Brooklyn Botanical Garden - 990 Washington Avenue 40.66849 N, 73.96486 W
wingbeat uses the flight formations of migratory birds as a model for listening and collectively maintaining energy. To conserve energy for long distance flights, birds fly in V formations, stagger their wingbeats, and react quickly to each other. Musicians are prompted to create sonic representations of this organically rhythmic phenomenon. The buildup of wingbeats earns moments of soaring, and sometimes flight is interrupted. The series of text cues aims to challenge and facilitate the project of sonic togetherness.
As a kid, I dreamed of being a bird. To me, they were truly free: soaring across the sky, singing, looking down at us from the treetops, nesting anywhere they liked. As I got older, I was fascinated by the stories of their epic migrations. I imagine that though the departure and arrival points of these migrations are probably similar, each journey must be unique; when one rests, how close to the flock one flies, and the weather must make each trip unique. My hope is that flightpath provides a similar experience, where one knows the points of departure and arrival, but is free to shape their individual journey.
Adriel Shane Vincent-Brown is a Trinidadian musician in living in New York. Brown has managed to establish himself as a worthy contender and is already beginning to make a name for himself and his country. Growing up in Trinidad, his love for music began as a child watching his father Kenneth Vincent-Brown play the drums in church, the instrument that would eventually claim him…
Joshua received a bachelor’s degree at The Juilliard School studying with Alan Baer, Michael Moore, and Joseph Alessi. The 2017 National Young Arts Finalist recently performed the Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto with the Georgia Symphony Orchestra, and was a featured artist with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Joshua performs for the Soulful Symphony and is an Ear Training Teaching Fellow.
Grounded in the traditions of the Djembe Orchestra, Kweku Sumbry is a multi-percussionist from Washington, DC. With the djembe, drumset, and a multitude of West African Percussion instruments, Kweku is bringing forth a new sound to the jazz world…
