Trio Americano Yaniel Matos (Cuba), voz, piano, cello; Café Edson da Silva (Brazil), percussao; Eugene Friesen (USA), cello
Two Shows: Tuesday, June 20th, 7:30PM, Woodstock Vermont - UU Church, 7 Church Street, Woodstock
Wednesday, June 21st, 7:30PM, Bellows Falls, Vermont - The Stone Church, 20 Church Street, Bellows Falls
Tickets at the door: $15
Join three stellar artists of the Americas: singer/songwriter Yaniel Matos of Cuba, percussionist Café Edson da Silva from Brazil, and cellist Eugene Friesen of the USA for an evening celebrating the summer solstice. The evening will include original and traditional songs, instrumentals, and stories of solstice traditions in North, Central, and South America.
YANIEL At the age of 8, cellist/pianist/vocalist Yaniel Matos began his musical studies in Cuba at the Conservatorio Estevan Sala. After moving to Havana to study composition, he graduated from Instituto Superior de Artes where he studied with Harold Gramatges and Jose Loyola. In Cuba, Yaniel performed internationally with Chucho Valdes, Issac Delgado, and Orlando Valles Maraca among others. In 2000 he moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil to join the faculty of the Department of Popular Music at Escola Superior de Música da Faculdade Cantareira. In 2003 he founded Mani Padme Trio, with Ricardo Mosca e Du Moreira, and recorded “Um dia de chuva” for the Italian record label, Red Records. In 2008 Yaniel created “Cuba Jazz Plus," a quintet of Cuban jazz musicians, and released his first solo album, “En Movimiento." In 2014 he recorded his album "La Mirada” where he explores his intimacy with both Cuba and Brazil. ''La Mirada’' was named by Music Resource Group (MRG) as a Nominee for The 14th Independent Music Awards (The IMAs), in the "Jazz with Vocals" category.
In 2017, he will release “Carabali” with songs based on rhythms typical of the south of the country, Santiago de Cuba, such as French Rumba, Bembé, Conga, and Rumba, and explores the African heritage in Cuba. The music in "Carabali" does not hide its influence with European music and Jazz. The influence of musicians such as Cecil Taylor, Edgard Varese, Alejandro Garcia Caturla, and Amadeo Roldán, can be clearly heard and felt against this new background.
EUGENE Eugene Friesen is active internationally as a cellist, composer, conductor and teacher. A four-time Grammy Award-winner as a member of the Paul Winter Consort, As director of Berklee World Strings at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Eugene has developed a library of new music for string ensemble fueled by the energy of international folk musics and informed by the craft of the great classical composers. Eugene has also worked and recorded with such diverse artists as Dave Brubeck, Toots Thielemans, Betty Buckley, Will Ackerman, Joe Lovano, Dream Theater, and Trio Globo (Friesen, Howard Levy and Glen Velez). A pioneer in the teaching of improvisation to classically trained musicians, Eugene has led workshops throughout North America and around the world. His book, Improvisation for Classical Musicians, was published in 2012 by Berklee Press/Hal Leonard. He is an artist-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, and on the faculty of the Berklee College of Music in Boston. More information on Eugene can be found at: www.eugenefriesenmusic.com
CAFE Edson da Silva, known as Café, was born in Villa Maria in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. He became interested in percussion at the age of 8 when he heard Afro-Brazilian music at the spiritual gatherings he attended with his parents. He trained classically for the Municipal Orchestra of São Paulo, but began to follow his passion, playing jazz and popular music at clubs. He then studied theatre technique at the Villa Lobos School in Rio de Janeiro and performed for the Ministry of Education and Culture of Brazil in the National Arts Program, "Seis e Meia." In 1980, he began touring with notable jazz artists.