolpakov describes as the best Russian violinist in the United States; Kolpakov’s wife, dancer Marina Shanefelter; and vocalist Anne Harley, an assistant professor of music at UNCC.She and Timofeyev in 2000 formed Talisman, which has been called a ground-breaking ensemble for early Russian music.Some of the guest artists will also instruct UNCC students. Some students and faculty will also perform Wednesday.Kolpakov, who is Roma, said the Jewish and Romani cultures have similar stories — with the Romani people coming to Europe from India 10 centuries ago and the Jews coming from the Middle East after the rise of Islam.Both groups have branches throughout Europe, with unique cultures. Both based their art on local folklore. And both groups were targeted for destruction in the Nazi Holocaust.Wednesday’s event is free. The audience will be educated and entertained, Kolpakov said.”I think they will be amazed about the playing and singing because these are virtuoso musicians who are playing with a big soul in this kind of music,” he said. “And they will learn a little more about what the sound is like and the culture is like of Roma or klezmer or Russian music.”Come back Thursday for another cultural lesson by musical virtuosos, the Halcyon Trio.Pianist Gary Kirkpatrick, violist Brett Deubner and clarinetist Andrew Lamy have won praise nationwide for bringing new energy to pieces ranging in style from Baroque to modern, including works they commissioned. Flavor of the neighborhoodWant to go?Here are details for each performance. Get tickets by calling the Robinson Hall Box Office, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays at 704-687-2599 or in person an hour before each performance. Details: www.performances.uncc.eduRobinson Hall faces University City Boulevard at the main entrance. Park in the East Parking Deck by bearing right at the Y intersection at Robinson Hall. The deck is on the right just before the traffic circle.The parking deck attendant can also give directions.• Jazz Ensembles – 8 p.m. Tuesday. Tickets $5 general admission; $3 students, seniors, faculty.• Dostoevsky, Jews and Gypsies – 8 p.m. Wednesday. Free. Hear and see samples at www.barynya.com/kiki/romen• The Halcyon Trio – 8 p.m. Thursday. Tickets $10 general admission, $7 faculty, staff and alumni, $5 students and seniors. Hear samples at www.halcyontrio.com.• TIAA-CREF All-Star Collegiate Jazz Ensemble – 2 p.m. next Sunday. Free`Fool for Love’ in Lab TheatreSam Shepard wrote about love, hate, rodeo stars and incest in his OBIE-winning 1983 play and 1985 screenplay, “Fool for Love.”Ed Harris, Bruce Willis, Kim Basinger and Shepard himself …Usefull links: Moonraker bond girl, Imad mughniyah, Valentine card download, The fan 590, Myspace valentine