The past couple of years have continued to be a mixed bag of the unexpected, unusual and new. For anyone who knows me, I tend to thrive under those musical conditions. One thing I don’t do well is update my beautiful website created by my talented sister Maria Traversa but I’ve finally relented to write this update. Self-promotion has never been one of my strong points.
The last few years I’ve been teaching more than ever, adding local and international workshops to my schedule and continuing my work with Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections at the Resnick Education Wing and at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. A new page on pedagogy will be going up soon but here’s a sampling of the performing I’ve been doing since I last posted.
The latest first – another in a long list of nights at Zinc Bar playing the powerful Rhythms of Brazil I have been playing since my early years touring with Tania Maria and Astrud Gilberto. I’ve had the great pleasure of playing both here and in Brazil with Toniho Horta, Cesar Camargo Mariano, Claudio Roditi, Helio Alves, Duduka da Fonseca and Maucha Adnet and so many others. This night the stellar band was led by Valtinho Anastasio, with Paul Ricci, Hector Martignon and Victor Jones.
2020 sees the continuation of a long history with the Bronx’s own percussionist/drummer and historian ,Bobby Sanabria. I recorded and toured on “West Side Story:Reimagined”, a 2 disc CD and booklet that is not only a powerful musical statement but also a social commentary on the past and present racial inequalities in America and the Puerto Rican’s (and others) struggles and contributions. Recorded live at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola,
A few years back I teamed up with two more friends from way back in the day, Todd Isler and David Phelps and joined their group “International Orange”. The band is a unique blend of African, Indian, Brazilian and American styles. One review called it “guitar driven sunshine. I’m honored to have been called to fill the late Gaku’s chair.
In the beginning of 2018, I got a call to head out on the road for a month with old friend and world class drummer (and educator) Tommy Igoe and his Birdland All Stars, a ten piece powerhouse of a band featuring musicians from SF, NYC and SF via NYC transplants. We met on the bandstand and within minutes of the first gig and were pretty much family, musically and socially. We played 24 shows in 30 days, leaving a path of destruction in our wake down the east coast and as far west as Chicago.
I’ve had the pleasure of playing with three of Falu Shah‘s bands – her children’s project, “Falu’s Bazar” and the reunion show of her first NYC band, Karyshma, and in her Bollywood Special Orchestra. I’ve always loved Indian music and I’m so appreciative of the opportunity to play and learn from Falu and the amazing musicians she surrounds herself with.
From India to Italy with Venetian Singer Giada Valenti – featuring Arco and upright. The evenings were always fun and I especially enjoyed getting to play with old friends ATN Stadwijk, JC Mallard and Daniel Sadownick .
My ongoing association with Mary Gatchell continues to produce some great music, thanks to Mary’s formidable skills as performer, vocalist, pianist, producer, composer and conductor. Mary is a super versatile and creative composer with several wonderful records to her credit. One of the smartest things I’ve done was to introduce her music to ATN Stadjwick as their collaboration led to the production of Mary’s latest 2017 recording “Camino Reál,” a great album of Mary’s original compositions, superbly produced by ATN.
