Following my Vietnam: North of the 16th Parallel Photo-Expedition/Workshop, here's a short audio-slideshow documenting some of the hill tribes of North Western Vietnam in Sa Pa and Bac Ha. Mostly Hmong and Dzao, and a handful from over 10 other tribes, they attend Bac Ha's famous Sunday market to buy, sell, barter and eat.
There are 10 Montagnard groups that live around Bac Ha: the Flower H’mong are the most visible (and seen in the slideshow), but other groups include Dzao, Giay (Nhang), Han (Hoa), Xa Fang, Lachi, Nung, Phula, Thai and Thula.
The still photographs were made with a Leica M9, Canon 5D Mark II and the Fuji X Pro-1. When using the latter, I mostly shot from the hip. The audio was recorded on a Tascam DR-40. The images were post-processed using Alien Skin Software.
The audio-slideshow can also be viewed on my Vimeo site.
13 Ekim 2012 Cumartesi
The Travel Photographer's "Hilltribes In The Mist"
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POV: Highlights Of Vietnam's Photo-Expedition/Workshop
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Hanoi is a dream come true for street photographers. Its residents virtually live their lives in the streets...conducting their daily routine in the open, eating and interacting with each other in the open. This obviously gives rise in innumerable opportunities for amusing and ironic life vignettes. I could easily spend days upon days wandering Hanoi's streets and alleys; especially those of the Old Quarter.
Actually, street shooting in all the cities and towns on the itinerary was the highlight of the trip. Whether it was Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An...walking in the streets with a camera in hand is just a sublime experience for those who like this style of candid photography like I do. The only problem? Too many scooters parked on the sidewalks!
2. Cao �à i in Hue:
Driving into Hue from Da Nang, I had noticed an unusually looking structure and saw a sign that proclaimed it to be a Cao �à i temple. I just could not let this opportunity go by, especially as I thought the only temple was in Vietnam's delta. Following telephone calls and my visit with Maika Elan, we secured the approval of the head priest to photograph its daily prayers. I can't emphasize enough how gracious and welcoming the congregation was...despite our many faux-pas during their prayer ritual.
This was a big deal for me as I always wanted to witness the rituals of this new indigenous religious tradition.
3. Model Photo Shoot in Hoi An:
Many of the walls of Hoi An are painted yellow-ochre, which symbolizes wealth. The town is a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, and is a delight to walk through. With Maika, I set up a photo shoot with one of her acquaintances who posed for us along one of its photogenic streets.
I'm not a fan of frozen and posed portraits, but the exercise in itself is both fun and educational. The best for me was to capture unposed moments such as this one when a child looked out of a window while the model adjusted her ao dai.
4. The Hilltribes of Sapa & Bac Ha:
I greatly enjoyed wandering in the markets of Sa Pa and Bac Ha...especially the latter where the Hmong and Dzao, and a handful from over 10 other tribes, attend Bac Ha's famous Sunday market to buy, sell, barter and eat. I'm still scratching my head as to the genetic mystery behind this Hmong child's blond hair.
I wandered in these markets for hours...occasionally using my Canon 5D Mark II, but relying more on my Fuji X Pro-1 in my street photography style...shooting from the hip to capture as much candor in my photographs as possible.
An audio-slideshow was born from these wanderings, and can be viewed on my Vimeo page.
5. Halong Bay:
Being cooped up on a boat...even for 24 hours...and even if it's a luxury cruise...is not my kind of thing. However, I must agree that Halong Bay is visually gorgeous, and amply deserves its World Heritage listing. I only include it as a highlight because its land-seascape is beautiful.
As I wrote elsewhere, I included this 24 hours cruise on our itinerary in the hope that the group participants would use the time to complete their audio slideshow projects. Some did and others didn't.
6. Vietnamese Buddhist Funeral:
On the way back to Hanoi from Halong Bay, we encountered a funeral. Both Maika and I went ahead to seek permission from the family to attend it and to photograph the rituals. I wasn't optimistic, but the head of the family readily agreed provided I lit an incense stick and presented my respects to the memory of the deceased. This I did, and planted the stick at the shrine. The deceased was born in 1925, and his name was Cu Pham Van Bao.
I was invited to drink green tea, and sat amongst the head table along with our host. The funeral rite is called le dua tang, and some of the mourners (presumably close relatives and families) wore coarse veils of gauze.
Being allowed into their midst at a time of sorrow by these Vietnamese mourners is a testament to their graciousness and kindness.
7. Catru: Vietnamese Religious Music:
We attended a Catru concert held at an old building in the heart of Hanoi's Old Quarter. High-brow and very traditional, this musical genre was already played during the 15th century during ceremonies at the Vietnamese court, but during the 1950s fell in disrepute due to its association with opium and similar nefarious activities.
The musician/singer in the above photograph is Ms Pham Thi Hue, a famous practitioner of this art form, who performed beautiful musical pieces during the hour-long session.
8. The Vee Sign:
Perhaps it's moving from the high brow (above) to a low brow topic, but many people hate the V-sign that Asians seem to do when being photographed. The V-sign was flashed as soon as young Vietnamese women asked me to take their pictures while celebrating the pre-Lunar festivities in Hanoi streets. They also did it when they posed for photographs with me. Not only are the Vietnamese youths camera-friendly (very friendly!) but they also know cameras. I was frequently stopped and asked about the X Pro-1 and the M9...but not once about the 5D II which many of them already have.
But I got used to the V-sign, and always expected it...I won't go so far as to say it's charming, but it certainly was part of the scene all around me when photographing the celebratory activities where I call the "street of the gaudy decorations". I got different interpretations for it. Some said it was a way to say "Hi"...and others said it was the peace sign.
9. Meeting A Vietnamese Star:
Ms Ngô Thanh Vân is a top Vietnamese actress, and was filming a movie in Hoi An. It's by total serendipity that we saw her. Very approachable, she was charming and we exchanged a few words. NTV (as she's known in Vietnam) asked me where I was from, and what was I doing in Hoi An.
I naturally took as many photographs as I could of her on the set without interfering with the going-ons.
If this brief encounter is not a highlight, I don't know what is.
Looking back at my recently completed my Vietnam: North of the 16th Parallel Photo Expedition/Workshop, here are my main favorite photographic experiences.
But before listing them, let me make the point that it's the people one meets on such trips that make them memorable. In my case, it was spending a few hours listening to Mr Dao's life story in Hoi An, with Mr Nguyen Bao in Hanoi and with Mamei near Sapa.
1. Street Photography in Hanoi:
 |
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
Actually, street shooting in all the cities and towns on the itinerary was the highlight of the trip. Whether it was Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An...walking in the streets with a camera in hand is just a sublime experience for those who like this style of candid photography like I do. The only problem? Too many scooters parked on the sidewalks!
2. Cao �à i in Hue:
 |
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
This was a big deal for me as I always wanted to witness the rituals of this new indigenous religious tradition.
3. Model Photo Shoot in Hoi An:
 |
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
Many of the walls of Hoi An are painted yellow-ochre, which symbolizes wealth. The town is a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, and is a delight to walk through. With Maika, I set up a photo shoot with one of her acquaintances who posed for us along one of its photogenic streets.
I'm not a fan of frozen and posed portraits, but the exercise in itself is both fun and educational. The best for me was to capture unposed moments such as this one when a child looked out of a window while the model adjusted her ao dai.
4. The Hilltribes of Sapa & Bac Ha:
 |
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
I wandered in these markets for hours...occasionally using my Canon 5D Mark II, but relying more on my Fuji X Pro-1 in my street photography style...shooting from the hip to capture as much candor in my photographs as possible.
An audio-slideshow was born from these wanderings, and can be viewed on my Vimeo page.
5. Halong Bay:
 |
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
Being cooped up on a boat...even for 24 hours...and even if it's a luxury cruise...is not my kind of thing. However, I must agree that Halong Bay is visually gorgeous, and amply deserves its World Heritage listing. I only include it as a highlight because its land-seascape is beautiful.
As I wrote elsewhere, I included this 24 hours cruise on our itinerary in the hope that the group participants would use the time to complete their audio slideshow projects. Some did and others didn't.
6. Vietnamese Buddhist Funeral:
 |
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
On the way back to Hanoi from Halong Bay, we encountered a funeral. Both Maika and I went ahead to seek permission from the family to attend it and to photograph the rituals. I wasn't optimistic, but the head of the family readily agreed provided I lit an incense stick and presented my respects to the memory of the deceased. This I did, and planted the stick at the shrine. The deceased was born in 1925, and his name was Cu Pham Van Bao.
I was invited to drink green tea, and sat amongst the head table along with our host. The funeral rite is called le dua tang, and some of the mourners (presumably close relatives and families) wore coarse veils of gauze.
Being allowed into their midst at a time of sorrow by these Vietnamese mourners is a testament to their graciousness and kindness.
7. Catru: Vietnamese Religious Music:
 |
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
We attended a Catru concert held at an old building in the heart of Hanoi's Old Quarter. High-brow and very traditional, this musical genre was already played during the 15th century during ceremonies at the Vietnamese court, but during the 1950s fell in disrepute due to its association with opium and similar nefarious activities.
The musician/singer in the above photograph is Ms Pham Thi Hue, a famous practitioner of this art form, who performed beautiful musical pieces during the hour-long session.
8. The Vee Sign:
 |
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
Perhaps it's moving from the high brow (above) to a low brow topic, but many people hate the V-sign that Asians seem to do when being photographed. The V-sign was flashed as soon as young Vietnamese women asked me to take their pictures while celebrating the pre-Lunar festivities in Hanoi streets. They also did it when they posed for photographs with me. Not only are the Vietnamese youths camera-friendly (very friendly!) but they also know cameras. I was frequently stopped and asked about the X Pro-1 and the M9...but not once about the 5D II which many of them already have.
But I got used to the V-sign, and always expected it...I won't go so far as to say it's charming, but it certainly was part of the scene all around me when photographing the celebratory activities where I call the "street of the gaudy decorations". I got different interpretations for it. Some said it was a way to say "Hi"...and others said it was the peace sign.
9. Meeting A Vietnamese Star:
 |
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy- All Rights Reserved |
I naturally took as many photographs as I could of her on the set without interfering with the going-ons.
If this brief encounter is not a highlight, I don't know what is.
The Travel Photographer's Vietnam Daguerreotypes
To contact us Click HERE
Here's the second of my Vietnam-related projects following my recent photo expedition-workshop....Vietnam In Daguerreotypes. This one is a gallery of stills, modified with Alien Skin Software to look like daguerreotypes. I recently installed the software and I'm amazed at its versatility and range of options.
I expect processing photographs with this software comes with some destructive element to it, but according to my very brief research, there are web tutorials that show you how to process photographs and keep their integrity intact.
The photographs were made with a Canon 5D Mark II (mostly with a 17-40mm), a Leica M9 (with a 40mm Voigtlander f1.4) and the Fuji X Pro-1 (18mm f2.8 XF Fujinon).
Very labor-intensive, the (real) daguerreotype is a direct-positive process, creating a highly detailed image on a sheet of copper plated with a thin coat of silver without the use of a negative. Exposure times for the earliest daguerreotypes ranged from three to fifteen minutes, making the process nearly impractical for portraiture. Modifications to the sensitization process coupled with the improvement of photographic lenses soon reduced the exposure time to less than a minute.
In comparison, the processing of a still photograph using the Alien Skin Software takes less than a minute, if that.
My first Vietnam project is an audio-slideshow titled Hill Tribes In The Mist, which is on my Vimeo Channel.
Abdul Waheed, The Music "Doctor"
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Here's a delightful "human interest" audio slideshow featured on CityFM89 (a FM station in Pakistan, which promotes the rich musical heritage of the region while offering a wide variety from pop to world music, from jazz to house music) about Abdul Waheed, the owner of Waheed Music Shop in Karachi.
Waheed Music Shop is tiny store full of musical instruments; acoustic guitars, tablas, flutes and banjos are crammed on the floor, waiting to be sold or repaired. The piece tells us that Abdul Waheed has been doing this work for over 40 years, and has had renowned artists visit his shop for all their musical needs. I'm certain that the Pakistani qawwali musicians have found their way to his shop.
It can also be viewed on Vimeo.
While I can't speak Urdu as such, it gave me pleasure to hear a few words in Abdul Waheed's narration that I could understand...ustaz, muhtaram, janab...all Urdu words with strong Arabic roots, and virtually similar in pronunciation. It also reminded me of living in Karachi many years ago, when things weren't as complicated as they seem to be now.
Although I liked this audio slideshow very much, I thought the panning was excessive but some people seem to like it. To me, it's just superfluous and distracting.
My thanks to Sitwat Rizvi who sent me the link.
Swiatoslaw Wojtkowiak: The Sufi Connection
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Swiatoslaw Wojtkowiak has been busy. He is authoring a blog, and from what I've seen of it so far, it's about his spiritual peripatetic peregrinations and pilgrimages in India and Pakistan. Hard-core Sufi pilgrimages...some that I haven't even heard of.
He recently walked from Delhi to Ajmer (in Rajasthan)accompanied by several hundred fakirs; real or charlatans, it doesn't matter. Accompanied by men (and possibly women) whose fraternity is based on "if you have one chapati, and there is two of you, share it in two pieces, if you are four, share in four, if there is eight, share for eight” …” Blessed are those who have nothing”.
Double exposures, blurs, Holga...nothing is orthodox in Swiatoslaw's photography, and in his journals. Read his entries, and you'll realize there's more depth there than you may have thought.
And Swiatoslaw Wojtkowiak is also an accomplished, and more orthodox, photographer as his travel photographs attest. He tells me his first name in Polish means 'praising the world', and he has lived up to it very appropriately.
Take a look at his work....exceptionally interesting, if unusual.
 |
| © Swiatoslaw Wojtkowiak-All Rights Reserved |
Swiatoslaw Wojtkowiak has been busy. He is authoring a blog, and from what I've seen of it so far, it's about his spiritual peripatetic peregrinations and pilgrimages in India and Pakistan. Hard-core Sufi pilgrimages...some that I haven't even heard of.
He recently walked from Delhi to Ajmer (in Rajasthan)accompanied by several hundred fakirs; real or charlatans, it doesn't matter. Accompanied by men (and possibly women) whose fraternity is based on "if you have one chapati, and there is two of you, share it in two pieces, if you are four, share in four, if there is eight, share for eight” …” Blessed are those who have nothing”.
Double exposures, blurs, Holga...nothing is orthodox in Swiatoslaw's photography, and in his journals. Read his entries, and you'll realize there's more depth there than you may have thought.
And Swiatoslaw Wojtkowiak is also an accomplished, and more orthodox, photographer as his travel photographs attest. He tells me his first name in Polish means 'praising the world', and he has lived up to it very appropriately.
Take a look at his work....exceptionally interesting, if unusual.
12 Ekim 2012 Cuma
MTO w/ Henry Butler @ Jazz Standard 8/23/12
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It was amazing. I wanted to stay for the next set, but I needed to catch up on sleep. I already had another res for Sunday, so I knew I would get at least one more set. They said they have a lot of material. Henry is amazing. They started with a great one about Buddy Bolden. The set was awesome from start to finish.
Will Bernard and Allison Miller were subbing for Ben Perowsky and Matt Munisteri. I inserted them in the listing below. It was great seeing them with Brad Jones on bass, I don't think I ever saw them with him before.
Steven Bernstein – trumpet, slide trumpet
Curtis Fowlkes – trombone
Doug Weiselman – clarinet, tenor saxophone
Peter Apfelbaum – tenor and soprano saxophones
Erik Lawrence – baritone and soprano saxophones
Will Bernard – guitar
Charles Burnham – violin
Brad Jones – acoustic bass
Allison Miller – drums
With Special Guest
Henry Butler – piano
It was amazing. I wanted to stay for the next set, but I needed to catch up on sleep. I already had another res for Sunday, so I knew I would get at least one more set. They said they have a lot of material. Henry is amazing. They started with a great one about Buddy Bolden. The set was awesome from start to finish.
Will Bernard and Allison Miller were subbing for Ben Perowsky and Matt Munisteri. I inserted them in the listing below. It was great seeing them with Brad Jones on bass, I don't think I ever saw them with him before.
STEVEN BERNSTEINS MILLENNIAL TERRITORY ORCHESTRA with Henry Butler plays the Early Blues
Born in 1999 during midnight sessions at the now–shuttered Lower East Side music hub Tonic, the Millennial Territory Orchestra (MTO) got its name from regional dance bands of the Twenties and Thirties. Along with playing overlooked jazz gems of early jazz, the ensemble mixes in its own music – including tunes by founder and front man Steven Bernstein – with songs by the Beatles, Prince, and Sly & The Family Stone. The MTO played an extended Monday night residency at Jazz Standard in 2003– 2004; for this special JS:10 anniversary run, the band will play nothing but the blues – fast blues and slow blues, sad blues and happy blues – with their very special guest, the great New Orleans pianist Henry Butler.Steven Bernstein – trumpet, slide trumpet
Curtis Fowlkes – trombone
Doug Weiselman – clarinet, tenor saxophone
Peter Apfelbaum – tenor and soprano saxophones
Erik Lawrence – baritone and soprano saxophones
Will Bernard – guitar
Charles Burnham – violin
Brad Jones – acoustic bass
Allison Miller – drums
With Special Guest
Henry Butler – piano
James Blood Ulmer @ City Winery 8/24/12
To contact us Click HERE
I always like this band that includes Vernon Reid. Mazz Swift was on violin. The harmonica was awesome. I loved the piano. The bass and drums fit in well. It was one long set of music, about 1.5 hours or so. That's the nice thing about City Winery, they don't have the 1 hour 1 set shows.
They did a lot of covers of great blues songs. I thought they made excellent choices. I recognized a couple from the Allman Brothers and a few more more from the Blues world.
--------------
James Blood Ulmer is among the most distinctive and influential electric guitarists to emerge in the past four decades. Over time, Blood’s reputation has morphed from that of an avant–garde jazz visionary out of the Ornette Coleman school to elder statesman of the African–American musical vernacular encom¬passing jazz, blues, funk, and whatever lies beyond
Featuring
James Blood Ulmer - guitar, vocals
Vernon Reid - guitar
Mazz Swift - violin
Leon Gruenbaum - keyboards
David Barnes - harmonica
Mark Peterson - bass
Aubrey Dayle - drums
I always like this band that includes Vernon Reid. Mazz Swift was on violin. The harmonica was awesome. I loved the piano. The bass and drums fit in well. It was one long set of music, about 1.5 hours or so. That's the nice thing about City Winery, they don't have the 1 hour 1 set shows.
They did a lot of covers of great blues songs. I thought they made excellent choices. I recognized a couple from the Allman Brothers and a few more more from the Blues world.
--------------
James Blood Ulmer is among the most distinctive and influential electric guitarists to emerge in the past four decades. Over time, Blood’s reputation has morphed from that of an avant–garde jazz visionary out of the Ornette Coleman school to elder statesman of the African–American musical vernacular encom¬passing jazz, blues, funk, and whatever lies beyond
Featuring
James Blood Ulmer - guitar, vocals
Vernon Reid - guitar
Mazz Swift - violin
Leon Gruenbaum - keyboards
David Barnes - harmonica
Mark Peterson - bass
Aubrey Dayle - drums
Ron Carter's Really Big Band @ Jazz Standard 9/2/12
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It was a really big band, I counted 17 pieces. Ron was the bass player and it was impressive that there was no conductor. I think everyone took a solo with the soprano sax taking a few. Ron's solo piece had a piano accompaniment. I heard a lot of "You Are My Sunshine" throughout the piece. Later he told us it's his commentary on the Republican Medicare ideas. Makes sense that he used that song as part of it. Here's the story.
http://www.rosemontrecords.com/historical.html
It was an awesome set. They did a lot of reinterpretations of great music. They got funky at times. I loved the ballads and everything in between. All the horns were awesome. I really loved the guitar and piano. Kenny Washington was phenomenal on the drumkit.
Trumpets:
Greg Gisbert, Jon Owens, Alex Norris, Frank Greene
Saxophones:
Jerry Dodgion, Jay Brandford, David deJesus, Bobby LaVell, Ivan Renta
Trombones:
James Burton, Steve Davis, Douglas Purviance, Jason Jackson
Donald Vega - piano
Russell Malone -guitar
Kenny Washington - drums
It was a really big band, I counted 17 pieces. Ron was the bass player and it was impressive that there was no conductor. I think everyone took a solo with the soprano sax taking a few. Ron's solo piece had a piano accompaniment. I heard a lot of "You Are My Sunshine" throughout the piece. Later he told us it's his commentary on the Republican Medicare ideas. Makes sense that he used that song as part of it. Here's the story.
http://www.rosemontrecords.com/historical.html
It was an awesome set. They did a lot of reinterpretations of great music. They got funky at times. I loved the ballads and everything in between. All the horns were awesome. I really loved the guitar and piano. Kenny Washington was phenomenal on the drumkit.
Ron Carter Big Band
Throughout his illustrious career, bassist/composer Ron Carter has played it all: as an integral member of Miles Davis’ classic quintet of the Sixties, as the anchor for countless CTI Records sessions in the Seventies, as the fountainhead of multifarious musical projects including his cello–infused, chamber–jazz nonet and his trio of bass, piano, and guitar. But Carter had never led or recorded with a big band of his own – until 2011 and the release of Ron Carter’s Great Big Band, a delightfully swinging set featuring the talents of arranger Bob Freedman. (Freedman had written arrangements for past Carter recordings including Dear Miles, The Golden Striker, and When Skies Are Grey.) “The album’s spirit is a collage of old fashioned big band fun, bop revolt intellect, and a devil-may-care manner of choosing the material,” wrote John Garrett at PopMatters.com. The Ron Carter Big Band made its live debut on our stage in September 2011 to a rapturous response – and we’re proud and pleased to bring this great band back for a second thrilling run. Make your reservations now!Trumpets:
Greg Gisbert, Jon Owens, Alex Norris, Frank Greene
Saxophones:
Jerry Dodgion, Jay Brandford, David deJesus, Bobby LaVell, Ivan Renta
Trombones:
James Burton, Steve Davis, Douglas Purviance, Jason Jackson
Donald Vega - piano
Russell Malone -guitar
Kenny Washington - drums
Minatur Orchestre @ b-Flat, Berlin 9/25/12
To contact us Click HERE
I came to Berlin first when I saw it was cheaper to fly there and knew it would be a good place to de-jetlag. There's always music options and it's a fun place to explore.
I wanted to stay in a different area this time, but next time I should just stay close to b-flat again. It's a great fallback can't miss place.
I think this band is Czech. The instrumentation definitely appeals to me: 2 drumkits, tenor sax, trombone, trumpet/flugelhorn, clarinet and bass clarinet. The quartet at A-Trane looked good, too, I just felt more of a pull for this show. I knew why when I saw the lineup. I enjoyed it a lot, especially the tune with the long bass clarinet solo and the drum solo. It was all so good.
There was another piece that featured the trumpet in the 2nd set that I enjoyed a lot. He mainly played flugelhorn when I was there and I kept wondering if I was going to hear the trumpet.
Actually, I enjoyed all of it a lot. I got there in the middle of the first set and table front and center was one of the few open, just for me.
The drummers often played the same thing together and it was very powerful. They also played different things at times. There was one part where they were playing the same thing with different tools - one had sticks while the other had brushes. Gotta love a band with 2 drummers.
Here's an a google translate of the listing:
Modern Jazz
Araxi Karnusian...Tenorsaxophon / composition / / Simon Fankhäuser...Schlagzeug / composition / / Lukas Bitterlin ... drums / composition / / Domenic Landolf ... clarinet / / Lukas Roos ... bass clarinet / / Matthias Spillmann ...Trompete / flugelhorn / / Silvio Cadotsch trombone ...
The pattern is a miniature orchestra musicians collective to Araxi Karnusian & Simon Fankhäuser. The art of interpreting musical styles from Latin means Balkan Groove to dixie-swing-like blues ballads manage the group to twinkle in his eye stroke of genius! The music is full of innuendo and irritation of classical, jazz and world music, and just fun to listen to. Rhythmic patterns, melodic metaphors, collages and harmonious collective home-feelings of all parties to form the primordial soup in which has developed a highly explosive mixture. It does not stand on it jazz, but it's a lot of jazz in it in this bottle. Plop! We should let the genie just the Schaffhausen stage.
"It's a brilliant debut album of the formation. Composed "The miniatures of the saxophonist / composer Araxi Karnusian on the created by the two stroke machine operators Simon Fankhauser and Dominic Egli beats, tie a colorful bouquet of rare Stilabsurditäten and lyrical collective plants: Shrill clarinets meet inclined plate, a quirky saxophone and two rumbling drums to ignite a colorful, full of percussive fireworks rapid mood changes. "It says in the liner notes, and simultaneously hear you should, even if it your truth. it meets my" Concerto
"" Dixie Balkans Impro World Beat "called the miniature orchestra his own concept. Whoever thought behind it but another hip, but musically rather schmalbrüstiges project, is quite wrong. On the 17 miniatures" Pro Specie Rara "are rather demanding, highly intelligent and musically mature compositions at the interface of contemporary improvised music and classical music tradition. Araxi Karnusian, saxophonist and "guiding spirit" of the two drums and five horns quite exotic occupied formation has developed from beats of the drummers rhythmically, melodically and harmonically complex pieces where jazz changes, swing, Latin and chorale-like passages as on and start a new dive as folklore set pieces, in the impressionist or strawinskyeske sounds. An exciting, varied and remarkably mature album with great solo performances. Hopefully this new species is rapidly spread beyond Switzerland. "Jazz Thing
I came to Berlin first when I saw it was cheaper to fly there and knew it would be a good place to de-jetlag. There's always music options and it's a fun place to explore.
I wanted to stay in a different area this time, but next time I should just stay close to b-flat again. It's a great fallback can't miss place.
I think this band is Czech. The instrumentation definitely appeals to me: 2 drumkits, tenor sax, trombone, trumpet/flugelhorn, clarinet and bass clarinet. The quartet at A-Trane looked good, too, I just felt more of a pull for this show. I knew why when I saw the lineup. I enjoyed it a lot, especially the tune with the long bass clarinet solo and the drum solo. It was all so good.
There was another piece that featured the trumpet in the 2nd set that I enjoyed a lot. He mainly played flugelhorn when I was there and I kept wondering if I was going to hear the trumpet.
Actually, I enjoyed all of it a lot. I got there in the middle of the first set and table front and center was one of the few open, just for me.
The drummers often played the same thing together and it was very powerful. They also played different things at times. There was one part where they were playing the same thing with different tools - one had sticks while the other had brushes. Gotta love a band with 2 drummers.
Here's an a google translate of the listing:
Modern Jazz
Araxi Karnusian...Tenorsaxophon / composition / / Simon Fankhäuser...Schlagzeug / composition / / Lukas Bitterlin ... drums / composition / / Domenic Landolf ... clarinet / / Lukas Roos ... bass clarinet / / Matthias Spillmann ...Trompete / flugelhorn / / Silvio Cadotsch trombone ...
The pattern is a miniature orchestra musicians collective to Araxi Karnusian & Simon Fankhäuser. The art of interpreting musical styles from Latin means Balkan Groove to dixie-swing-like blues ballads manage the group to twinkle in his eye stroke of genius! The music is full of innuendo and irritation of classical, jazz and world music, and just fun to listen to. Rhythmic patterns, melodic metaphors, collages and harmonious collective home-feelings of all parties to form the primordial soup in which has developed a highly explosive mixture. It does not stand on it jazz, but it's a lot of jazz in it in this bottle. Plop! We should let the genie just the Schaffhausen stage.
"It's a brilliant debut album of the formation. Composed "The miniatures of the saxophonist / composer Araxi Karnusian on the created by the two stroke machine operators Simon Fankhauser and Dominic Egli beats, tie a colorful bouquet of rare Stilabsurditäten and lyrical collective plants: Shrill clarinets meet inclined plate, a quirky saxophone and two rumbling drums to ignite a colorful, full of percussive fireworks rapid mood changes. "It says in the liner notes, and simultaneously hear you should, even if it your truth. it meets my" Concerto
"" Dixie Balkans Impro World Beat "called the miniature orchestra his own concept. Whoever thought behind it but another hip, but musically rather schmalbrüstiges project, is quite wrong. On the 17 miniatures" Pro Specie Rara "are rather demanding, highly intelligent and musically mature compositions at the interface of contemporary improvised music and classical music tradition. Araxi Karnusian, saxophonist and "guiding spirit" of the two drums and five horns quite exotic occupied formation has developed from beats of the drummers rhythmically, melodically and harmonically complex pieces where jazz changes, swing, Latin and chorale-like passages as on and start a new dive as folklore set pieces, in the impressionist or strawinskyeske sounds. An exciting, varied and remarkably mature album with great solo performances. Hopefully this new species is rapidly spread beyond Switzerland. "Jazz Thing
FIRST 3 LINO'S FROM CHIANG MAI TRIP
To contact us Click HERE
These are the first 3 lino's I've cut and printed based on the sketches from my trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand as part of the group Volunteer Positive. (And one linocut from my friend Phra Kritsada Prueprong) The first 2.5 weeks was spent in service which afforded me very little time to actually draw on my own, most of the prints from the full series were sketched out on my last week in Chiang Mai. The only 1 of these 3 lino's that was sketched during my actual service is the Elephant sketches print. We spent an afternoon at the BAAN CHANG ELEPHANT PARK in Chiang Mai where after a educational introduction to the Asian Elephants in residence we had lunch and a few minutes to digest our food before the 2-hour trek we were about tro partake in. Having not had much opportunity to do any prior sketch work, I had the foresight to bring along a few pieces of pre-cut lino and stole away for 20 minutes after lunch and did these sketches. Let it be known, elephants do not stand still, ever. It was a challenge to get a complete sketch, which explains why there are so many partial elephants in this print.
The print of the Monk is in fact a dear friend I made while in Chiang Mai. He is a 20 year old Monk named Phra Kritsada Prueprong originally from a village outside of Chiang Mai in Loei province. We were paired up as part of something called "Monk Chat" which is an event that creates the opportunity for local monks to practice their conversational skills with English speaking foreigners. On this particular morning, Kritsada and I took a tour of a few of the local temples and I decided that since he would share with me, I would share with him by having us both work on a lino sketch. I offered to take his drawing back to NYC with me where i would cut it out and print it for him. I had no idea that he could actually draw and was quite talented. It turned out to be an incredible opportunity for the both of us.
The print of the banners was from Wat Phrasingh in Chiang Mai. I'm not sure of the exact purpose of the banners, but if you look carefully, you will see representation of 3 Birth Year Animals. As there were many more banners there, I assume that's what they were there to represent.
SKETCH OF ELEPHANTS ON LINO
PARTIALLY CARVED LINO
INKED LINO
FINAL PRINT
PORTRAIT OF "DAVID" - BY KRITSADA PRUEPRONG
PORTRAIT OF KRITSADA - BY DAVID BERUBE
WAT PHRASINGH - CUT LINO
WAT PHRASINGH - FINAL PRINT
These are the first 3 lino's I've cut and printed based on the sketches from my trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand as part of the group Volunteer Positive. (And one linocut from my friend Phra Kritsada Prueprong) The first 2.5 weeks was spent in service which afforded me very little time to actually draw on my own, most of the prints from the full series were sketched out on my last week in Chiang Mai. The only 1 of these 3 lino's that was sketched during my actual service is the Elephant sketches print. We spent an afternoon at the BAAN CHANG ELEPHANT PARK in Chiang Mai where after a educational introduction to the Asian Elephants in residence we had lunch and a few minutes to digest our food before the 2-hour trek we were about tro partake in. Having not had much opportunity to do any prior sketch work, I had the foresight to bring along a few pieces of pre-cut lino and stole away for 20 minutes after lunch and did these sketches. Let it be known, elephants do not stand still, ever. It was a challenge to get a complete sketch, which explains why there are so many partial elephants in this print.
The print of the Monk is in fact a dear friend I made while in Chiang Mai. He is a 20 year old Monk named Phra Kritsada Prueprong originally from a village outside of Chiang Mai in Loei province. We were paired up as part of something called "Monk Chat" which is an event that creates the opportunity for local monks to practice their conversational skills with English speaking foreigners. On this particular morning, Kritsada and I took a tour of a few of the local temples and I decided that since he would share with me, I would share with him by having us both work on a lino sketch. I offered to take his drawing back to NYC with me where i would cut it out and print it for him. I had no idea that he could actually draw and was quite talented. It turned out to be an incredible opportunity for the both of us.
The print of the banners was from Wat Phrasingh in Chiang Mai. I'm not sure of the exact purpose of the banners, but if you look carefully, you will see representation of 3 Birth Year Animals. As there were many more banners there, I assume that's what they were there to represent.
SKETCH OF ELEPHANTS ON LINO
PARTIALLY CARVED LINO
INKED LINO
FINAL PRINT
PORTRAIT OF "DAVID" - BY KRITSADA PRUEPRONG
PORTRAIT OF KRITSADA - BY DAVID BERUBE
WAT PHRASINGH - CUT LINO
WAT PHRASINGH - FINAL PRINT
11 Ekim 2012 Perşembe
POV: Highlights Of Vietnam's Photo-Expedition/Workshop
To contact us Click HERE
Hanoi is a dream come true for street photographers. Its residents virtually live their lives in the streets...conducting their daily routine in the open, eating and interacting with each other in the open. This obviously gives rise in innumerable opportunities for amusing and ironic life vignettes. I could easily spend days upon days wandering Hanoi's streets and alleys; especially those of the Old Quarter.
Actually, street shooting in all the cities and towns on the itinerary was the highlight of the trip. Whether it was Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An...walking in the streets with a camera in hand is just a sublime experience for those who like this style of candid photography like I do. The only problem? Too many scooters parked on the sidewalks!
2. Cao �à i in Hue:
Driving into Hue from Da Nang, I had noticed an unusually looking structure and saw a sign that proclaimed it to be a Cao �à i temple. I just could not let this opportunity go by, especially as I thought the only temple was in Vietnam's delta. Following telephone calls and my visit with Maika Elan, we secured the approval of the head priest to photograph its daily prayers. I can't emphasize enough how gracious and welcoming the congregation was...despite our many faux-pas during their prayer ritual.
This was a big deal for me as I always wanted to witness the rituals of this new indigenous religious tradition.
3. Model Photo Shoot in Hoi An:
Many of the walls of Hoi An are painted yellow-ochre, which symbolizes wealth. The town is a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, and is a delight to walk through. With Maika, I set up a photo shoot with one of her acquaintances who posed for us along one of its photogenic streets.
I'm not a fan of frozen and posed portraits, but the exercise in itself is both fun and educational. The best for me was to capture unposed moments such as this one when a child looked out of a window while the model adjusted her ao dai.
4. The Hilltribes of Sapa & Bac Ha:
I greatly enjoyed wandering in the markets of Sa Pa and Bac Ha...especially the latter where the Hmong and Dzao, and a handful from over 10 other tribes, attend Bac Ha's famous Sunday market to buy, sell, barter and eat. I'm still scratching my head as to the genetic mystery behind this Hmong child's blond hair.
I wandered in these markets for hours...occasionally using my Canon 5D Mark II, but relying more on my Fuji X Pro-1 in my street photography style...shooting from the hip to capture as much candor in my photographs as possible.
An audio-slideshow was born from these wanderings, and can be viewed on my Vimeo page.
5. Halong Bay:
Being cooped up on a boat...even for 24 hours...and even if it's a luxury cruise...is not my kind of thing. However, I must agree that Halong Bay is visually gorgeous, and amply deserves its World Heritage listing. I only include it as a highlight because its land-seascape is beautiful.
As I wrote elsewhere, I included this 24 hours cruise on our itinerary in the hope that the group participants would use the time to complete their audio slideshow projects. Some did and others didn't.
6. Vietnamese Buddhist Funeral:
On the way back to Hanoi from Halong Bay, we encountered a funeral. Both Maika and I went ahead to seek permission from the family to attend it and to photograph the rituals. I wasn't optimistic, but the head of the family readily agreed provided I lit an incense stick and presented my respects to the memory of the deceased. This I did, and planted the stick at the shrine. The deceased was born in 1925, and his name was Cu Pham Van Bao.
I was invited to drink green tea, and sat amongst the head table along with our host. The funeral rite is called le dua tang, and some of the mourners (presumably close relatives and families) wore coarse veils of gauze.
Being allowed into their midst at a time of sorrow by these Vietnamese mourners is a testament to their graciousness and kindness.
7. Catru: Vietnamese Religious Music:
We attended a Catru concert held at an old building in the heart of Hanoi's Old Quarter. High-brow and very traditional, this musical genre was already played during the 15th century during ceremonies at the Vietnamese court, but during the 1950s fell in disrepute due to its association with opium and similar nefarious activities.
The musician/singer in the above photograph is Ms Pham Thi Hue, a famous practitioner of this art form, who performed beautiful musical pieces during the hour-long session.
8. The Vee Sign:
Perhaps it's moving from the high brow (above) to a low brow topic, but many people hate the V-sign that Asians seem to do when being photographed. The V-sign was flashed as soon as young Vietnamese women asked me to take their pictures while celebrating the pre-Lunar festivities in Hanoi streets. They also did it when they posed for photographs with me. Not only are the Vietnamese youths camera-friendly (very friendly!) but they also know cameras. I was frequently stopped and asked about the X Pro-1 and the M9...but not once about the 5D II which many of them already have.
But I got used to the V-sign, and always expected it...I won't go so far as to say it's charming, but it certainly was part of the scene all around me when photographing the celebratory activities where I call the "street of the gaudy decorations". I got different interpretations for it. Some said it was a way to say "Hi"...and others said it was the peace sign.
9. Meeting A Vietnamese Star:
Ms Ngô Thanh Vân is a top Vietnamese actress, and was filming a movie in Hoi An. It's by total serendipity that we saw her. Very approachable, she was charming and we exchanged a few words. NTV (as she's known in Vietnam) asked me where I was from, and what was I doing in Hoi An.
I naturally took as many photographs as I could of her on the set without interfering with the going-ons.
If this brief encounter is not a highlight, I don't know what is.
Looking back at my recently completed my Vietnam: North of the 16th Parallel Photo Expedition/Workshop, here are my main favorite photographic experiences.
But before listing them, let me make the point that it's the people one meets on such trips that make them memorable. In my case, it was spending a few hours listening to Mr Dao's life story in Hoi An, with Mr Nguyen Bao in Hanoi and with Mamei near Sapa.
1. Street Photography in Hanoi:
|
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
Actually, street shooting in all the cities and towns on the itinerary was the highlight of the trip. Whether it was Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An...walking in the streets with a camera in hand is just a sublime experience for those who like this style of candid photography like I do. The only problem? Too many scooters parked on the sidewalks!
2. Cao �à i in Hue:
|
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
This was a big deal for me as I always wanted to witness the rituals of this new indigenous religious tradition.
3. Model Photo Shoot in Hoi An:
|
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
Many of the walls of Hoi An are painted yellow-ochre, which symbolizes wealth. The town is a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, and is a delight to walk through. With Maika, I set up a photo shoot with one of her acquaintances who posed for us along one of its photogenic streets.
I'm not a fan of frozen and posed portraits, but the exercise in itself is both fun and educational. The best for me was to capture unposed moments such as this one when a child looked out of a window while the model adjusted her ao dai.
4. The Hilltribes of Sapa & Bac Ha:
|
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
I wandered in these markets for hours...occasionally using my Canon 5D Mark II, but relying more on my Fuji X Pro-1 in my street photography style...shooting from the hip to capture as much candor in my photographs as possible.
An audio-slideshow was born from these wanderings, and can be viewed on my Vimeo page.
5. Halong Bay:
|
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
Being cooped up on a boat...even for 24 hours...and even if it's a luxury cruise...is not my kind of thing. However, I must agree that Halong Bay is visually gorgeous, and amply deserves its World Heritage listing. I only include it as a highlight because its land-seascape is beautiful.
As I wrote elsewhere, I included this 24 hours cruise on our itinerary in the hope that the group participants would use the time to complete their audio slideshow projects. Some did and others didn't.
6. Vietnamese Buddhist Funeral:
|
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
On the way back to Hanoi from Halong Bay, we encountered a funeral. Both Maika and I went ahead to seek permission from the family to attend it and to photograph the rituals. I wasn't optimistic, but the head of the family readily agreed provided I lit an incense stick and presented my respects to the memory of the deceased. This I did, and planted the stick at the shrine. The deceased was born in 1925, and his name was Cu Pham Van Bao.
I was invited to drink green tea, and sat amongst the head table along with our host. The funeral rite is called le dua tang, and some of the mourners (presumably close relatives and families) wore coarse veils of gauze.
Being allowed into their midst at a time of sorrow by these Vietnamese mourners is a testament to their graciousness and kindness.
7. Catru: Vietnamese Religious Music:
|
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
We attended a Catru concert held at an old building in the heart of Hanoi's Old Quarter. High-brow and very traditional, this musical genre was already played during the 15th century during ceremonies at the Vietnamese court, but during the 1950s fell in disrepute due to its association with opium and similar nefarious activities.
The musician/singer in the above photograph is Ms Pham Thi Hue, a famous practitioner of this art form, who performed beautiful musical pieces during the hour-long session.
8. The Vee Sign:
|
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
Perhaps it's moving from the high brow (above) to a low brow topic, but many people hate the V-sign that Asians seem to do when being photographed. The V-sign was flashed as soon as young Vietnamese women asked me to take their pictures while celebrating the pre-Lunar festivities in Hanoi streets. They also did it when they posed for photographs with me. Not only are the Vietnamese youths camera-friendly (very friendly!) but they also know cameras. I was frequently stopped and asked about the X Pro-1 and the M9...but not once about the 5D II which many of them already have.
But I got used to the V-sign, and always expected it...I won't go so far as to say it's charming, but it certainly was part of the scene all around me when photographing the celebratory activities where I call the "street of the gaudy decorations". I got different interpretations for it. Some said it was a way to say "Hi"...and others said it was the peace sign.
9. Meeting A Vietnamese Star:
|
| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy- All Rights Reserved |
I naturally took as many photographs as I could of her on the set without interfering with the going-ons.
If this brief encounter is not a highlight, I don't know what is.
The Travel Photographer's Vietnam Daguerreotypes
To contact us Click HERE
Here's the second of my Vietnam-related projects following my recent photo expedition-workshop....Vietnam In Daguerreotypes. This one is a gallery of stills, modified with Alien Skin Software to look like daguerreotypes. I recently installed the software and I'm amazed at its versatility and range of options.
I expect processing photographs with this software comes with some destructive element to it, but according to my very brief research, there are web tutorials that show you how to process photographs and keep their integrity intact.
The photographs were made with a Canon 5D Mark II (mostly with a 17-40mm), a Leica M9 (with a 40mm Voigtlander f1.4) and the Fuji X Pro-1 (18mm f2.8 XF Fujinon).
Very labor-intensive, the (real) daguerreotype is a direct-positive process, creating a highly detailed image on a sheet of copper plated with a thin coat of silver without the use of a negative. Exposure times for the earliest daguerreotypes ranged from three to fifteen minutes, making the process nearly impractical for portraiture. Modifications to the sensitization process coupled with the improvement of photographic lenses soon reduced the exposure time to less than a minute.
In comparison, the processing of a still photograph using the Alien Skin Software takes less than a minute, if that.
My first Vietnam project is an audio-slideshow titled Hill Tribes In The Mist, which is on my Vimeo Channel.
Cao Đài: iPhonegraphy
To contact us Click HERE
I thought I'd feature a collection of the portraits of the Cao �à i adherents made with my iPhone during our visit at their temple in Hue.
As I wrote in my post of September 19, I had wanted to witness and photograph a Cao �à i prayer ritual for quite a while, and it was by pure serendipity that I discovered that this new religious tradition had just completed building a temple in Hue.
Cao �à i is a syncretistic, monotheistic religion, officially established in southern Vietnam in 1926. Its Adherents engage in ethical practices such as prayer, veneration of ancestors, nonviolence, and vegetarianism. Its opposition to communism until 1975 was a factor in their repression, and its practice was forbidden until 1997 when it was granted legal recognition.
Caodism (as it's called) draws upon ethical precepts from Confucianism, occult practices from Taoism, theories of karma and rebirth from Buddhism, and a hierarchical organization (including a pope) from Roman Catholicism. Its pantheon of saints includes such diverse figures as the Buddha, Confucius, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Pericles, Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, Victor Hugo, and Sun Yat-sen.
I can only stress how gracious the Cao �à i congregation was during our visit...despite our many faux pas during their time of prayer, and how receptive and welcoming they were to our photography.
Ehrin Macksey: Hanoi, Calm After The Storm
To contact us Click HERE
As my readers know, I was in Hanoi about two weeks ago, and one of my favorite street photography haunts was the Hoan Kiem district, especially in the streets where vendors sold toys, lanterns, masks, and other gaudy decorations in anticipation of the mid-Autumn festival in early October. The crowds were simply overwhelming in the late evening when young people congregated there to have fun.
Ehrin Macksey, a photojournalist/photographer and filmaker living in Hanoi, decided to photograph the streets of Hanoi the first morning of Tet, another huge festival in Vietnam...after the chaos and bustle at the end of each January or beginning of February that characterize the period leading to Tet.
As you'll see from Ehrin's video of his stills, the calm that replaces the preceding chaos is eerie. He describes Hanoi as being in a Valium induced state. The streets are empty and one can hear birds clearly while walking down some of the larger streets in the city like Dai Co Viet.
I recommend a visit to Ehrin Macksey's website; especially his South East Asia Travel Photography gallery...a lot of gems!
FIRST 3 LINO'S FROM CHIANG MAI TRIP
To contact us Click HERE
These are the first 3 lino's I've cut and printed based on the sketches from my trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand as part of the group Volunteer Positive. (And one linocut from my friend Phra Kritsada Prueprong) The first 2.5 weeks was spent in service which afforded me very little time to actually draw on my own, most of the prints from the full series were sketched out on my last week in Chiang Mai. The only 1 of these 3 lino's that was sketched during my actual service is the Elephant sketches print. We spent an afternoon at the BAAN CHANG ELEPHANT PARK in Chiang Mai where after a educational introduction to the Asian Elephants in residence we had lunch and a few minutes to digest our food before the 2-hour trek we were about tro partake in. Having not had much opportunity to do any prior sketch work, I had the foresight to bring along a few pieces of pre-cut lino and stole away for 20 minutes after lunch and did these sketches. Let it be known, elephants do not stand still, ever. It was a challenge to get a complete sketch, which explains why there are so many partial elephants in this print.
The print of the Monk is in fact a dear friend I made while in Chiang Mai. He is a 20 year old Monk named Phra Kritsada Prueprong originally from a village outside of Chiang Mai in Loei province. We were paired up as part of something called "Monk Chat" which is an event that creates the opportunity for local monks to practice their conversational skills with English speaking foreigners. On this particular morning, Kritsada and I took a tour of a few of the local temples and I decided that since he would share with me, I would share with him by having us both work on a lino sketch. I offered to take his drawing back to NYC with me where i would cut it out and print it for him. I had no idea that he could actually draw and was quite talented. It turned out to be an incredible opportunity for the both of us.
The print of the banners was from Wat Phrasingh in Chiang Mai. I'm not sure of the exact purpose of the banners, but if you look carefully, you will see representation of 3 Birth Year Animals. As there were many more banners there, I assume that's what they were there to represent.
SKETCH OF ELEPHANTS ON LINO
PARTIALLY CARVED LINO
INKED LINO
FINAL PRINT
PORTRAIT OF "DAVID" - BY KRITSADA PRUEPRONG
PORTRAIT OF KRITSADA - BY DAVID BERUBE
WAT PHRASINGH - CUT LINO
WAT PHRASINGH - FINAL PRINT
These are the first 3 lino's I've cut and printed based on the sketches from my trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand as part of the group Volunteer Positive. (And one linocut from my friend Phra Kritsada Prueprong) The first 2.5 weeks was spent in service which afforded me very little time to actually draw on my own, most of the prints from the full series were sketched out on my last week in Chiang Mai. The only 1 of these 3 lino's that was sketched during my actual service is the Elephant sketches print. We spent an afternoon at the BAAN CHANG ELEPHANT PARK in Chiang Mai where after a educational introduction to the Asian Elephants in residence we had lunch and a few minutes to digest our food before the 2-hour trek we were about tro partake in. Having not had much opportunity to do any prior sketch work, I had the foresight to bring along a few pieces of pre-cut lino and stole away for 20 minutes after lunch and did these sketches. Let it be known, elephants do not stand still, ever. It was a challenge to get a complete sketch, which explains why there are so many partial elephants in this print.
The print of the Monk is in fact a dear friend I made while in Chiang Mai. He is a 20 year old Monk named Phra Kritsada Prueprong originally from a village outside of Chiang Mai in Loei province. We were paired up as part of something called "Monk Chat" which is an event that creates the opportunity for local monks to practice their conversational skills with English speaking foreigners. On this particular morning, Kritsada and I took a tour of a few of the local temples and I decided that since he would share with me, I would share with him by having us both work on a lino sketch. I offered to take his drawing back to NYC with me where i would cut it out and print it for him. I had no idea that he could actually draw and was quite talented. It turned out to be an incredible opportunity for the both of us.
The print of the banners was from Wat Phrasingh in Chiang Mai. I'm not sure of the exact purpose of the banners, but if you look carefully, you will see representation of 3 Birth Year Animals. As there were many more banners there, I assume that's what they were there to represent.
SKETCH OF ELEPHANTS ON LINO
PARTIALLY CARVED LINO
INKED LINO
FINAL PRINT
PORTRAIT OF "DAVID" - BY KRITSADA PRUEPRONG
PORTRAIT OF KRITSADA - BY DAVID BERUBE
WAT PHRASINGH - CUT LINO
WAT PHRASINGH - FINAL PRINT
10 Ekim 2012 Çarşamba
The Everywhere Quintet + 3 @ Spectrum 8/25/12
To contact us Click HERE
This is a project led by Thollem, a pianist who travels perpetually. That's one way to get to see who else is out in the world playing music. And he seems to find awesome people to play with. He was here for a week and this was the only thing I could make it to. I have the whole NYC schedule below because it's interesting.
The venue is very cool. It's someone's apartment. A music lover with money to set up a really nice space for great musicians to play. The room isn't much smaller than The Stone. The sound is phenomenal. There is a lot of very nice equipment including a Steinway and a cool lighting system. There's a bunch of really nice leather lounge chairs to sit on. Of course, the entire cover goes to the artists. I always thought if I had massive amounts of money I would buy a whole building and have a few rooms to do something like this. In my fantasy, I never imagined it being so nice.
The music was stellar. All improvisation, which was impressive given 8 musicians many of whom never played together before. They sounded as if they've been together forever. It was also cool that I only knew one of them prior to this show, Fay Victor the vocalist.
I loved having 2 drummers. They switched kits for the 2nd set. The amplified violin was very cool. I liked what Fay was doing with the vocals, she would often sing a phrase from something familiar in the rock or funk genre. She was definitely another instrument. Eric Holmes was very interesting as well. He had a guitar, baby mandolin and harmonium. He sometimes played the strings as a slide. Thollem sounded great on the beautiful piano.
For the first set, they all just improvised together for about an hour. It was announced as the Everywhere Quintet Plus Three. The concept is to have different people every time.
C. Spencer Yeh had to leave after that, so the 2nd set was the 7. The listing did say 2 different groupings. It was pretty different. They decided on a concept of overlapping solos, with each solo being 1-2 minutes. It started with a piano solo then add drums for a duo. Next was a vocal solo, adding the baby mandolin for a duo. Vocals drop off at some point so Eric had some solo time. The violin then came in first for the duo and then for a solo. Next there was a piano/violin duo into a piano solo into a piano/voice duo into a voice solo into a voice/drum duo into a drum solo into everyone improvising together. What was so impressive was there was no plan as to who was going to go when. It was all spontaneous.
I had a great time.
This show:
August 25 at Spectrum The Everywhere Quintet (Two sets with two different groupings, 7:00 and 8:30)
with Laura Ortman (amplified violin), Fay Victor (voice), Michael Evans (drums/percussion), Ravish Momin (drums/percussion), Eric Hubel (guitar, mandolin, harmonium), C. Spencer Yeh (violin), and Patrick Holmes (clarinet)
The NYC Schedule:
-------6 Nights of NY/Brooklyn Concerts-------
August 21 at The Stone with Pauline Oliveros and Susie Ibarra NY, NY
August 22 at Douglas Music Collective with James Ilgenfritz and Brian Chase also Jeremiah Cymerman / Josh Sinton duo
and Daniel Rovin, Austin White, and Dave Miller Brooklyn, NY
August 23 at Goodbye Blue Monday with James Ilgenfritz and Brian Chase also Chuck Bettis, Joe Merolla Brooklyn, NY
August 24 at The Stone Thollem Sworld NY, NY
August 25 at Spectrum The Everywhere Quintet (Two sets with two different groupings, 7:00 and 8:30)
with Laura Ortman, Fay Victor, Michael Evans, Ravish Momin, Eric Hubel, C. Spencer Yeh, and Patrick Holmes NY, NY
August 26 at Zebulon Cafe Thollem Electric with Gregory Saunier (Deerhoof et al) Brooklyn, NY
------- ------- -------
This is a project led by Thollem, a pianist who travels perpetually. That's one way to get to see who else is out in the world playing music. And he seems to find awesome people to play with. He was here for a week and this was the only thing I could make it to. I have the whole NYC schedule below because it's interesting.
The venue is very cool. It's someone's apartment. A music lover with money to set up a really nice space for great musicians to play. The room isn't much smaller than The Stone. The sound is phenomenal. There is a lot of very nice equipment including a Steinway and a cool lighting system. There's a bunch of really nice leather lounge chairs to sit on. Of course, the entire cover goes to the artists. I always thought if I had massive amounts of money I would buy a whole building and have a few rooms to do something like this. In my fantasy, I never imagined it being so nice.
The music was stellar. All improvisation, which was impressive given 8 musicians many of whom never played together before. They sounded as if they've been together forever. It was also cool that I only knew one of them prior to this show, Fay Victor the vocalist.
I loved having 2 drummers. They switched kits for the 2nd set. The amplified violin was very cool. I liked what Fay was doing with the vocals, she would often sing a phrase from something familiar in the rock or funk genre. She was definitely another instrument. Eric Holmes was very interesting as well. He had a guitar, baby mandolin and harmonium. He sometimes played the strings as a slide. Thollem sounded great on the beautiful piano.
For the first set, they all just improvised together for about an hour. It was announced as the Everywhere Quintet Plus Three. The concept is to have different people every time.
C. Spencer Yeh had to leave after that, so the 2nd set was the 7. The listing did say 2 different groupings. It was pretty different. They decided on a concept of overlapping solos, with each solo being 1-2 minutes. It started with a piano solo then add drums for a duo. Next was a vocal solo, adding the baby mandolin for a duo. Vocals drop off at some point so Eric had some solo time. The violin then came in first for the duo and then for a solo. Next there was a piano/violin duo into a piano solo into a piano/voice duo into a voice solo into a voice/drum duo into a drum solo into everyone improvising together. What was so impressive was there was no plan as to who was going to go when. It was all spontaneous.
I had a great time.
This show:
August 25 at Spectrum The Everywhere Quintet (Two sets with two different groupings, 7:00 and 8:30)
with Laura Ortman (amplified violin), Fay Victor (voice), Michael Evans (drums/percussion), Ravish Momin (drums/percussion), Eric Hubel (guitar, mandolin, harmonium), C. Spencer Yeh (violin), and Patrick Holmes (clarinet)
The NYC Schedule:
-------6 Nights of NY/Brooklyn Concerts-------
August 21 at The Stone with Pauline Oliveros and Susie Ibarra NY, NY
August 22 at Douglas Music Collective with James Ilgenfritz and Brian Chase also Jeremiah Cymerman / Josh Sinton duo
and Daniel Rovin, Austin White, and Dave Miller Brooklyn, NY
August 23 at Goodbye Blue Monday with James Ilgenfritz and Brian Chase also Chuck Bettis, Joe Merolla Brooklyn, NY
August 24 at The Stone Thollem Sworld NY, NY
August 25 at Spectrum The Everywhere Quintet (Two sets with two different groupings, 7:00 and 8:30)
with Laura Ortman, Fay Victor, Michael Evans, Ravish Momin, Eric Hubel, C. Spencer Yeh, and Patrick Holmes NY, NY
August 26 at Zebulon Cafe Thollem Electric with Gregory Saunier (Deerhoof et al) Brooklyn, NY
------- ------- -------
MTO w/ Henry Butler @ Jazz Standard 8/26/12
To contact us Click HERE
I knew one set wasn't enough for me. I was so glad to be back after the phenomenal time on Thurs night. Sun night had Matt Munisteri on guitar and Ben Perowsky on drums - the more "regular" members of the band. I don't think any of the songs were the same as the other night. They should do jazzfest and a big 3 hour show at Blue Nile or 2 in NOLA next year. The show was phenomenal, but I wouldn't expect any less.
Steven Bernstein – trumpet, slide trumpet
Curtis Fowlkes – trombone
Doug Weiselman – clarinet, tenor saxophone
Peter Apfelbaum – tenor and soprano saxophones
Erik Lawrence – baritone and soprano saxophones
Matt Munisteri – guitar
Charles Burnham – violin
Brad Jones – acoustic bass
Ben Perowsky – drums
With Special Guest
Henry Butler – piano
I knew one set wasn't enough for me. I was so glad to be back after the phenomenal time on Thurs night. Sun night had Matt Munisteri on guitar and Ben Perowsky on drums - the more "regular" members of the band. I don't think any of the songs were the same as the other night. They should do jazzfest and a big 3 hour show at Blue Nile or 2 in NOLA next year. The show was phenomenal, but I wouldn't expect any less.
STEVEN BERNSTEINS MILLENNIAL TERRITORY ORCHESTRA with Henry Butler plays the Early Blues
Born in 1999 during midnight sessions at the now–shuttered Lower East Side music hub Tonic, the Millennial Territory Orchestra (MTO) got its name from regional dance bands of the Twenties and Thirties. Along with playing overlooked jazz gems of early jazz, the ensemble mixes in its own music – including tunes by founder and front man Steven Bernstein – with songs by the Beatles, Prince, and Sly & The Family Stone. The MTO played an extended Monday night residency at Jazz Standard in 2003– 2004; for this special JS:10 anniversary run, the band will play nothing but the blues – fast blues and slow blues, sad blues and happy blues – with their very special guest, the great New Orleans pianist Henry Butler.Steven Bernstein – trumpet, slide trumpet
Curtis Fowlkes – trombone
Doug Weiselman – clarinet, tenor saxophone
Peter Apfelbaum – tenor and soprano saxophones
Erik Lawrence – baritone and soprano saxophones
Matt Munisteri – guitar
Charles Burnham – violin
Brad Jones – acoustic bass
Ben Perowsky – drums
With Special Guest
Henry Butler – piano
Ron Carter's Really Big Band @ Jazz Standard 9/2/12
To contact us Click HERE
It was a really big band, I counted 17 pieces. Ron was the bass player and it was impressive that there was no conductor. I think everyone took a solo with the soprano sax taking a few. Ron's solo piece had a piano accompaniment. I heard a lot of "You Are My Sunshine" throughout the piece. Later he told us it's his commentary on the Republican Medicare ideas. Makes sense that he used that song as part of it. Here's the story.
http://www.rosemontrecords.com/historical.html
It was an awesome set. They did a lot of reinterpretations of great music. They got funky at times. I loved the ballads and everything in between. All the horns were awesome. I really loved the guitar and piano. Kenny Washington was phenomenal on the drumkit.
Trumpets:
Greg Gisbert, Jon Owens, Alex Norris, Frank Greene
Saxophones:
Jerry Dodgion, Jay Brandford, David deJesus, Bobby LaVell, Ivan Renta
Trombones:
James Burton, Steve Davis, Douglas Purviance, Jason Jackson
Donald Vega - piano
Russell Malone -guitar
Kenny Washington - drums
It was a really big band, I counted 17 pieces. Ron was the bass player and it was impressive that there was no conductor. I think everyone took a solo with the soprano sax taking a few. Ron's solo piece had a piano accompaniment. I heard a lot of "You Are My Sunshine" throughout the piece. Later he told us it's his commentary on the Republican Medicare ideas. Makes sense that he used that song as part of it. Here's the story.
http://www.rosemontrecords.com/historical.html
It was an awesome set. They did a lot of reinterpretations of great music. They got funky at times. I loved the ballads and everything in between. All the horns were awesome. I really loved the guitar and piano. Kenny Washington was phenomenal on the drumkit.
Ron Carter Big Band
Throughout his illustrious career, bassist/composer Ron Carter has played it all: as an integral member of Miles Davis’ classic quintet of the Sixties, as the anchor for countless CTI Records sessions in the Seventies, as the fountainhead of multifarious musical projects including his cello–infused, chamber–jazz nonet and his trio of bass, piano, and guitar. But Carter had never led or recorded with a big band of his own – until 2011 and the release of Ron Carter’s Great Big Band, a delightfully swinging set featuring the talents of arranger Bob Freedman. (Freedman had written arrangements for past Carter recordings including Dear Miles, The Golden Striker, and When Skies Are Grey.) “The album’s spirit is a collage of old fashioned big band fun, bop revolt intellect, and a devil-may-care manner of choosing the material,” wrote John Garrett at PopMatters.com. The Ron Carter Big Band made its live debut on our stage in September 2011 to a rapturous response – and we’re proud and pleased to bring this great band back for a second thrilling run. Make your reservations now!Trumpets:
Greg Gisbert, Jon Owens, Alex Norris, Frank Greene
Saxophones:
Jerry Dodgion, Jay Brandford, David deJesus, Bobby LaVell, Ivan Renta
Trombones:
James Burton, Steve Davis, Douglas Purviance, Jason Jackson
Donald Vega - piano
Russell Malone -guitar
Kenny Washington - drums
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