2007 Festival Artists to Include:

Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players

The Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players (the CCP) is part of the performance program of the Department of Music at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Long Island. The group is co-directed by renowned performance faculty artists Gilbert Kalish and Eduardo Leandro.

The CCP ensemble performs a large number of concerts annually including several in New York City and on tour. These include the World Premieres Concert, Stony Brook Composers Concerts, Percussion Plus, Postmodern, 20th Century Classics and other new music concerts.

Players from the CCP have been heard in performance with groups such as Continuum, New Millennium, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Aequalis, New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, Earplay, The Guild Trio and many other new music groups.
http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/CAS/music.nsf/pages/cchamber

Folklore Urbano

Folklore Urbano features the original music and arrangements of NYC composer/arranger/pianist Pablo Mayor. In his music, the seductive Colombian rhythms of his native country entwine with sophisticated jazz harmonies and form, inciting both dance and intrigue. The sound is fresh; New York City-based Folklore Urbano features a stellar jazz horn section comprised of soprano/alto saxophone, euphonium, baritone saxophone, and flute, a jazz rhythm section (drumset, bass, and piano), Colombian folkloric drums/ percussion (tambora, alegre, maracas), and most recently, trumpet and vocals.

Folklore Urbano forges new territory by presenting the improvisatory elements of jazz while retaining the rhythm and flavor of a Colombian tradition that is mostly unknown today. The group's CD, Aviso, has been broadcast throughout South America, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Puerto Rico, Miami, and New York.
http://www.folkloreurbano.com/

Bakithi Kumalo

Bakithi Kumalo is well known for his indelible bass licks on Paul Simon's Graceland album, released in 1986. His precise and sinuous bass lines went far beyond simply marking time: they thundered out a countdown for the dismemberment of apartheid. Considered one of the world's most talented living bassists, this South African's musical style reflects world influences, including South African traditional folk, contemporary jazz, salsa and electronica. Vocalist Robbi Kumalo, an exhilarating singer-songwriter who has worked with Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Harry Belafonte, infuses jazzy interpretations with African chants. This inspirational concert reminds us all that we are connected through music.
http://boneinthenose.com/