BAM announces April BAMcafé Live programming

Lineup includes hard-bop jazz with the New Cookers, the smooth jazz of Onaje Allan Gumbs and New Vintage, original string sounds with the Flail, the global vocals and percussion of SEFIRA, electro- instrumentals with Wires Under Tension, and the steam punk big band Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society

No cover! No minimum! Friday and Saturday nights

Brooklyn, March 7, 2013— BAMcafé Live (30 Lafayette Avenue)—the performance series curated by Darrell M. McNeill, associate producer, music programming—announces its lineup for April. BAMcafé Live events have no cover charge and no drink minimum. For information and updates, call 718.636.4100 or visit BAM.org.

For press inquiries, contact Lauren Morrow at 718.636.4129 x 1 or [email protected].

Friday & Saturday night schedule April 5—The New Cookers April 6—Onaje Allan Gumbs and New Vintage April 12—The Flail April 13—SEFIRA April 19— Wires Under Tension April 20—Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society

Host: Phillip Andry House DJ: DJ Idlemind “The Appropriate Agent” About the artists

Fri, Apr 5 at 9pm The New Cookers Named after Freddie Hubbard’s seminal 1965 album Night of the Cookers, the New Cookers pay homage to Brooklyn’s hard-bop jazz scene. Known for its driving rhythms and dynamic performances, the ensemble brings its exhilarating sounds back to BAMcafé this April.

Sat, Apr 6 at 9pm Onaje Allan Gumbs and New Vintage Onaje Allan Gumbs is a New York-based pianist and composer who has worked with , Cecil McBee, and and is a charter member of the Avery Sharpe Trio. Gumbs arranged and performed on two songs by the late , "Betcha By Golly Wow" and "The Answer is You,” and has released seven solo albums. He composed, arranged, and performed the original score for the 1994 Showtime film Override, directed by Danny Glover, and is a 2006 NAACP Image Award nominee for Outstanding Jazz Artist for his album Remember Their Innocence.

Fri, Apr 12 at 9pm The Flail -based jazz quintet the Flail performs original compositions written by band members Dan Blankenship (trumpet), Matt Zebrowski (drums), Stephen Moutot (saxophone), Brian Marsella (piano), and Reid Taylor (bass). The Flail has performed around the world, including four tours of France and regular performances at New York City venues Smalls Jazz Club, Fat Cat, and Sweet Rhythm. The band has released three albums: Live in France (2002), Never Fear (2006), and The Flail (2008), recorded live at Smalls.

Sat, Apr 13 at 9pm SEFIRA Formed by singers with eclectic backgrounds, SEFIRA creates improvised, original music with just voices and percussion. Comprising vocalists Sachal Vasandani, Malika Zarra, and Sofia Rei and percussionists Keita Ogawa and Mathias Kunzli, the group draws upon the creative, improvisatory force of all its musicians, with influences from jazz to North African to Latin American music. SEFIRA received a Chamber Music America /French-American Cultural Exchange grant in 2010.

Fri, Apr 19 9:30pm Wires Under Tension Wires Under Tension is a South Bronx-based duo that combines homegrown audio sampling instruments with ferocious beats and adventurous orchestration, resulting in a sound that reflects the raw imagery of their home turf. Multi-instrumentalist Christopher Tignor switches dexterously between the violin and other instruments while Theo Metz mixes. Together they are re-thinking what instrumental music can be when musicianship and restless experimentation rule.

Sat, Apr 20 at 10pm Secret Society Grammy Award nominee Darcy James Argue and his big band Secret Society evoke an alternate musical history in which swing-era dance orchestras remain a popular and vital part of the musical landscape. Adopting a steampunk attitude toward the traditional big band, Argue refashions this well- worn instrumentation into a cutting-edge ensemble. During the 2011 BAM Next Wave Festival, Secret Society premiered Brooklyn Babylon, an hour-long production combining live music, live painting, and animation, co-created by Argue with visual artist Danijel Zezelj. This April, the group releases the album Brooklyn Babylon and performs the work live at BAMcafé.

*Selections from Brooklyn Babylon can be seen in the documentary BAM150, airing on WNET this April.

Credits

Pepsi is the Official Beverage of BAM.

Brooklyn Brewery is the preferred beer of BAM.

BAMcafé Live events are sponsored by Con Edison. BAMcafé Live receives endowment support from the BAM Fund To Support Emerging and Local Musicians, created in part with a major gift from The Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust. Programming in BAM Lepercq Space is supported by The Lepercq Foundation.

BAM Winter/Spring 2013 supporters: Bank of America; The Irene Diamond Fund; Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art; The Florence Gould Foundation; The Leona M. & Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Mikhail Prokhorov Fund; Stavros Niarchos Foundation; The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.; The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; The SHS Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; The Skirball Foundation; The Starr Foundation; Time Warner Inc.; The Winston Foundation, Inc.

Sovereign Bank is the BAM Marquee sponsor. Yamaha is the official piano for BAM. R/GA is the BAM.org sponsor. New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge is the official hotel for BAM.

General Information BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafé are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). Both locations house Greenlight Bookstore at BAM kiosks. BAM Fisher, located at 321 Ashland Place, is the newest addition to the BAM campus and houses the Judith and Alan Fishman Space and Rita K. Hillman Studio. BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn’s only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, is open for dining prior to BAM Howard Gilman Opera House evening performances. BAMcafé also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music for BAMcafé Live on Friday and Saturday nights with a special BAMcafé Live menu available starting at 6pm.

Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center (2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins St for Harvey Theater) D, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Atlantic Terminal – Barclays Center

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