JumbieRecords

Majora Carter Speaks at APAP

One of my heroes, Majora Carter spoke at APAP. Like me, she has one foot in the arts world and another in community activism. I posted vidoes in three parts:
Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

#apap2010

Videos of NEA Chair Rocco Landesman Speaking at APAP

I just posted two videos of NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman speaking at the opening plenary of APAP. For more information, see
and

Here is a video of DJ Spooking speaking a few minutes later:

Update: Click here for the NEA perspective on the speech.

Jon G, our Lespecial Jumbie Maven

Last January, Jumbie Records was thrilled to welcome onboard Jon Grusauskus, musician, educator, and web-savvy music motivator, as our intern for the mammoth annual Arts Presenters conference in New York City.  Jon was a huge help in every stage of an exhausting but thrilling 5-days of introducing Jumbie artists to presenters and venues around the world.

Since then, Jon has stayed a part of the Jumbie family, advising on a variety of outreach, and shepherding our roster of bands into the realm of MySpace (visit www.MySpace.com/jumbierecords, with links to the bands).

Jon is also a founding member of the Connecticut band Lespecial, which has been tearing up the northeast with a string of gigs this summer, including: UNH Solarfest, Bennington College, a Darfur benefit concert, and Webster Theater in Hartford.

You can check them out on their own page at: www.myspace.com/lespecial   

-David

World Music Showcases at APAP

Please join us Saturday 1/20 at APAP for a full day of world music showcases presented by Jumbie Records Artist Management in the Harlem Suite on 4th Floor of the Hilton Hotel. You can also visit our booth at 817 Americas Hall II.

ELETFA HUNGARIAN FOLK
Village Music and Dance of Transylvania and Hungary
[11 am, 2 pm]
           

 

BERNARD WOMA TRIO
Master African Xylophonist
[11:30 am, 7 pm, 9:30 pm]

 

 

DAVID ROGERS QUINTET
Globally-Influenced Modern Jazz
[12 pm, 8:30 pm, 11 pm]

           

 

IMAGINARY HOMELAND
African Fiddle Meets American Jazz
[12:30 pm, 8 pm, 10:30 pm]

 

 

  
MUSICA MUNDI
Cool Latin Rhythms with Fiery Classical Chops
[1 pm, 7:30 pm, 10 pm]

KAKANDE
High Voltage Classical African Melodies
[1:30, 9 pm, 11:30 pm]

APAP 2005: "It's All World Music"

In January, New York played host to APAP, where 3,000 people gathered for the biggest performing artist conference in the world. Jumbie Records Artist Management made its first appearance this year, hosting an artist workshop, attending panels, and handing out cupcakes at our booth. We saw many old friends, and made many new ones--arts presenters, press, and fellow artist/entrepreneurs like Vladimir the Russian piano virtuoso and the Dutch Jazz Coalition.

We saw a lot of interest in world music at the countless forums on the state of performing arts today. Radio producer Marco Werman (PRI's "The World") hosted an excellent panel whose title seemed to capture the spirit of the event - "It's All World Music!" A very nice article by Evangeline Kim on Afropop.org digs into the range of issues raised at these and other APAP sessions discussing the state of world music and ideas that are succeeding to strengthen it.

Click here to read the Afropop.org article...

Instrument Corner: How Not to Dry a Gourd

by David Rogers

from Jumbie Journal, February 2005 Issue

In preparation for the APAP conference, we had this "great idea" to make a bunch of small gourd rattles to give out to folks who came by the Jumbie booth. Someone had heard that if you put a gourd in the oven on very low heat overnight, the inside will dry out and the seeds will form a perfect rattle - like an ensasi from Uganada or hosho from Zimbabwe.

No matter that the Connecticut farmer we bought our sack of gourds from confidently told us that the only way to dry them was to let them sit in a shed until February or March. "Don't mind the mold. You can rub that off in the springtime when it's ready." We had no time to spare waiting for spring.

A web search found inconclusive directions on how to handle the mysterious drying process. The first night of oven drying was fraught with questions: How hot? How do you keep them from cooking? Is it safe to go to sleep with your oven on?

Cautious heating yielded a gourd the next morning that was warm to the touch but otherwise unchanged. Then, our second gourd-drying laboratory (based in Michigan) decided to opt for puncturing the specimens with an ice pick to help let the damp air out. More heat! More holes! More cooking time!

Slowly, a strange smell started to fill the house. "Dad! WHAT IS THAT? Did a skunk get into our kitchen??" bellowed 9-year-old Abena, quick to detect an experiment gone awry.

Alas, the ovens were turned off, the gourds discarded except one, and the plans for our conference give-away nixed. Several weeks after the event, though, our lone un-cooked gourd was recently uncovered… mottled with green and black mold, but distinctly drier. A shake of its stem already brings a soft swishing sound, ready to accompany a small kalimba or horse-hair fiddle. By March it should be perfect for showtime.

The moral to aspiring rattle-makers: listener to your local farmer. (And don't rush Mother Nature.)