On Feb 17, a BAMtalk: Brooklyn Next, will examine the borough’s music scene. Musicians, critics, and cultural commentators will look at Brooklyn’s role in shaping contemporary music of all kinds.
Participants include Robert Elmes (founder and director of Galapagos Arts Space), Matthew Morgan (Rebel Music Management and Afro-Punk partner), Amy Linden (music and culture critic and senior writer for XXL), and Darrell M. McNeill (associate producer of music programming, BAM).
Larry Blumenfeld (editor-at-large of Jazziz magazine; freelance contributor to The Wall Street Journal, Village Voice, Entertainment Weekly, and other publications) will moderate.
BAMtalk: Brooklyn Next
BAM Hillman Attic Studio (30 Lafayette Ave)
Feb 17 at 3pm
Tickets: $10 ($5 for Friends of BAM)
More information about the festival and general BAM information below:
Brooklyn Next—a new, borough-wide celebration of Brooklyn’s musical talent—features performances at BAM and at fourteen additional Brooklyn venues
Feb 16 –17 & Feb 22–24
Mos Def
With: El Michels Affair (Feb 16)
K’Naan (Feb 17)
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (30 Lafayette Ave)
Feb 16 & 17 at 8pm
Tickets: $25, 35, 40
Produced by Jill Newman Productions
Gordon Chambers
Alice Smith
BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St)
Feb 23 at 8pm
Tickets: $15, 20, 25
Galapagos Art Space at BAMcafé (30 Lafayette Ave)
Feb 23 & 24
Curated by Galapagos Art Space
Free admission, no cover
Feb 23: Hungry March Band, Bindlestiff Family Circus
Feb 24: Bora Yoon, Radio Wonderland, Art Jam/Scenedowntown
Brooklyn Next shows will take place at the following venues: Barbès, Pete’s Candy Store, Southpaw, Zebulon, Galapagos, Monkey Town, Five Myles, Frank’s Lounge, Le Dakar, Sputnik, Puppet’s Jazz Bar, Issue Project Room, Union Hall, and The Hook.
BAMfamily: Brooklyn Kids Rock!
AudraRox, Astrograss, Toxic Muffin
BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St)
Feb 24 at 12pm
Tickets: $10 (general admission, all-ages)
Tickets for Mos Def, Gordon Chambers/Alice Smith, BAMfamily: Brooklyn Kids Rock! and BAMtalk: Brooklyn Next can be purchased by calling BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100 or by visiting
http://www.bam.org/
Bedford-Stuyvesant’s Mos Def first came to prominence as a hip-hop artist with an acute social consciousness. The album Black Star (with Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek, 1998) and the solo recording Black on Both Sides (1999) revitalized the hip-hop community and introduced a thoughtful, charismatic MC in the tradition of Native Tongue artists like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. An accomplished actor as well as musician, Mos has appeared in films, including Monster’s Ball, Bamboozled, and The Italian Job; on Broadway, in Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning Topdog/Underdog; and on television’s Chappelle’s Show. Mos Def also launched the acclaimed black rock project Black Jack Johnson, along with the iconic black musicians Bernie Worrell (Parliament/Funkadelic), Wil Calhoun (Living Colour), Doug Wimbish (Sugarhill Gang, Living Colour), and Dr. Know (Bad Brains), and he released a second solo album, The New Danger, in 2004. This Grammy-nominated artist has just released a new solo record, True Magic (Geffen Records). For the upcoming BAM performances, Mos has invited Brooklyn musicians El Michels Affair (Feb 16) and K’Naan (Feb 16) to start the show.
Brooklyn-based neo-soul songwriter Gordon Chambers has written for major performers including Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, The Isley Brothers, Usher, Queen Latifah, Gladys Knight, Beyoncé, and Marc Anthony. He is best known for his Grammy Award-winning hit, “I Apologize,” recorded by Anita Baker, and his chart-topping Grammy-nominated “If You Love Me,” for the trio Brownstone. Chambers revealed his own vocal skills with the release of his critically acclaimed 2005 solo album, Introducing Gordon Chambers. The album features special guests Carl Thomas, Roy Hargrove, and Sara Devine. Produced by Chambers with Troy Taylor (B2K, Whitney Houston), Barry Eastmond (Yolanda Adams, Anita Baker), and Brian Bacchus (Norah Jones), the record is classic R&B with hints of Chambers’ first love: jazz. Over the past year, Chambers has performed across the U.S. and in Europe. The Brooklyn Next performance will celebrate the release of Chambers’ new record, Love Stories, and marks his welcome return to BAM (Chambers appeared at BAMcafé Live in Jan 2005 and Jan 2006).
Opening the Gordon Chambers show is chanteuse Alice Smith, whose 2006 debut album For Lovers, Dreamers & Me landed her on Rolling Stone’s “10 Artists to Watch” list. Vibe magazine praised her “…brilliant, brainy, and refreshing debut…” which reflects her diverse musical influences and showcases Smith’s bluesy, soulful vocals and a four-octave range. Smith, who recently completed a tour with Citizen Cope, is making her BAM debut.
The Brooklyn Next events will also feature an all-ages BAMfamily concert, Brooklyn Kids Rock!, on Feb 24 at 12pm in the BAM Harvey Theater. The performance includes the high-energy rock band AudraRox, led by singer/songwriter/music educator Audra Tsanos; the quirky bluegrass/folk ensemble Astrograss, led by Jordan Shapiro; and Toxic Muffin, a band of eight- to ten-year-olds that gives a preview of the next generation of Brooklyn musicians. The concert is recommended for kids ages two and up.
Complementing the Brooklyn Next programs is a BAMart exhibition showcasing the work of a dynamic Brooklyn gallery. Curated by artist/BAM Trustee Danny Simmons and artist Meridith McNeal, the Feb 12–Mar 2 exhibition presents the work of Red Hook’s Kentler International Drawing Space, and is entitled Selections from the Kentler Flatfiles: Variations in Black and White. The artwork will be displayed in the BAM Natman Room (30 Lafayette Ave) and admission will be free of charge. A reception celebrating the exhibition, also free of charge and open to the public, will be held on Feb 23 from 6–8pm in the BAM Natman Room.
For press information contact Sandy Sawotka, BAM communications director, 718.636.4129 x1 or
ssawotka@BAM.org
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, BAMcafé, and Shakespeare & Co. BAMshop 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). 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 Howard Gilman Opera House performances. BAMcafé also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music for BAMcafé Live nights on Friday and Saturday with a special BAMcafé Live menu available starting at 8pm.
Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue;
D, M, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue
Train: Long Island Railroad to Flatbush Avenue
Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM
Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM
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