Inman Square Berklee / NEC music series closes 2014 with bluegrass

The 7th and 8th concerts in the brother Lord Geoffrey Presents series of rising Berklee and NEC talent at Outpost 186, 186 Hampshire Street (Inman Square) Cambridge are this and next Wednesday. Bring your instrument for the after-concert pickin' party. The venue is BYOB (21+).

JACOB MEANS and Friends

Concert and pickin' partyOutpost 186, 186 Hampshire St, Inman Square, CambridgeWednesday, December 11, 2013Doors 7:30, Concert 8:00Students $5, General Public $10Email lordgeoffreypresents@gmail.com for special "insider" information.Patrons are welcome to bring acoustic instruments for an after-concert pickin' party.https://sites.google.com/site/lordgeoffreypresents/Facebook event - https://www.facebook.com/events/651784944853091/

Composer, improviser, and performer Jacob Means enjoys experimenting with new sounds while still maintaining a relationship with traditional folk music.   A versatile musician, Jacob has traveled around the world performing in a variety of settings, including an a cappela ensemble in Shanghai, China, and a bluegrass band at the International Folk Festival in Slovakia.   After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Music with an emphasis in Vocal Performance at the University of Wyoming, Jacob is now pursuing his passion, the mandolin, in the Contemporary Improvisation program at New England Conservatory in Boston, where he has created the Honors Ensemble experimental folk band Bethe. continued

High Rock Mountain

Bluegrass concert and pickin' party
Wednesday, December 18, 2013Doors 7:30, Concert 8:00Outpost 186, 186 Hampshire St., Inman Square, Cambridge Students $5, General Public $10Email lordgeoffreypresents@gmail.com or call 781-643-1586 for special “insider” information.Patrons are welcome to bring acoustic instruments for an after-concert pickin’ party.https://sites.google.com/site/lordgeoffreypresents/https://www.facebook.com/events/577892772268303/

High Rock Mountain plays mainly traditional bluegrass, with an emphasis on broken-hearted love songs and murder ballads featuring two- and three-part harmonies, with some originals and ripping instrumentals thrown in. The band met at the beginning of the 2012 Fall semester at Berklee College of Music through the Bluegrass ensemble arrangement - not that long ago - but they feel like they've been playing together for years. High Rock Mountain is delighted to take the musical heritage with which they have been blessed and bring it to those both familiar and new to Bluegrass, spreading awareness of this great music and expanding the Bluegrass community. continued

The series will continue in 2014 watch the Lord Geoffrey website or Facebook page for news.

​

A Thanksgiving Post that Ain't No Turkey

Back on April 12 notloB presented Darol Anger and Emy Phelps with very special guest Sharon Gilchrist at the historic Loring-Greenough House in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood. For background, read

notloB Parlour Concerts presents Darol Anger and Emy Phelps w/ special guest Sharon Gilchrist, March 2, 2012
and
Anger, Phelps and Gilchrist Up Close, September 5, 2012.

Today our good friend "Second Cousin Curley" posted to NEFolk notice of a new article that looks back at the concert in context of one of the tunes played that night, “Cherokee Shuffle."

A Thanksgiving Post that Ain't No Turkey  

“Cherokee Shuffle” is one of the most popular fiddle tunes in bluegrass. This week at www.secondcousincurly.com we try to untangle its interesting musical lineage with help of a tasty rendition of the tune by Darol Anger, Sharon Gilchrist and Emy Phelps from their concert last spring at the Loring-Greeenough House. Coming on the cusp of Thanksgiving, you can view this post as 

a)    a maladroit tribute to the central role of Native Americans in the founding of the nation;

b)    a pathetic attempt to populate folksy listservs and online forums with 50 centime words like “maladroit;”

c)    an inspiration to play this and other old favorites as you gather with friends and family;

d)    a brief respite from all the cooking and socializing;

e)    all of the above.Happy Thanksgiving!Yer Pal-- Curly

Read On the Trail of the Lost Indian and enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving.

p.s. Here's the video for those who can't wait.

notloB Parlour Concerts presents August Watters and Jose Lezcano

notloB Parlour Concerts presents

Saturday, December 8, 8pm

August Watters & Jose Lezcano

Together, August Watters and Jose Lezcano explore the vibrant sounds of mandolin and guitar. From the indigenous musical traditions of Europe and Central and South America to the concert repertoire of three centuries, the duo highlights the connections between folk music traditions and more formal concert repertoire. Their timeless music captures a wide range of texture and emotion while aspiring to the highest standards of artistry and technique.

Described by the New Millennium Guitar Magazine as "a superb guitarist as well as a first-rate composer and arranger," twice grammy-nominated musician José Manuel Lezcano has captivated audiences on four continents. His programs featuring traditional and Latin American repertory, and his own original compositions have taken him as recitalist, collaborative musician, and concerto soloist from Carnegie Recital Hall and the North-South Consonance Series in New York City to major venues and festivals in Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, China, the Czech Republic and Germany. 

Born in Havana, Cuba in 1960, Lezcano was invited to join the faculty of Keene State College in New Hampshire in 1991, where he is Professor of Music and teaches courses in guitar, music theory, and Latin American music. He earned degrees from Peabody Conservatory (BM), University of South Carolina (MM), and Florida State University (Ph.D. music theory). Dr. Lezcano's own Guitar Concerto (2004), has received critical acclaim. Fanfare Magazine wrote, "Colorfully scored ... agreeable music, and dashingly performed by the composer." Dr. Lezcano has performed his concerto with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of Peru, and orchestras in Ecuador, Colombia, and New Hampshire. In 2008, Lezcano's work on the CD "Remembrances/Recuerdos" was nominated for two Grammys, for "Best soloist with orchestra," and "Best contemporary composition." Dr. Lezcano has earned numerous awards, including first prize in the MTNA National Guitar Competition, the NH State Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship, NHMTA Composer of the Year (2002 & 07), KSC Distinguished Research Award, and a Fulbright Award to Ecuador where he performed as orchestral soloist and pursued research on indigenous guitar traditions. Jose's scholarly publications include Latin American Music Review, Soundboard, and the Latino Encyclopedia. He has lectured throughout the state for the NH Humanities Council on Ecuadorean Indian guitar traditions, rituals, and mythology. 

August Watters is a multi-stylistic, improvising mandolinist, composer/arranger, and teacher in the Boston area. As an international clinician he has taught in Italy, Germany, Canada, England, and the Czech Republic. He has performed with some of the leading figures in today’s revival of this most elegant instrument, including Carlo Aonzo, Roland White, Matt Flinner, Butch Baldassari, Bill Keith and Marilynn Mair. His work as an improviser, interpreter, composer and arranger bridges contemporary classical music, jazz, bluegrass, folk music traditions, and the historical concert mandolin repertoire.

Watters teaches at Berklee College of Music, where he is an Associate Professor of Ear Training. In addition to founding the Berklee New Acoustic Music Ensemble and other original curricular offerings addressing the needs of improvising string players, Prof. Watters has taught Berklee classes in harmony, composition, and arranging, as well as private mandolin lessons. He is also an Emmy award-winning arranger, with dozens of studio credits as arranger, orchestrator and conductor for television and film music. Prof. Watters is also founder of Boston Mandolins, the New England Mandolin Ensemble, and Cape Cod Mandolin Camp. He holds a Masters of Music Education from Boston University, and a Bachelor’s of Music from Berklee College, majoring in Jazz Composition and Arranging.

Artists' websites:

http://www.berklee.edu/faculty/detail/august-watters http://www.augustwatters.net/

http://www.joselezcano.com/

Loring-Greenough House, 12 South Street, JP
Suggested donation $10-15 sliding scale, JPTC members receive a 20% discount, + $1 preservation fee.

reservation requests to notlobreservations at gmail dot com

notloB website - https://sites.google.com/site/notlobmusic/

Coffee from JP Licks

Pastries from Fiores

"Like" notloB's Facebook page

Sign up for newsletter