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Kennedy Center – Terrace/Eisenhour Theatre / Oct. 1st 2015

ALON NECHUSHTAN GROUP : ‘FARTHEST EAST’ – COMMISSIONED BY KENNEDY CENTER Oct.1.2015

click HERE to Stream directly from Kennedy Centers’ Archives. 

FARTHEST EAST’: ALON NECHUSHTAN GROUPA Middle Eastern Odyssey in Rhythm, Harmony & Groove – blends my affinity with the Middle East and it’s rich and mystical influence over jazz musicians through a broad periodic selection of some of Strayhorn’s greatest compositions and crossroads : a few of his contributions to the seminal Far East Suite (such as ‘Agra’, ‘Mount Harrisa‘), along with his later drammatic textual driven works such as ‘Sonnet in search of a moor‘, ‘The Flowers Die of Love – a rare collaboration with the poetry of Lorca, showcasing his brilliant arranging skills ( ‘Arabian dance ‘ from Tchaikovskys’ nutcracker ) and other chance encounters he had with the gripping influence of the Middle East, like the symphonic ‘Tourist Point of View‘. While Duke was already was influenced by extocism and exploration of different cultures and the possibilites of bringing them to his body of works, such as the middle eastern flavor of his 1929’s ‘Arabian Lover‘ ; Billy brought Neo-Romantic flavor to Ellingtons’ solid book of works, such as the elegant ‘Waltz‘ . I will conclude by blending an original composition of mine hommaging my personal inspiration with Billy’s legacy, Presenting an exciting panoramic view of Strayhorn and his relevance to this day in an odyssey spanning a 100 years; from the early Ellingtonian Swing era of the 20’s to this day.

Kennedy Center group

Todd Marcus : Clarinet, Bass Clarinet

Irene Jalenti: Guest Vocalist

Alon Nechushtan : Piano, Keyboards

Ronen Itzik :Drums, Percussion

Troy Roberts: Saxophones

Delandria Mills: Guest Flutist

Brad Linde: Guest Alto Saxohone

Alex Norris: Trumpet

Evan Gregor: Double Bass

PROGRAM

1. Arabian Lover (Ellington/ Nechushtan)

2. Takseem (Nechushtan)

3. Sonnet in Search of a moor (Ellington / Strayhorn)

4. Waltz (Strayhorn/ Nechushtan)

5. Arabian Dance (Nechushtan/ Strayhorn / Ellington/ Tchaikovsky)

6. Mt. Harrisa (Ellington / Strayhorn, Nechushtan)

7. Tourist Point of View (Ellington / Strayhorn/ Nechushtan)

8. The Flowers Die of Love (Strayhorn / Nechushtan )

9. Soul-ful-fire (Nechushtan )

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