Afro-Cuban music at USM

It’ll be hot! It’s hip! Six musicians from five countries for five days!

The University of Southern Maine School of Music presents an Afro-Cuban music residency that will include a concert, workshops, rehearsals, and a concert/demonstration from October 15 – 19, 2009, all on the USM Gorham campus.

Events OPEN TO THE PUBLIC include:
2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16 -- a workshop on these various musical styles in Corthell Concert Hall - Free
8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16 – “Un Mondo” in concert in Corthell Concert Hall - $15/$10/$5
2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19 – Latin dance concert/demonstration in Theatre’s Russell Hall - Free

This event is presented by the School of Music with major support from USM’s Cultural Affairs Committee. For concert tickets or more information, call the Music Box Office at 780-5555.

The concert performance by “Un Mondo” -- at 8 p.m. Friday, October 16, in Corthell Concert Hall -- will feature music in several styles: American Jazz, South African Jazz, Latin Jazz, and traditional Cuban “Son” style. (“Son” is a vocal style of folk music that is Afro-Cuban in heritage, pre-dating “salsa,” that has been popularized in recent years by the Buena Vista Social Club.) The program will include original music from all band members, and the resulting fusion of styles will be a unique blend of different sounds from around the world. Some pieces are dance tunes, so if patrons are interested in Latin dancing, this will be a rare opportunity to experience authentic Latino music live. Bring your dancing shoes!

USM music artist faculty member, Gary Wittner of Raymond, is the inspiration/director of this timely collaboration between world cultures. The group – newly dubbed “Un Mondo,” or One World -- consists of six musicians from five countries (and three continents!) Two are from Ecuador, one from South Africa, one from Cuba (currently living in Guatemala), one from Chile (currently living in Portsmouth, N.H.), and one from the USA. Wittner has performed with all of these musicians during his many travels around the world.

“In these travels I have developed professional and personal relationships with many musicians,” says Wittner, “and it was my desire to bring together some of these players to create a multi-cultural band and bring it to USM. I was asked to expand a smaller proposal I had made to the School of Music and now, through the support of Cultural Affairs, it’s happening this October.”

Wittner, originally from New York, is an adjunct faculty member in the USM School of Music (jazz guitar, jazz combos, jazz history). He has performed extensively throughout the USA and on five continents, released five CDs with original music, and published one book, “Thelonious Monk for Guitar.” He has been chosen twice as a Kennedy Center Jazz Ambassador (Serbia, 2001; Papua New Guinea 2003), and once as a Fulbright Grant recipient (South Africa, 2008).

In recent years, Wittner’s focus has been in two areas – South Africa (workshops and performances in 2006 and the Fulbright in 2008) and South/Central America (workshops and performances in Ecuador 2007-09, and Guatemala 2008). Wittner contacted musicians from these various areas, as well as Chile and Cuba and has put together a tapestry of musical talents that is sure to produce unique and wonderful music.

Joining Wittner for this residency will be:

McCoy Mrubata is a South African saxophonist, flautist, composer and bandleader, and one of the most well known jazz musicians in South Africa, and on the African continent in general. He has toured internationally with Hugh Masekela, Airto Moreira and Flora Purim, and has recorded numerous albums as a leader. He says he is very excited about this cultural exchange. Of him Wittner says, “McCoy’s music is some of the most soulful and honest music I have ever played and I will always look forward to playing with him anywhere, anytime”.

“Everything I do,” says McCoy, “is about … sharing my South African experiences through music with the rest of the continent and the world."

Percussionist Andy Sebastia was born in Mexico, grew up in Spain, and has lived for over 20 years in Quito, Ecuador. He has toured internationally with many Latin legends such as Pacquito de Rivera, Claudio Roditti, and Hermeto Pascoal and has also played jazz and pop music with, among others, Frank Foster, Scott Henderson, Wilson Pickett and Gloria Estefan. He is also a music producer and radio personality in Quito. Wittner notes, “ When I play with Andy, I know the music is going to have all the fire and emotion that Latin jazz needs to have, and that the authenticity is always 100%.”

Another resident of Quito, Ecuador, Cayo Itturalde is a virtuoso six-string electric bassist who also plays acoustic bass and who writes original compositions that combine jazz and various musical styles from South America. He tours regularly with numerous Latin groups and co-leads Pies en la Tierra – a Quito based band that plays original Latin Jazz.
Wittner comments, “Cayo’s technical command of the electric bass, with finger style chording, brings a new dimension to any group that we play in together – I love his originality!”

Chilean born percussionist, Andres Espinoza, studied music in Cuba and now lives in Portsmouth, N.H. He has toured throughout South America with numerous bands and is the first hand percussionist to receive a degree in Jazz Composition from the Berklee College of Music. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D in Ethnomusicology at Boston University. He is Wittner’s most recent collaborator, and together they have performed the traditional Cuban “Son” style in both Maine and New Hampshire. “Andres is not only a fantastic player,” says Wittner, “but also he is so open and free with his great knowledge, -- every time we play together I learn something new.”

An American citizen born in Cuba, Raul Freyre has been singing all his life. He has performed with bands in Miami, Boston, Maine, and in Guatemala where he lives half the year on a small coffee farm that he runs with his wife and daughter. He and Wittner perform as the duo, Dos Canosos (“Two Gray Haired Guys”) in clubs, restaurants, and schools regionally, and have also performed together in Guatemala. Of him Wittner says, “There is no better, more authentic singer of Cuban music in Northern New England. Raul is the real deal!”