Thursday November 13 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 * $15-25 * TICKETS
Secret Planet DC presents...
The Arun Ramamurthy Trio - Brooklyn violinist Arun Ramamurthy is an Indo-jazz explorer who creates strikingly beautiful music fusing the spirit of raga music and jazz. Steeped in the Carnatic musical tradition of South India, but also versed in North Indian Hindustani forms, he's a prolific composer who has created scores for plays, dance productions, and other fellow musicians. His powerhouse trio features electric bassist Damon Banks, a global force also versed in West and North African rhythms, and drummer Sameer Gupta. Although he's now based in Oakland, Gupta spent nearly two decades in New York City, where he and Ramamurthy co-founded the widely influential collective called Brooklyn Raga Massive. Arun’s original work tells stories of migration and cultural connection. The band's latest LP, New Moon, is an exploration of the teachings and wisdom of our ancestors, as well as the lessons we take on our own personal journeys. Included is a dynamic four-movement suite originally commissioned by the CMA for their New Jazz Works program, entitled “New Moon Suite”. The album captures a sense of genuine spontaneity; an ensemble able to adjust at any moment, all aware, all ready. Expanding on traditional forms through explosive improvisational flights, the Arun Ramamurthy Trio creates a deeply invigorating spiritual experience while broadening the possibilities of cross-cultural musical dialogue.
Mojuba Duo (Jamal Moore, Nik Francis) - Jamal R. Moore is a native of Baltimore, a multi-instrumentalist, composer/performer and educator. His background includes the California Institute of The Arts (M.F.A. 2012), Berklee College of Music (B.M 2005), Eubie Blake Jazz Orchestra (2000) under the direction of Christopher Calloway Brooks and historically-acclaimed Frederick Douglass Sr. High whose alumni include Thurgood Marshall, Cab Calloway, and Ethel Ennis. Jamal currently leads his own groups, Akebulan Arkestra, Napata Strings, Black Elements Quartet, Organix Trio, Interstellar Duo and co-leads Ancestral Duo with Luke Stewart. Nik Francis is an improvising musician with a primary focus on the drum kit, integrating gongs, electronics, and small acoustic instruments. His music explores a broad range of improvised and experimental approaches to sound. Through topology.systems, he documents much of his solo work and collaborative projects. Francis performs with Jamal Moore in the Mojuba Duo, and with Mark Cisneros and Luke Stewart in the We Were Here Before trio.