Rizzoli Music Aperitivo: Jazztopad Festival with Hamid Drake & River Sister at Rizzoli Bookstore – New York, NY

TICKETED EVENT.

Join drummer and percussionist Hamid Drake alongside River Sister in collaboration with Jazztopad Festival.

From Francis Scott Fitzgerald to Jack Kerouac, from Toni Morrison to James Baldwin, from Philip Michael Ondaatje to Geoff Dyer, from Julio Cortazar to Boris Vian, from Amiri Baraka and Ishmael Reed to Jayne Cortez, the list of international writers and poets inspired or intrigued by jazz and other musical genres goes on. Since New York City’s Rizzoli Bookstore has a long tradition of building bridges between arts genres, international scenes and creative people, we wanted to turn our gorgeous space in NoMad into an experimental living room where live jazz and other music can be enjoyed. The “Rizzoli Music Aperitivo” is sponsored by Field Blend Selections and is curated by Mondo Jazz, the weekly Radio Free Brooklyn show dedicated to international jazz.

(https://radiofreebrooklyn.com/show/mondo-jazz).

PLEASE NOTE: This is a TICKETED EVENT. Doors open at 4:30 pm. Show starts at 5:00 pm. Seating is limited and will be first come, first served.

Tickets include a 15% store discount which can be used the day of the concert, and a complimentary glass of wine provided by Field Blend Selections.

Rizzoli Bookstore is delighted to partner with the celebrated Polish festival Jazztopad Festival to present a world premiere: Hamid Drake (drums) & River Sister (strings) a collaboration between two forward-looking and lyrical composers and improvisers. The American edition of the Jazztopad Festival is presented in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.

HAMID DRAKE

By the end of the 1990s, Hamid Drake had established himself as one of the leading percussionists in the world of improvised music. Drawing from a wide range of traditions, including Afro-Cuban, Indian, and African percussion, as well as the standard drum kit, Drake became known for his diverse and innovative playing. He collaborated with prominent free jazz figures such as Peter Brötzmann, Fred Anderson, and Ken Vandermark, among many others.

Born in Monroe, Louisiana, in 1955, Drake moved to Chicago with his family, where he began studying drums with Fred Anderson’s son. This eventually led to him replacing the son as the percussionist in Anderson’s group, and through Anderson, Drake was introduced to George Lewis and other members of the AACM.

Drake’s musical journey also extended into world music, performing with Foday Musa Suso’s Mandingo Griot Society in the late 1970s and exploring reggae rhythms as well. He has been part of several influential groups, including the Latin jazz ensemble Night on Earth, the Georg Graewe Quartet, the DKV Trio, Peter Brötzmann’s Chicago Octet/Tentet, and Liof Munimula, one of Chicago’s longest-running free improvisation groups.

Additionally, Drake has worked with a wide range of notable musicians, such as trumpeter Don Cherry, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, bassist William Parker, and percussionist Mahmoud Gania. Since 1991, he has also performed a semi-annual solstice celebration with fellow Chicago percussionist Michael Zerang.

JAZZTOPAD FESTIVAL

For over two decades, Jazztopad Festival has commissioned music from major American and European artists including Wayne Shorter, Charles Lloyd, Jason Moran, Joelle Leandre, Vincent Courtois, William Parker, Vijay Iyer and Terence Blanchard. Jazztopad’s international creative partnerships have included such prestigious organizations as the Monterey Jazz Festival, Kennedy Center, London Jazz Festival and Los Angeles Philharmonic. Live recordings from the festival have been released by ECM and Blue Note Records.

The American edition of Jazztopad is first and foremost an opportunity to get to know the most important artists of the Polish contemporary jazz scene, which is a strongly recognized brand in the world both in terms of the quality of the festivals and the artistry of the featured musicians.

The project is organized by the National Forum of Music in Wroclaw in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York.

„The Jazztopad Festival, a leading event of its kind in Poland…”

– NATE CHINEN, THE NEW YORK TIMES

“(…) Jazztopad stands as an internationally renowned festival with a clearly defined ethos, one that combines a strong respect for the traditions and roots of the music with a progressive vision that provides a platform for the contemporary and innovative.”

IAN PATTERSON| ALLABOUTJAZZ.COM

“A model for what a jazz festival can be, Jazztopad is fertile soil for commissioned works and adventure-minded programming.”

JOSEF WOODARD| Downbeat

MONDO JAZZ

Mondo Jazz is a weekly program on Radio Free Brooklyn dedicated to the proposition that jazz is an international language. It is hosted every Wednesday night from 10 PM to midnight , by Ludovico Granvassu, the founder and editor in chief of All About Jazz Italia. All archived episodes are available here.

FIELD BLEND SELECTIONS

Founded in January 2017, Field Blend Selections is a new wine importing and distribution company based in New York City, serving the New York and New Jersey markets.

In both name and practice, Field Blend Selections celebrates agricultural traditions and diversity. The name is an homage to the nineteenth-century immigrants who co-planted an assortment of grape varieties in vineyards throughout the United States, many of which survive today. Alongside their vines, they often co-planted other crops, including fruits, grains, and legumes. This approach of co-mingling various plantings to achieve balance in the vineyards is now referred to as polyculture, and it is widely recognized as one of the best methods for naturally enriching soils and reducing disease. Polyculture, by replicating nature’s diverse ecosystems, produces healthier fruit without the necessity of artificial herbicides or pesticides.