#InTheLoop | Flushing Town Hall’s Mashups Bring Great World Music to the World
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Flushing Town Hall is about to launch Common Ground: Mini-Global Mashups. Similar to FTH’s traditional Global Mashup series, solo musicians from different practices and cultural identities will perform in collaboration. Then they’ll engage in Q+A conversations. Music, culture, history, personal stories.
The fun kicks off with Haiti Meets Middle East on Sunday, Sept. 12, at 1 pm.
Emeline “The Joni Mitchell of Haiti” Michel, who is internationally acclaimed for fusing pop, jazz, and blues with Haitian compas and rara music, is half the ticket. Israeli-born and NYC-based guitarist Dan Nadel is the complement. He combines flamenco, jazz, and Middle Eastern influences as a solo performer and a bandleader and collaborator with the multinational, neo-Balkan group Tavche Gravche.
Accompanied by jazz pianist and composer Yayoi Ikawa, Michel and Nadel will each perform a 20-minute set and then collaborate for a third.
Flushing Town Hall, which is located at 137-35 Northern Blvd., allows a 50 percent audience capacity and adheres to the city’s vaccine mandate. In-person admission is $15, but the show will livestream for $7.
Common Ground will then present a Mini-Global Mashup each month in autumn with the same pricing structure and format.
Balkan Roma Meets Ukraine is on Sunday, Oct. 10, at 1 pm.
Brooklyn-based Eva Salina is a groundbreaking interpreter of Balkan Romani (gypsy) songs. She’ll perform with accordionist Peter Stan.
They’ll work with Zhenya Lopatnik, who speaks five languages and uses her cultural knowledge to perform bold, meaningful music that combines American, Russian, Hebrew, and Ukrainian culture.
Yiddish Meets Argentina takes the stage on Sunday, Nov. 21, at 1 pm.
Lorin Sklamberg’s Jewish and Yiddish roots influence his transcendent voice and musicality. Sofia Rei is an Argentine vocalist and songwriter influenced by South American folk styles, jazz, pop, new classical, and electronic music. Both will enjoy accompaniment by Caribbean-born multi-instrumentalist JC Maillard.
The final show is US-Africa Meets China on Sunday, Dec. 12, at 1 pm.
Newman Taylor Baker/WashboardXT is a jazz drummer and washboard player who researches and celebrates his African-American heritage. Feifei Yang is a Chinese musician and singer specializing in Erhu and Banhu performance. They’ll work with NYC-based pianist and composer Zhihua Hu.
Common Ground’s curator is Frank London of The Klezmatics fame. The trumpeter and composer actually performed in a previous Global Mashup program.
Said he: “Audiences can look forward to enjoying phenomenal, world class performers whose music is tied to their traditions but simultaneously modernized and fused with other musical elements that expand their borders.”
Top image: Emeline Michele; bottom image: Dan Nadel Music
