Writer/musician/auteur Greg Tate is curating a very interesting musical performance, FIRE & FIRE, a collaborative examination of the parallels between Black Americans and The Rom of Romania and Hungary (aka gypsies). It’s a fascinating subject as societal study alone but the manifestation of that it into music takes it to another level. From the Fire & Fire Facebook page:
The story begins in Hungary when three New Yorkers: Eisa Davis, Melvin Gibbs and Greg Tate take a summer field trip to Budapest with Jakab Orsos, Director of the Hungarian Cultural Center New York. They are in search of the Hungarian Gypsy experience, with a mind to investigate the synergies between the Black diaspora and Gypsy culture. For three days and nights they wine, dine and jam with fellow performers and musicians, discovering new territories of expression. Back home in New York, these encounters continue to percolate, creating Fire + Fire.
Fire + Fire features an historic meeting of musical sympathies when nine Hungarian Gypsy musicians meet with seven of their Black American counterparts to interrogate a history of mutual oppression and silences. Part of the yearlong Extremely Hungary Festival, Fire + Fire delves into the synergies of two cultures, melding musical and political expression—this taking the shape through the story of star crossed lovers caught in a weft of cultural clash and political dialogue. The ensemble employs an experimental fusion of spoken word, movement and full on “jam sessions” to create a brand new vernacular that will spring this tale of two cultures to life. Fire + Fire will be presented at Symphony Space on November 19 and 21.
“There are compelling parallels between the Gypsy and African-American experience, that energy and struggle is reflected in jazz and Gypsy music—both are intense, explosive, individual and raw.”
–Greg Tate, Co-Curator FIre+ Fire
With only a couple of days notice, at least 100 of Washington DC’s Black political and social elite ponied up $250 to get out of work on a Friday afternoon, tilt back a few drink, eat sushi and wait patiently for the appearance of Jeffrey Wright and the main draw, Maxwell, who was playing at DC’s Verizon Center hours later.
The occasion was a quickie fundraiser for Wright’s Taia Foundation, which funds infrastructure development in Western Africa - specifically and 18 mile stretch of road that will facilitate the transport of good and services and spur economic development.
Not that anyone knew that before they gave the money. But it was Friday, it was in the middle of the day and it was Maxwell. And in DC, that’s reason enough. In that city, if you want to stay on “the list”, sometimes you just write the check.
This is an ad sent to me from a friend who lives in Singapore. Who would have thought the “morning zoo/crew” radio format would go any further than the States?
A long while back I made a joke to a Korean friend about how funny it was getting kimchee and fried chicken at a Koren-owned restaurant in the ‘hood. She politely chided me that Korean were frying up chicken about 1000 years before Negroes decided they owned the rights to chicken-loving. Point well taken. The same goes for a number of things in the traditional “soul food” diet, so the proliferation of Korean-run fast food joints serving up a bit o’ soul in Black neighborhoods is a fairly natural progression for them, if still some source of cultural misunderstanding.
This gospel music thing however, is not a natural progression, but good work nonetheless. Hat tip to Harry Allen for the link.
This group, Born Jamericans, has the dubious distinction of being the first very musical group I ever interviewed. Way back in 1993 when i had just launched a magazine in DC called ONE. Great memories. Cool kids as I recall. I really liked their music, but they just had the absolutely wrong marketing engine behind them. The group name didn’t help either.
The longest serving head of state aside from Fidel Castro, Gabon’s Omar Bongo died this weekend according to reports from Europe. Gabon for years has been a bit of an oasis from the strife around it, generally because of its oil riches and the kind of payoffs to the opposition that wealth afforded.
It’s capital, Libreville, was at one time only second to Tokyo as the most expensive city in the world. Can’t exactly say the wealth trickled down throughout the provinces.
I got a chance to meet President Bongo a few times and was part of a diplomatic team of 12 that was piloted to France, Liberia, Gabon, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Angola thanks to the generous use of Bongo’s Gulfstream and personal pilot. One of the more memorable things I’ve had the luck to experience. Bongo’s wife died recently and the president was reported to be recovering from that experience. Condolences to his son and likely heir to the presidency, Ali Ben Bongo.
Too far under the radar has been the Reunion Tour of the seminal 80’s ska band, The Specials, shown here on Live with Jools Holland. Best of all they look and sound incredible for a band celebrating basically the 30th anniversary of its initial success.
No word yet on a U.S. leg of the tour.
The definition of musical bliss? A tour featuring Fishbone, The Specials and The Selecter.
Black folk of all stripes have been finding new opportunity and focus outside of their home countries since the early 1900s, but clearly the relatively low cost of travel these days and the focus on global economies is making it easier for people to make the still difficult leap to setting up life internationally.
Dave Crane (pictured above), a Black Brit, has found a niche in Dubai as a performing hypnotist. Click the link above for the full article.
Key take-away, and pretty much all you need to know:
Girl: “What has Obama done since being in office? Nothing. I’m a political science major, I should know.”
Interviewer: ” Do you who Benjamin Netanyahu is?
Girl: ” No, who is he?”
In what sounds like something from a spy novel or Spiderman comic book, the Obama Administration has announced The Narcotics Kingpin Act to target Mexican druglords. From the White House:
The Administration has released the names of three Mexican organizations against which the President has decided to impose sanctions pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (the “Kingpin Act”) (21 U.S.C. 1901-1908, 8 U.S.C. 1182). Kingpin Act targets, on a worldwide basis, significant foreign narcotics traffickers, their organizations, and operatives.
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