Festival

Asian Improve aRts midwest presents 12th Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival

By admin ⋅ October 7, 2007 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

The Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival has been called “a crowning event on the city’s cultural calendar” by the Chicago Tribune and this year’s 12th season continues that tradition! The AAJF is dedicated to highlighting new and relevant music that represents the Asian American experience.

This year’s AAJF is proud to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Asian Improv Records, the only international recording label dedicated to presenting Asian American creative music. Founded by San Francisco musicians Francis Wong and Jon Jang, Asian Improv Records is a Grammy-nominated recording label with a catalog of over 70 titles that represent the diversity of Asian American musical expression. Asian Improv Records now bases its operations out of Chicago.

This year’s Asian American Jazz Festival lineup will feature artists who have recorded on Asian Improv Records, their collaborators and artists who have made contributions to the Asian American music scene of Chicago and the nation.

The AAJF is also expanding its geographic reach and we are pleased to be working with a new collaborator, The Hyde Park Art Center, not to mention our familiar friends at the Chicago Cultural Center and the Velvet Lounge.

Schedule:

Opening Day!
OLD AND NEW - Roots with a twist
Saturday, October 6, 2007
2pm
The Claudia Cassidy Theater at The Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington
Free Admission

• JASC Tsukasa Taiko
• The Funkadesi Trio featuring Navraaz Basati - vocals, Rahul Sharma - bass guitar, sitar, tabla, acoustic guitar, Rich Conti – vibes and percussion

The 4-Time Winner of The Chicago Music Awards, Funkadesi has been hailed by Time Magazine, and even caught the attention of U.S. Senator Barack Obama, who notes: “Funkadesi really knows how to get a crowd going. I can’t say enough how energizing this band is. There’s a lot of funk in that desi!”

This smaller ensemble of Funkadesi members will highlight Punjabi folk music fused with reggae, funk, and jazz themes.