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10/03 Friday
7:00 PM ZABAP
AFRO-CARIBBEAN AVANT-GARDE JAZZ
Melodies and grooves from Africa and the Antilles meet the intensity and freedom of contemporary improvisation.
Based in Brattleboro, Vermont, Zabap features seven of New England’s master improvisors: Eugene Uman, keyboards; Derrik Jordan, violin and guitar; Dan Rostov, trumpet; Jamie MacDonald, bass; Doug Raneri, drums; Steve Ferraris and Julian Gerstin, percussion.
The ensemble’s members have worked with a vast array of musicians from Sun Ra to Bo Diddley, salsa star Chocolate Armenteros to punk legend Richard Hell, African bands Habib Koite and Kotoja, and with such jazz luminaries as Michael Brecker, Lee Konitz, Sonny Fortune, Paquito D’Rivera, Charlie Haden, Joseph Bowie, Yusef Lateef, Carlos Averhoff, Valery Ponomarev, Sheila Jordan, Jay Clayton, Bobby Sanabria, and Donald Byrd.
Zabap filters these influences through the deep traditions of Ghana, Cuba, Martinique and Brazil. Most of the band members have lived, studied, and performed in these nations. Some pieces are settings of traditional songs, while others are original but with rhythms and instruments from afar. With three percussionists in the rhythm section, you can count on surprises … some pretty sounds, and some challenging ones.
Zabap … It’s not your grandma’s Latin jazz.
10:00 PM Zabap
AFRO-CARIBBEAN AVANT-GARDE JAZZ
Melodies and grooves from Africa and the Antilles meet the intensity and freedom of contemporary improvisation.
Based in Brattleboro, Vermont, Zabap features seven of New England’s master improvisors: Eugene Uman, keyboards; Derrik Jordan, violin and guitar; Dan Rostov, trumpet; Jamie MacDonald, bass; Doug Raneri, drums; Steve Ferraris and Julian Gerstin, percussion.
The ensemble’s members have worked with a vast array of musicians from Sun Ra to Bo Diddley, salsa star Chocolate Armenteros to punk legend Richard Hell, African bands Habib Koite and Kotoja, and with such jazz luminaries as Michael Brecker, Lee Konitz, Sonny Fortune, Paquito D’Rivera, Charlie Haden, Joseph Bowie, Yusef Lateef, Carlos Averhoff, Valery Ponomarev, Sheila Jordan, Jay Clayton, Bobby Sanabria, and Donald Byrd.
Zabap filters these influences through the deep traditions of Ghana, Cuba, Martinique and Brazil. Most of the band members have lived, studied, and performed in these nations. Some pieces are settings of traditional songs, while others are original but with rhythms and instruments from afar. With three percussionists in the rhythm section, you can count on surprises … some pretty sounds, and some challenging ones.
Zabap … It’s not your grandma’s Latin jazz.
Julian Gerstin (percussion)
Julian specializes in the traditional styles of Cuba, Martinique, Ghana ... and experimental jazz. Since moving to Vermont in 2006, Julian has founded Zabap (his dream band), performed with the Windham Orchestra and jazz vocalist Samirah Evans, sung with the River Singers chorus, and accompanied the choirs Emerald Stream, Brattleboro Community Chorus, and Brattleboro Women’s Chorus. In California from 1984-2006, Julian was a percussionist with the African bands Kotoja and Zulu Spear, experimental jazz artists Joel Harrison and Eddie Gale, Brazilian samba groups Batucada Nana and Batucada do Leste, Afro-Cuban dancer Judith Justíz, Ghanaian drummer C.K. Ladzekpo, world beat band Syncrosystem, and numerous others. He is equally proud of regular appearances in the famous Cuban rumba sessions at La Peña Café.
Julian began studying percussion with Milford Graves in the early 1970s, and his Cuban teachers include Sandy Pérez, John Santos, Lorenzo Peñavel, and Michael Spiro. In 1993-95 Julian lived in Martinique, in the French West Indies, learning traditional bèlè drumming and dance. He received a Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley in 1996 and has published articles on Martinique in several scholarly journals.
As a day gig, Julian teaches world music and rhythm studies as Adjunct Instructor of Music at Clark University and Keene State College; runs the Rhythm Workshop and co-directs (with Eugene Uman) the Latin Jazz Ensemble at the Vermont Jazz Center; and teaches Afrocuban percussion at The Loft. He has also taught world music and jazz history at Wesleyan University, Marlboro College, and San José State University.
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Eugene Uman (piano, keyboards)
Eugene has performed with such stars as Attila Zoller, Valery Ponomarev, Sonny Fortune, Sheila Jordan, Jay Clayton, Bobby Sanabria, and Bo Diddley. For several years his compositions fueled the experimental trio Ambassadors of Light, with Zabap’s bassist Jamie MacDonald and drummer Claire Arenius. Eugene has also written for musical ensembles ranging from big band to rock to symphony orchestra—his commissioned work for the Windham Symphony premiered in January 2008. Three of Eugene’s Latin jazz originals were recorded by Sammy Figueroa for his 2005 Grammy-nominated CD, And Sammy Walked In.
Eugene is the Artistic/Educational director of the Vermont Jazz Center, based in Brattleboro. Under his guidance, the VJC has grown into an esteemed concert venue where performances by high-level jazz artists are complemented by community outreach and educational programs. The VJC’s renowned summer jazz workshop attracts students from around the world. In addition, Eugene is Adjunct Instructor of Music at Amherst College, teaching jazz theory, composition, and piano; he also teaches music at the Governor’s Institute of the Arts.
Along with extensive travels in South America, Eugene spent the year 2007 in Medellín, Colombia, where he co-founded Medellín’s Festival de Jazz and initiated the jazz studies program at the Universidad EAFIT.
Eugene received his M.A. in Jazz Performance and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Queens College in New York, where he received a Eubie Blake Scholarship. He has studied piano with Sir Roland Hanna, Kenny Barron, Barry Harris, and Ran Blake, composition with Jimmy Heath, and jazz theory with Dave Liebman, among others.
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Derrik Jordan (electric violin, guitar)
As a multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, producer, and teacher, Derrik is used to wearing a lot of hats. What ties it together is performing original music for real audiences. “Creating live music is a sacred trust. That moment of ecstatic communion when performer and audience become one is one of life’s greatest experiences.”
Derrik is well known around New England as the leader of the beloved world beat band Simba, but he also thrives as a wide-ranging singer-songwriter. His CD Touch the Earth features songs on environmental themes, while Expecting a Miracle, featuring Ben Wittman and Marc Shulman, includes the song “Speak Through Me,” which placed 1st in the Gospel/Inspirational category and 2nd overall—out of 32,000 entries—in the 2004 USA Songwriting Competition. Derrik’s love of Brazilian music shines out on the double-CD Brazilliance, which includes his “Share Your Love,” first recorded by Angela Bofill. Derrik has also released two CDs under the name SuperString Theory, showcasing his 5-string electric violin in a variety of world fusion settings, and featuring free jazz singer Lisa Sokolov and Ethiopian vocalist Helen Kerlin-Smith. Other regular gigs include the collaborative improvisational trios Natural History and Starfish. Derrik’s commissioned work for string orchestra and percussion was premiered by the Sage City Symphony in early 2008.
Derrik has studied percussion with Milford Graves and composition with Henry Brant, among others. In his journey to further develop his craft he has traveled to Brazil, Trinidad, Ghana, and Senegal, studying and recording with numerous local musicians (including 2007’s Superstring Theory Goes to Senegal). Back in Vermont, Derrik teaches music at The Greenwood School, a highly regarded school for children with learning disabilities. This experience, Derrik feels, has deepened his understanding of human creativity and spirit, influencing all his other work.
Dan Rostov (trumpet)
Dan began learning music from his father, guitarist Bruce Rosow, in elementary school. By 5th grade his early musical influences Marilyn Manson and White Zombie were replaced by Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. In high school his main musical mentors were trumpeter Steive Sonntag and Zabap pianist Eugene Uman. Dan also became deeply involved with the Wednesday night jam sessions at the Vermont Jazz Center.
Dan graduated from high school early and joined the dub reggae band Trumystic out of Brooklyn, touring the United States for two years. During much of the three years since, Dan has traveled, playing with bands in Senegal, Gambia, Nepal, and India. He is currently with the Senegalese reggae band Aziz Boukote, which has just released the CD Guidance and will tour West Africa and Europe in early 2008.
Meanwhile, Dan has started his own reggae fusion group, Umkhonto We Sizwe, based in Brattleboro. Umkhonto will soon record its first CD. We are fortunate to have this outstanding young musician in Zabap. Listen and judge for yourself!
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Jamie MacDonald (bass)
Jamie is a first-call musician for the southern Vermont/New Hampshire/Massachusetts area. His ability to groove creatively in a wide range of musical settings, along with a high level of technique from years of both jazz and classical studies, have given Jamie a reputation as a seriously original improvisor.
Jamie performed for several years with the collaborative experimental trio Ambassadors of Light, together with pianist Eugene Uman and drummer Claire Arenius. He has also worked with jazz figures Harvey Diamond, Sheila Jordan, Carlos Averhoff, Bobby Bradford, James Williams, Helmut Kagerer, Mitch Seidman, and the Vermont Jazz Center Big Band. As a classical musician, Jamie has performed with the BMC String Quartet, Raylnmor Opera Company, and Keene Chamber Orchestra.
Jamie has served the Vermont Jazz Center as Director of Educational Programs, and currently teaches bass, jazz ensemble and jazz theory at Cheshire Music in Keene, New Hampshire. He holds a B.M. in performance from Keene State College and has studied with jazz icons Michael Formanek, Cameron Brown, and Don Baldini.
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Doug Raneri (drums)
Doug has been playing percussion for over 30 years. Doug’s musical sensitivity, superb polyrhythmic chops, and interest in a broad range of musical styles make him a natural fit with Zabap’s eclectic sound. Doug has concertized with Michael Brecker, Charlie Haden, Yusef Lateef, and many others. Doug’s recordings with area groups include Viva Quetzal, Stockwell Brothers, Stash, Live on the Planet, and Band of Crows. He attended New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Fred Buda and Bob Moses. Besides a thriving practice of drumset instruction, Doug teaches yoga in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
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Steve Ferraris (percussion)
Steve expertise lies in the African djembe drum as well as Afro-Cuban congas, timbales, and bongó. His passionate playing, versatility, and openness have taken him in many musical directions, notably with jazz greats Sun Ra, Joseph Bowie, Paquito D’Rivera, Charlie Haden, Michael Ray, and James Spaulding; salsa stars Chocolate Armenteros and Ray Vega; and African drummer/dancer Arthur Hall. Recently Steve has been seen regularly in the rhythm sections of Burlington, Vermont-based salsa and Latin jazz outfits, Grupo Sabor and Jazzismo. He also recently recorded with guitarist/singer Habib Koité on his new CD, Afriki. Steve’s current project, The History and Mystery of Jazz, is an entertaining and educational tour through the development of America’s great indigenous art, and has appeared in both Italy and the United States.
With a number of the above groups as well as his own Rootsystem Drummers, Steve has toured the United States and Europe, appearing at (among others) the New Orleans Jazz Festival (six times), Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival, the Ottawa and Toronto Jazz Festivals, the Umbria and Urbino Jazz Festivals in Italy, and Germany’s Moers Jazz Festival.
As a teacher, Steve is Adjunct Instructor of Percussion at the University of Vermont, Burlington, and for over twenty years has held numerous artistic residencies in K-12 schools throughout New England. Steve has also presented percussion clinics at the Urbino Jazz Festival Music School, the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, and the University of Vermont Summer Clinic for music teachers.
Steve has a B.A. from Dartmouth University. His training in African and Afro-Cuban music includes stints with, among others, Hafiz Shabazz, Abraham Adzinyah, Ibrahima Camera, Osei Appiagyei, and Jerry Gonzalez.