No. 135
August 27, 1999
Immediate Release
Contact:
Rachel Joyce 612.874.7931
Karen Gysin 612.375.7651
SERIES ALSO FEATURES TUVAN VOCALIST SAINKHO NAMTCHYLAK AND BRAZILIAN CONTRALTO VIRGINIA RODRIGUES
 Waldemar Bastos photo: Michael Daks |
Exiled Angolan guitarist-vocalist Bastos opens New World Voices on Thursday, September 16, with a sumptuous cross-cultural blend of sounds and traditions from three nations. His sultry sub-Saharan grooves, intricate guitar work, and words of innocence and sadness, displacement and peace, create a common ground where Portuguese fado, Brazilian samba, and Angolan semba converge. "He melds elegiac longing with the effervescence of African and Brazilian pop, transcending sorrow with sparkle and grace," says The New York Times. On his first U.S. tour, Bastos comes to the Walker with an international five-member ensemble of master musicians.
Bastos writes: "My music arises out of paradox. I am a professional musician who barely studied music; an African performer whose first album was recorded in South America; an artist from a war-torn country whose principal themes are peace and optimism; a singer-songwriter who is considered to be the voice of Angola, although I presently live in Portugal.
Whereas my parents who nursed the sick and my brother who treats war's wounded have devoted their lives to healing the body, I have devoted mine to healing the soul. The most profound paradox underlying all of my work is the power of love, which for the spiritual diseases of war and human cruelty, is the only antidote."
Tickets to Waldemar Bastos are $16 ($13 Walker and Cedar Cultural Centre members). Series tickets that include all three events are $40 ($35 Walker and Cedar Cultural Centre members). Tickets can be purchased by calling the Walker box office at 612.375.7622 (voice); 612.375.7585 (Touchtone Device for the Deaf).
 Sainkho Namtchylak photo courtesy Amiata Media |
Saturday, October 2, 8 pm $16 ($13)
"Unparalleled . . . vocal grace, originality and beauty."--Revue
An extraordinary experimental vocalist from the central Asian Republic of Tuva, Sainkho Namtchylak uses Tuvan and Mongolian throat singing and overtone techniques along with a wide range of extended vocal practices, ambient electronics, new chamber writing, and jazz harmonies to build mesmerizing soundscapes--utterly contemporary, yet rooted in ancient traditions. She will perform with two Russian instrumentalists, German Popov on igil, kurei, and mouth harp (traditional Tuvan instruments) and Maxim Shaposhnikov on turntables, samplers, and electronics. For information on a vocal master class, call 612.375.7624.
Vocal Workshop with Sainkho Namtchylak
Thursday, August 30, 8 pm $15
Cedar Cultural Centre
416 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis.
In this vocal workshop, Namtchylak will teach the unique style of her
singing which incorporates many diverse vocal techniques including
lamaistic and shaministic transitions from Siberia, local Tuvan and
Mongolian throat/overtone singing styles, improvisation, folk, jazz, and
traditional ethnic styles. Beginners to advanced students welcome.
Workshop is limited to 30 participants. For tickets call: 612-375-7622.
 Virginia Rodrigues photo: John Maier, Jr. |
Saturday, October 23, 8 pm $16 ($13)
"The new voice in Brazil."--The New York Times
Until very recently, Virginia Rodrigues was the hidden star of Salvador, Bahia, the city considered to be the heart of Brazilian music in which African and Portuguese influences mingle. Newly found acclaim for her otherworldly contralto voice and her roots-oriented approach to traditional sambas has propelled her into the international limelight. With remarkable vocal tone and breathtaking range, she "sings with soulful spirituality and grooves with heavenly grace" (Entertainment Weekly). Rodrigues appears with six Bahian musicians on her first major U.S. tour.
To hear selections from New World Voices vocalists, go to the Walker's online calendar at www.walkerart.org/calendar/.
The Walker Art Center's Performing Arts Program is generously supported by funds from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation through the Doris Duke Fund for Jazz and Dance and the Doris Duke Performing Arts Endowment Fund, and The McKnight Foundation.