Friday, July 23, 2010

Mike Redman Wins With Anagram


Director Mike Redman has just won the “Best International Director of a Short Documentary” award at the 2010 New York International Independent Film and Video Festival.

He has built up an impressive track record as a music producer and expert in special make-up effects. Besides directing a number of television programs and video clips he also made a number of successful documentaries. ‘Anagram’ is his most recent work. In a most original way, it portrays the intriguing work of the well-known Dutch visual artist Diet Wiegman.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Jazz Pianist Amina Figurova US tour













August 7- 16, 2010

August 7 Marblehead summer Jazzseries, MA
August 8 Newport Jazzfestival, RI
August 9 Dizzys, Jazz at Lincoln center, New York, NY
August 10 Yoshi's, Oakland, CA
August 12 Kwuumbwa, Santa Cruz, CA
August 15 San José Jazzfestival, San José, CA
August 16 Jazzalley, Seattle, WA

Jazz on Lincoln Center: Dizzy's
33 West 60th Street, Fl. 11
New York, NY 10023

Monday August 9 at 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Cover: $20
Students: $10 w/valid student ID

Tour support: Nederlands Fonds voor Podium Kunsten

“… Figarova is among the most important composers to come into jazz in the new millennium..."
Thomas Conrad, Jazz Times

"...Amina Figarova boasts a graceful and erudite piano style, but her second instrument is her band….A first rate jazz pianist, Amina Figarova is staking out her ground as a top level composer-arranger...”
Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz

Amina Figarova, piano; Bart Platteau, flutes; Ernie Hammes, trumpet; Marc Mommaas, tenor saxophone; Jeroen Vierdag, bass; Chris "Buckshot" Strik, drums

Born in Baku, capitol of Azerbijan, to a high-achieving, musically appreciative family, Amina as a child enjoyed her parents' records of Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass. She was drawn to the piano at age two and commenced "special school" musical studies, which emphasized late 19th century European composition, at age six. She has recorded repertoire of Rachmaninoff and Scriabin.
Initially writing in commercial pop formats, Amina attended Baku Conservatory and concertized professionally while still a student. Spurred by her growing interest in improvisation, she attended the Moscow Jazz Festival in 1988. Weeks later she accepted an invitation to study classical piano and composition in the Netherlands, then went to the Berklee College of Music."
At Berklee in Boston Amina foresaw her unfolding path. After recording Attraction (Bart her husband, is co-billed with her; it's their quintet) Amina was accepted into the Thelonious Monk Jazz Colony in Aspen, Colorado in 1998. Soon after, the couple began their routine of steady touring and frequent recording. They've played all over the world.

On Sketches, as on her previous albums Above the Clouds (2008), Come Escape With Me (2005), Amina and company revel in a rich and varied program. The album concentrates, though, on the central aspect of her stylistic grasp, which extends from avant-garde experiments (as in September Suite, her shocked and sad response to terrorists attacks on American soil) to multi-keyboard fusion-oriented funk (on Another Me).

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Toneelgroep Amsterdam with TEOREMA at Lincoln Center Festival


















July 15-19, 2010 

Thursday, July 15, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Friday, July 16, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Saturday, July 17, 2010 at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM
Sunday, July 18, 2010 at 3:00 PM
Monday, July 19, 2010 at 7:00 PM

Governor's Island
Tickets: $40, $65

Renowned and controversial director Ivo van Hove directs his own adaptation of Pier Paolo Pasolini's provocative film and novel in which a mysterious stranger calls upon a wealthy businessman and his family and unlocks the hidden desires of each person. 
Seductive and enigmatic, Teorema is van Hove at his best.

Lincoln center

Friday, July 9, 2010

The Ultimate Performance: Dutch Soccer at the World Cup Final















Here at the Cultural Department of the Consulate General of the Netherlands, we are all excited about the World Cup Finals. The papers and radio stations are filled with news about this Historic event. This is the third time the Dutch made it this far. The first time was in 1974 and in 1978. Our hopes for a win in 2010 are high. In many ways, this Soccer Game is a Cultural Performance, and we think it is appropriate to celebrate the accomplishments of the team on this blog. If you are in New York and want to watch the finals with a group of Dutch Folks, go ahead: put on your ORANGE out fit and come on down.

Go ORANGE!

WORLD CUP 2010 – SOCCER FINALS
Sunday, July 11, 2010 - 2.30 PM
The Netherlands – Spain

Where to watch:
We are expecting that many Dutch soccer fans will be watching the final in the bars around Times Square. NLBorrels - (Dutch Expat Network) is organizing several events to watch the final 2010 World Cup match.

TONIC BAR –
727 Seventh Avenue / 48th street,
Cover Charge is $ 5
Dress code:
No Orange No Access

RSVP REQUIRED (No Guarantees)
http://www.formstack.com/forms/surveys-wk2010finale

MARS 2112 located at 1633 Broadway 50-51str. (Family-friendly)b
HURLEY’S SALOON at 232 West 48th street,
PLAYWRIGHT across TONIC at 202 West 49th street

Please note that if the Netherlands win, we anticipate many soccer fans gathering in and around the Times Square area.

After the Game:
NLBorrels –is hosting a Dutch after-party with DJ and Food at Mars 2112 (see address above).
6:30 PM. There is a $ 10 Cover Charge.

Even if you cannot join the festivities, please check for other locations in your area. Many bars are screening the game.

We expect to celebrate the Victory with you on Sunday. Please join us from the Dutch Consulate and many other Dutch Soccer fans!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Dutch Saxophonist Michael Varekamp at Jazzmobile's HARLEM INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL



Tuesday, July 6, 2010 at 7:00 PM

St. Nicholas Park - St. Nicholas Ave. & 135th St
Admission: Free

Direct from The Netherlands with roots in Trinidad, heralded as “a mixture between Louis Armstrong & Clifford Brown,” Varekamp drops in for a New York minute!
Michael Varekamp, born in Rotterdam with Trinidad roots started playing the trumpet at the age of 10. When he was 12 he was deeply affected by a Louis Armstrong album which hefinds amongst his father's music collection. At age of 13 he started leading his first little jazz band. For several years he played frequently with Fra Fra Sound and Fra Fra Big BandBand he worked with a lot of different people such as David Murray, Lester Bowie, Lalo Shifrin, Deborah Brown, Philip Harper and Ralph Peterson. He was touring Australia, South Africa, Great Brittania, Cuba, Tunisia, Malta, Israël, the Baltics and extensively through Europe.
In October 2001 he received in Kobe Japan, the Kobe Award for Outstanding Young Talent.  Michael was involved in many educational projects and since 2006 he is Artistic Director of the Pure Jazz organization who welcomes artists from all over the world such as Terence Blanchard, Gustavo Mozzi, Rashid Ali and Izaline Callister.

www.varekampjazz.com