Backstage Pass with Lia Chang

The Will Calhoun Trio Celebrates “Life in This World” CD Release at Blue Note, May 17-19, 2013

Lia Chang — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:44:44 +0000

Will Calhoun celebrates the release of his latest CD, “Life in this World”, with performances at The Blue Note, 31 W 3rd St in New York, May 17-19, 2013, featuring the Will Calhoun Trio with fellow Motéma artists Marc Cary (piano) and Charnett Moffett (bass), and special guests Donald Harrison and Nicholas Payton (18 & 19 only). The “Life in this World CD features Ron Carter, Donald Harrison, Wallace Roney, Marc Cary, Charnett Moffett, John Benitez, and Cheick Tidiane Seck.

Before he became famous as a member of the groundbreaking hard rock group Living Colour, Will Calhoun was an aspiring jazz drummer raised on a steady diet of his father’s bebop records. Calhoun goes back to his roots on his latest album, Life In This World – but to get there he takes a circuitous route through a wealth of musical experience around the globe. From studies with master musicians in Africa to experiments with electronic music in his home studio, Calhoun’s adventurous sonic imagination couldn’t help but expand the horizons of a stellar jazz recording which pairs the drummer with greats including Wallace Roney, Donald Harrison, Charnett Moffett, Marc Cary, Doug Wimbish, John Benitez and legendary bassist Ron Carter.

Jazz was the first music that Calhoun heard while growing up – “Before rock, before hip-hop, before funk,” he recalls. “In my family, African-American history was very important, whether it was Muhammad Ali or Jim Brown, Coltrane, Miles, Duke Ellington – It wasn’t just listening to the music in my house, the life styles of these men and other women were laid down as history lessons on the music and culture.”

Living in the Bronx, however, it wasn’t long before Calhoun was exposed to myriad styles and cultures, from rock and funk to the burgeoning style of hip-hop. It actually came as a shock to the young drummer when he discovered that for most people genres were defined by hard boundaries – a lesson he learned first at Berklee College of Music and later while on the road with Living Colour.

That band’s success afforded Calhoun the opportunity to begin traveling to Africa in the mid-1990s for stays that could last as long as six or eight months at a time. He’s continued those treks for nearly twenty years, studying mainly in Mali but also in Morocco and Senegal. “I felt like I didn’t know the history of my instrument,” Calhoun says. “I began to ask myself what’s the narrative of the rhythms and patterns we play in the U.S. and Europe? I went over there and felt out of place. It was a culture shock in the best way. Little children would walk by and clap out the patterns to show me what I was doing wrong.”

In 2005, Calhoun created Native Lands, a multi-media fusion of jazz and world music with ambient electronica and another passion, photography. Life In This World is Calhoun’s most jazz-oriented recording since his GRAMMY® nominated 2000 release, Live at the Blue Note, but those diverse interests remain evident.

Calhoun, who like many artists have been urged by industry members to focus on one particular area, has found a happy home in the maverick Motéma imprint, (also home to Marc Cary and Charnett Moffett and now celebrating it’s 10th year) because the label especially focuses on virtuosic creative music that crosses genres and international borders. Calhoun compares playing so many different styles of music to speaking several languages, stressing that “to keep a language sharp, you have to speak it with people.” There’s no doubt from Life In This World and his entire body of work that Calhoun is a fluent and soulful communicator in many diverse tongues.

www.willcalhoun.com

Upcoming Will Calhoun Trio Performances:
May 17 – 19 / The Blue Note / New York, NY
May 30-June 2 / Rio das Ostras Jazz & Blues Festival / Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
June 23 / Gnawa Festival / Essaouira, Morocco
August 2 / Voces del Jazz Festival / Cartagena, Colombia
August 5 / Hartford Jazz Society’s Jazz in Bushnell Park / Hartford, CT

Other Upcoming Appearances:
June 9 / Jazz Clinic at Batuka Brasil (solo) / Sao Paulo, Brazil
August 4 / Jazz at Lincoln Center w/ Arturo O’Farrill in “Sacred Drums” / New York, NY

Life In This World Track Listing:
1. Brother Will (Charnett Moffett)
2. Spectrum (A. Hall)
3. King Tut Strut (Hotep Galeta)
4. Love For Sale (Cole Porter)
5. Naima (John Coltrane)
6. Evidence (Thelonious Monk)
7. Afrique Kan’e (Cheick Tidiane Seck & Will Calhoun)
8. He Who Hops (Marc Cary)
9. Etcetera (Wayne Shorter)
10. Dorita (Will Calhoun)
11. Love’s Parody (Will Calhoun)

Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2013 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Lia Chang Photos & Video: Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-Stars, Manu Narayan, Deep Singh and More

Lia Chang — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:24:01 +0000

Washington DC Jewish Community Center
Manu Narayan. Photo by Lia Chang
On Tuesday, May 7, 2013, Frank London, a trumpeter, composer and the bandleader of Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars, presented a Klezmer-Bhangra Extravaganza as part of the diverse lineup of the Washington Jewish Music Festival at the Washington DCJCC. London invited his pals Bombay Dreams‘ vet Manu Narayan, master percussionist Deep Singh, Yiddish Poet/Klezmer Singer Sarah Gordon and Guitarist/Singer Jeremiah Lockwood, who along with Aaron Alexander (Drum set), Ron Caswell (Tuba), Brian Drye (Trombone); Patrick Farrell (Accordion), and Michael Winograd, (Clarinet), of Londons’ Klezmer Brass All-Stars’ krewe, played for a full capacity, enthusiastic and appreciative crowd, who leapt to their feet for standing ovations and to dance.

Sitting: Deep Singh, Sarah Gordon, Frank London; Standing: Jeremiah Lockwood, Aaron Alexander, Michael Winograd, Ron Caswell, Patty Farrell, Brian Drye and Manu Narayan. Photo by Lia Chang

VIDEO: Sarah Gordon and Manu Narayan sing “Mo Asapro, Ma Adabro” Klezmer /Bhangra Concert w/ Frank London’s Klezmer All-Stars, Deep Singh at the Washington Jewish Music Fest.
The set list for the concert, which included songs sung in Yiddish, Punjabi, Hebrew, Hindi and English, explored both the ecstatic and meditative aspects of Jewish and Indian music. Lead vocalist Manu Narayan wrote about the concert on his blog here, and was thrilled to meet Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich, who were in the audience, after the show.

Elizabeth and Dennis Kucinich with Manu Narayan. Photo by Lia Chang

VIDEO: Manu Narayan sings “Venkatachala Nilayam” in Klezmer/Bhangra Concert w/ Frank London’s Klezmer All-Stars, Deep Singh at the Washington Jewish Music Fest.

VIDEO: Manu Narayan sings “MUSTT, MUSTT” in Klezmer /Bhangra Concert w/ Frank London’s Klezmer All-Stars, Deep Singh at the Washington Jewish Music Fest.
The Cast:

Frank London. Photo by Lia Chang
Frank London (trumpeter, composer, bandleader) is a member of the Klezmatics, Hasidic New Wave, has performed with John Zorn, LL Cool J, Mel Torme, Lester Bowieπs Brass Fantasy, LaMonte Young, They Might Be Giants, David Byrne, Jane Siberry, Ben Folds 5, Mark Ribot, Maurice El Medioni and Gal Costa, and is featured on over 100 cds. His own recordings include INVOCATIONS (cantorial music); Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars’ DI SHIKERE KAPELYE and BROTHERHOOD OF BRASS; NIGUNIM and THE ZMIROS PROJECT (Jewish mystical songs, with Klezmatics vocalist Lorin Sklamberg); THE DEBT (film and theater music); THE SHEKHINA BIG BAND; the soundtrack to THE SHVITZ; the soundtrack to Perl Gluck’s THE DIVAHN and four releases with the Hasidic New Wave.

Ron Caswell, Patty Farrell, Michael Winograd and Frank London during the sound check at the Washington DCJCC on May 7, 2013. Photo by Lia Chang
His projects include the folk-opera A NIGHT IN THE OLD MARKETPLACE (based on Y.L. Peretz’s Bay nakht oyfn altn mark), DAVENEN for Pilobolus and the Klezmatics, Great Small Works’ THE MEMOIRS OF GLUCKEL OF HAMELN and Min Tanaka’s ROMANCE. He composed music for John Sayles’ THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET and MEN WITH GUNS, Yvonne Rainer’s MURDER AND MURDER, the Czech-American Marionette Theaterπs GOLEM and Tamar Rogoff’s IVYE PROJECT.
Frank London, Michael Winograd and Brian Drye. Photo by Lia Chang

He was music director for David Byrne and Robert Wilson’s THE KNEE PLAYS, collaborated with Palestinian violinist Simon Shaheen, taught Jewish music in Canada, Crimea and the Catskills, and produced CD’s for Gypsy Ledgend Esma Redzepova, and Algerian Pianist Maurice el Medioni.

Jeremiah Lockwood, Sarah Gordon, Aaron Alexander, Manu Narayan, Ron Caswell, Frank London, Michael Winograd and Brian Drye. Photo by Lia Chang

He has been featured on HBO’s “Sex and the City,” at the North Sea Jazz Festival and the Lincoln Center Summer Festival, and was a co-founder of Les Miserables Brass Band and the Klezmer Conservatory Band.
Manu Narayan and Frank London. Photo by Lia Chang
Manu Narayan. Photo by Lia Chang
Manu Narayan, an actor, singer, songwriter and classical saxophonist, has collaborated with Grammy winner Frank London numerous times around the world, most recently recording and performing for his Soundbrush records’ Klezmer concept album A Night in the Old Marketplace, in which he sang the part of the Badkhn. He made his Broadway debut as Akaash in Bombay Dreams, for which he received a Drama League award nomination, and co-starred in Mike Myers’ The Love Guru as Rajneesh alongside Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, and Justin Timberlake. Narayan recently starred as Richard Roma in La Jolla Playhouse’s critically acclaimed revival of Glengarry Glen Ross and was nominated for a San Diego Critics Circle 2012 Craig Noel Award for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play.
Multimedia: Manu Narayan Dazzles as Richard Roma in La Jolla Playhouse’s Revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross

Manu Narayan. Photo by Lia Chang
In 2003, he was invited to sing at a small state dinner for the first official visit of President George W. Bush to the UK. Narayan sang for and met the Queen of England, The Royal Family, President Bush and Colin Powell. He has had the privilege to sing for then Senator John Kerry’s presidential campaign sponsored by Hillary Clinton as well as elsewhere with Cyndi Lauper, Garth Hudson and Martha Wainwright.
Manu Narayan. Photo by Lia Chang
As a recording artist, Narayan has collaborated on and recorded original and cover tracks for feature film soundtracks including The Love Guru, Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song, Hiding Divya, Good Night|Good Morning, Walkaway and Vanessa Williams’ And Then Came Love. As the lead vocalist, Narayan has performed the concert version of the album throughout Europe and North America. In addition to solo work, Narayan is lead singer of the band Darunam with Radovan Jovicevic, founding member of Yugoslavia’s Grupa Zana. The band brings together the melodies and rhythms from three homelands: America, India, and Serbia. He recorded with D A R U N A M band mate Radovan Jovicevic the single Have Me for the 2007 film And Then Came Love starring Vanessa Williams. Narayan and Jovicevic released the EP All That’s Beautiful Must Die and the title track’s video featuring Janina Gavankar. Their album of Electronic Lounge/World Gypsy music with Canadian Clarinetist Milan Milosevic entitled The Last Angel on Earth was released live on CBC national radio in Canada in 2010. Click here for Manu Narayan’s Website.

Deep Singh. Photo by Lia Chang
Master indian percussionist Deep Singh has performed with everyone from the legendary Punjab singer, Malkit Singh, to the legendary British singer, Sting. A renowned percussionist/composer/studio musician, Deep Singh was born in London, England, and is currently based in NYC.
Deep Singh. Photo by Lia Chang
Singh began to play the Tabla at the age three, and at the age of seven became the youngest disciple of Ustad Allah Rakha. Singh’s professional career started at the age of nine, and since has performed at prestigious venues such as The Royal Albert Hall, London; The Royal Festival Hall, London; The Waldorf Astoria, NYC, Carnegie Hall, NYC, among many others. Singh has accompanied the finest musicians from India such as Dr. Aruna Sharma, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, Ustad Sultan Khan, Hariharan, Ghulam Ali and many more. He is currently touring a concert of Indian classical music and working with other percussion bands. He has produced R&B dance tracks for Rihanna and Justin Bieber.

After many years of playing in the NYC downtown club scene and merging Indian sounds with rock/pop, he is now coming out with his own unique style of music. With his years of experience as an Indian classical musician and playing with western bands, Singh is revered as a master in blending music from the East and West.

Deep Singh, Frank London and Manu Narayan. Photo by Lia Chang

Sarah Gordon. Photo by Lia Chang

Sarah Gordon is the lead singer of the prog-ethnic band, Yiddish Princess. A third generation Yiddish singer and composer of new Yiddish song, she composed and sang on FLKBAS’ Carnival Conspiracy (Rolling Stones’ #1 non-English recording).

Jeremiah Lockwood. Photo by Lia Chang

Jeremiah Lockwood, leader and singer of the Sway Machinery, guitarist with Balkan Beat Box, and co-collaborator with Frank on Songs of Zebulon, a project reinventing the music of the great Cantor Zebulon ‘Zawel’ Kwartin.
Click to view slideshow.

Other Articles about Manu Narayan:
VIDEO: Manu Narayan sings “MUSTT, MUSTT” in Klezmer /Bhangra Concert w/ Frank London’s Klezmer All-Stars, Deep Singh at the Washington Jewish Music Fest.
VIDEO: Manu Narayan sings “Venkatachala Nilayam” in Klezmer/Bhangra Concert w/ Frank London’s Klezmer All-Stars, Deep Singh at the Washington Jewish Music Fest.
VIDEO: Sarah Gordon and Manu Narayan sing “Mo Asapro, Ma Adabro” Klezmer /Bhangra Concert w/ Frank London’s Klezmer All-Stars, Deep Singh at the Washington Jewish Music Fest.
Photos: Klezmer/Bhangra Concert w/ Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-Stars, Deep Singh at the Washington Jewish Music Fest.
Manu Narayan in concert with Grammy Award winning Klezmer Artist Frank London on May 7th at the Washington DC Jewish Festival
Manu Narayan and Deep Singh will perform with Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars’ Klezmer-Bhangra Extravaganza at Washington DCJCC on May 7, 2013
Manu Narayan, Mark Bennett, Lea Salonga, Michael K. Lee and Stafford Arima Among 2012 Craig Noel Award Nominees
Multimedia: Manu Narayan Dazzles as Richard Roma in La Jolla Playhouse’s Revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross
Good Night | Good Morning starring Manu Narayan and Seema Rahmani on J. Hurtado’s Top Ten Indian Films of 2012
Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor Hosts 1st Annual Varli Culinary Awards with Co-hosts Manu Narayan, Jehangir Mehta & Gaurav Tandon in New York
Sudhish Kamath’s Good Night | Good Morning Starring Manu Narayan and Seema Rahmani in Theaters
Shailja Gupta’s WALKAWAY Featuring Manu Narayan & Samrat Chakrabarti, Opens on 26Screens Across 18 Cities on 10/29
ONE Musical stars Paolo Montalban, Manu Narayan, Pearl Sun and Michael Winther
AAIFF Karma Calling, You Don’t Know Jack and Children of Invention
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang
Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. She is a Signature Theatre alumni who was in the cast of Sam Shepard’s Chicago, during his Signature 1996-1997 Playwright-in-Residence Season.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2013 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Jeanne Sakata’s critically-acclaimed play Hold These Truths, starring 2013 Drama Desk Award Nominee Joel de la Fuente, is set for the 10th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival at Culture Project, 6/4, 6/10 and 6/11

Lia Chang — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:53:34 +0000

Joel de la Fuente as Gordon Hirabayashi in Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths. Photo by Lia Chang
Congratulations to 2013 Drama Desk nominee Joel de la Fuente, who has been nominated in the category of Outstanding Solo Performance for his tour-de-force turn in Jeanne Sakata’s critically-acclaimed Off-Broadway one-man show Hold These Truths, inspired by the true story of second generation Japanese-American Gordon Hirabayashi. Under the brilliant direction of Lisa Rothe, Hold These Truths had it’s New York premiere last October in a production by Epic Theatre Ensemble at the Theatre at the 14th Street Y.

Mr. de la Fuente, who can currently be seen on Netflix’s “Hemlock Grove” and recently appeared in an episode of “Hawaii Five-O,” will reprise his portrayal as Gordon Hirabayashi and 36 other characters in Hold These Truths as one of the headliner events at the 10th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival, the award-winning and longest-running solo performance festival in New York City.

Joel de la Fuente as Dr. Johann Pryce in Netflix’s Hemlock Grove. Photo: Netflix

Hold These Truths will have performances at the Culture Project, Tuesday, June 4 at 7pm, Monday, June 10 at 7pm and Tuesday, June 11 at 7pm at the Culture Project (45 Bleecker Street, NYC).

The design team for Hold These Truths includes set design by Mikiko Suzuki McAdams, sound designer and compositions by Daniel Kluger, lighting design by Cat Tate Starmer and costume design by Meg Weeden.

Joel de la Fuente as Gordon Hirabayashi in Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths. Photo by Lia Chang

Inspired by a true story, Hold These Truths takes place in Seattle during World War II, where University of Washington student Gordon Hirabayashi is agonizing over U.S. government orders to forcibly remove and mass incarcerate all people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast. As he fights to reconcile his country’s betrayal with his passionate belief in the U.S. Constitution, Hirabayashi journeys toward a greater understanding of America’s triumphs – and a confrontation with its failures.

In the dressing room with Joel de la Fuente, who stars as Gordon Hirabayashi in Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths at The Theatre at the 14th Street Y in New York on November 24, 2012. Joel is holding a photo of Esther Schmoe and Gordon Hirabayashi on their wedding day. Photo by Lia Chang

Gordon Kiyoshi Hirabayashi (1918-2012) was an American sociologist best known for his resistance to the Japanese-American internment during World War II. He was one of the only three to openly defy it. After being convicted for curfew violation he was sentenced to 90 days in prison. The verdict was appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Hirabayashi v. United States (1943). They unanimously ruled against him. He later spent a year in federal prison for refusing induction into the armed forces after they had sent out a racially discriminatory survey to Japanese-Americans demanding renunciation of allegiance to the emperor of Japan. In 1987, the U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit overturned his conviction from 1943. In 2012, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Hirabayashi for his principled stand against Japanese-American internment.

“One of the stunning things about Joel de la Fuente’s performance in Jeanne Sakata’s gripping one-man show is how completely he embodies the real-life character of Gordon Hirabayashi….de la Fuente, under the direction of Lisa Rothe, also plays many other characters—but his portrayal of Hirabayashi, whom President Obama just this year posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, feels eerily true to life.”
The New Yorker, October 2012

“Jeanne Sakata’s eloquent one-man drama about civil rights giant Gordon Hirabayashi provides a concise examination of a fascinating chapter in American history….Joel de la Fuente plays Hirabayashi wtih buoyant, magnetic enthusiasm, under the direction of Lisa Rothe.”
The Washington Post/API, October 2012

“The astounding performance that Joel de la Fuente delivers as Gordon Hirabayashi is reason enough to recommend Hold These Truths…with Jeanne Sakata at the helm, we are treated to a dazzling, literary script that’s full of humor.”
New York Times Readers’ Review, October 2012

“Moving, instructive, thrilling….Travel downtown to be inspired by script, actor, and history in equal measure….Culled to its human and emotional essence, we hold Hirabayashi’s story as we must all ‘hold these truths.’”
Urban Excavations, October 2012

“Resonates with vitality and power….This is what living, breathing theater is about. Unforgettable.”
Technorati, October 2012

Joel de la Fuente (Photo by Lia Chang)

Joel de la Fuente’s (Gordon Hirabayashi) NY theatre credits include: Ivanov in Ivanov; The Downtown Plays; Claudio in Beatrice and Benedict, with the NY Philharmonic; The Square; America Dreaming and Valentine in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. In 2005, Joel served as the Artistic Associate of the National Asian American Theater Company and also appeared in their world premiere of Cowboy v. Samurai, among others. Other theatrical credits include Vershinin in The Three Sisters; Ariel in The Tempest; Florizel in The Winter’s Tale; Chay Yew’s Red and Liu Mengmei in The Peony Pavilion. On television, Joel has spent ten seasons in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” He was a series regular on the Fox drama, “Space: Above & Beyond;” and is recurring in the upcoming series “Hemlock Grove,” exclusively available on Netflix. On screen, he stars in Brief Reunion (Audience Choice Award Winner) and in the upcoming film, Forgetting The Girl. Additional film credits include: Personal Velocity; The Adjustment Bureau; The Happening; Heights; Return to Paradise and From Other Worlds. Joel’s essay on his experiences as an Asian American actor is published in Pyong Gap Min’s “Struggle for Ethnic Identity.”

Lisa Rothe

Lisa Rothe (Director). Recent Credits: Penelope (Playmakers Repertory Theatre); Ada (Center for Contemporary Opera). Directed and/or developed in NY: The Foundry, New Georges, Epic Theatre Ensemble, Lark Play Development Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST), 52nd Street Project, Naked Angels, New York Theatre Workshop, The Public Theater, BAM, Summer Play Festival (SPF), NYMF, Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival (Best Director), The Women’s Project, National Actors Theater, Keen Company (Keen Teens), Orchard Project, Voice & Vision, HERE, Dixon Place. Regionally: Synchronicity Theatre, Chautauqua Theatre, Vermont Stage Company, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Shakespeare Theatre, The New Harmony Project, Riverside Theatre, Seaside Shakespeare (Nantucket), among others. Director of Offsite Programs and Partnerships at the Lark Play Development Center.

Jeanne Sakata (Photo by Lia Chang)

Jeanne Sakata’s HOLD THESE TRUTHS has its world premiere in 2007 at East West Players under the title of DAWN’S LIGHT: THE JOURNEY OF GORDON HIRABAYASHI, co-presented by the Japanese American National Museum, UCLA Department of Asian American Studies, and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, and was subsequently chosen by the Epic Theatre Ensemble and the Lark Play Development Center for their first joint presentation, as well as by the New York Theatre Workshop to be showcased at their 2009 Dartmouth Residency. In its New York premiere with the Epic in October 2012, HOLD THESE TRUTHS opened to unanimous rave reviews from The New Yorker, The Washington Post/API, and many other critics. It has also been performed at Chicago’s Pritzker Pavilion with Silk Road Rising/Millennium Park as part of the Park’s 2011 IN THE WORKS New Plays Series; the Epic’s 2010 Passion Play Festival with the John Jay College of Criminal Justice; the University of California at Riverside; the 16th Annual Conference of the Japan Studies Association in Honolulu; at Japanese American Citizens League Day of Remembrance events in Sacramento and Salinas, California; and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, where it served as the inspiration and theatrical centerpiece of the civil rights symposium “Civil Liberties, National Security and the Legacies of the Japanese Removal and Incarceration.” With the East West Players Theatre For Youth program in 2008 and 2010, the play has twice toured high schools and junior high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. HOLD THESE TRUTHS is now part of the Library of Congress Playwrights Archive in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection in Washington DC, where Sakata’s working script was recently on view in the Thomas Jefferson Building in conjunction with the Library of Congress celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. (www.facebook.com/holdthesetruths, www.holdthesetruths.info)

Jeanne is also a renowned actress whose many accolades include an LA Ovation Award for Best Lead Actress for Chay Yew’s RED at East West Players in Los Angeles. In the 2011-2012 season she performed in A CAGE OF FIREFLIES at the 2012 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, in the title role of George Bernard Shaw’s MRS. WARREN’S PROFESSION at the Antaeus Company’s Classics Fest, SEVEN at USC, THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE at East West Players, and RED FLAMBOYANT at Ojai Playwrights Festival. Regionally, she has performed with The Public Theater, Lincoln Center Theater, Kennedy Center, Mark Taper Forum, La Jolla Playhouse, South Coast Rep, American Conservatory Theater, Northlight Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Berkeley Rep, A Contemporary Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Syracuse Stage and the Arizona Theatre Company. Screen credits include playing Mom Wanda to Olivia Munn in the recent feature film comedy THE BABYMAKERS, “NCIS LOS ANGELES,” “TYLER PERRY’S MEET THE BROWNS,” “DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES,” “ER,” “THREAT MATRIX,” “LINE OF FIRE,” “PRESIDIO MED,” “AMERICAN FAMILY,” “NUMB3RS,” John Ridley’s “I GOT YOU,” the MOW’s “THE READING ROOM,” “HIROSHIMA,” “CONSENSUAL RELATIONS,” and the feature films XXX2: STATE OF THE UNION and AMERICAN FUSION.

In December 2011, Jeanne was honored with an Outstanding Artist Award for her career achievements by Los Angeles’ Asian Pacific American Friends of the Theatre. (www.jeannesakata.com)

Below are interviews with Hold These Truths‘ playwright Jeanne Sakata, star Joel de la Fuente and director Lisa Rothe.

Hold These Truths‘ playwright Jeanne Sakata talks about her inspiration to write Gordon Hirabayashi’s life story, how she did her research, why she chose the solo show format and what she hopes audiences will take away from de la Fuente’s performance.

Hold These Truths‘ star Joel de la Fuente talks about the challenges of playing 30+ characters and the impact playing Gordon Hirabayashi has had for him.

Director Lisa Rothe discusses how she first became involved with Hold These Truths, her history with Joel de la Fuente, how attending a Quaker meeting influenced her design and concept of the set, her prior knowledge of Gordon Hirabayashi, and her exposure to the internment camps.

For more information and tickets, visit www.terranovacollective.org. Tickets are $30 and may also be purchased in-person at the box office ½ hour in advance of the performances.

Other Hold These Truths Articles:
Hold These Truths Opening Night at Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s Tenney Theatre with Daniel Dae Kim, Joel de la Fuente and Jeanne Sakata
Brief Reunion Starring Joel de la Fuente, Alexie Gilmore and Scott Shepherd, Opens in NY & L.A. on January 18, 2013
Hold These Truths Video Feature: Playwright Jeanne Sakata, Star Joel de la Fuente and Director Lisa Rothe
Video: Interview with Lisa Rothe, Director of Critically Acclaimed Hold These Truths by Jeanne Sakata, starring Joel de la Fuente
Video: Q & A with Jeanne Sakata, Award Winning Actress Makes Playwrighting Debut Telling Story of Gordon Hirabayashi with Hold These Truths
Photos and Video: Daniel Dae Kim, Ann Harada, Greg Watanabe and More at Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths starring Joel de la Fuente
Photos: Opening Night with Hold These Truths’ Playwright Jeanne Sakata and Star Joel de la Fuente, a Revelation as Gordon Hirabayashi; Performances Extended through November 25, 2012
Epic Theatre Ensemble Presents New York Premiere of Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths Starring Joel de la Fuente at the Theatre at the 14th Street Y, October 12-November 18, 2012
Remembering Civil Rights Leader Gordon Hirabayashi,1918- 2012
President Obama Names Asian American Civil Rights Hero Gordon Hirabayashi Recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom
Reading of Jeanne Sakata’s Dawn’s Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi Starring Joel de la Fuente in New York
Thom Sesma Stars in Jeanne Sakata’s Dawn’s Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi

Other articles by Lia Chang:
Lorey Hayes’ Power Play Set for National Black Theatre Festival 7/29-8/3
Christine Toy Johnson, Thom Sesma, Ali Ewoldt, Jose Llana, Ann Harada, Telly Leung and More Set for The Asian American Composers and Lyricists Project at The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre on May 19, 2013
Photos & Video: Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-Stars, Manu Narayan, Deep Singh and More
Photos: Working Theater’s World Premiere of Ed Cardona, Jr.’s La Ruta through May 12, 2013
Christine Toy Johnson and Raul Aranas Lead the Cast of the National Asian Artists Project’s (NAAP) Benefit Presentation of Hello Dolly!, at The Pershing Square Signature Center on April 29 and May 6
Photos: All-Access Pass to August Wilson’s Two Trains Running with John Earl Jelks, Harvy Blanks, Chuck Cooper, Anthony Chisholm, Owiso Odera, Roslyn Ruff and James A. Williams
Keith David, January LaVoy, John Douglas Thompson, Glynn Turman, Lillias White and More Set for Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the CTG/Mark Taper Forum, April 24 – June 9, 2013
Multimedia: Manu Narayan Dazzles as Richard Roma in La Jolla Playhouse’s Revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross
Albee, Hwang, Enos, Taylor, Wilson, Clarke and Jacobs-Jenkins Set for Signature Theatre’s 2013-14 Season
Photos: David Henry Hwang’s The Dance and The Railroad Opening Night at Signature Theatre
Photos: Partying with the Cast of David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2013 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Christine Toy Johnson, Thom Sesma, Ali Ewoldt, Jose Llana, Ann Harada, Telly Leung and More Set for The Asian American Composers and Lyricists Project at The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre on May 19, 2013

Lia Chang — Tue, 07 May 2013 01:18:12 +0000

In celebration of Asian Heritage month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee of Actors’ Equity Association and ReImagined World Entertainment will present the debut of “The Asian American Composers and Lyricists Project”, an evening of works created and sung by Asian American theatre artists. The free 90-minute concert will take place on Sunday, May 19 at 8 p.m. at The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42 St. in New York.
Featuring original words and music by Adam Gwon, Timothy Huang, Christine Toy Johnson, Leon Ko, Felice Kuan, Robert Lee, Yan Li, and Jason Ma, the event will be directed by Alan Muraoka and emceed by Ann Harada (CINDERELLA).

Singers will include Jose Llana (HERE LIES LOVE, SPELLING BEE), Ali Ewoldt (THE FANTASTICKS, LES MISERABLES), Telly Leung (GODSPELL, RENT), Christine Toy Johnson (THE MUSIC MAN, HELLO, DOLLY!), Thom Sesma (THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’, THE LION KING), Joshua dela Cruz (HERE LIES LOVE), Ann Sanders (AVENUE Q), Daniel J. Edwards (ANYTHING GOES), Raymond J. Lee (ANYTHING GOES), Cindy Cheung, Brooke Ishibashi, Brian Jose, Karl Josef Co, Jaygee Macapugay, Marc de la Cruz, Joanne Javien, Gyu Jin Lim, Helen Park, Diane Phelan and Hansel Tan.

Tickets are free, but seating is limited. Please RSVP to EEO@actorsequity.org before Friday, May 17.

The Asian American Composers and Lyricists Project was founded by librettist/lyricist/actor Christine Toy Johnson in 2012 as an ongoing initiative to increase the visibility of Asian American theatre artists, putting to rest the misconception that we do not exist. The artists taking part in this event have collectively performed in over 40 Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, have had their works produced around the world, and have been participants in The BMI Musical Theatre Writing Workshop, The Dramatists Guild Fellows Program, and the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU.

This performance of the Asian American Composers and Lyricists Project is made possible in part with public funds from the Manhattan Community Arts Fund, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

Other articles by Lia Chang:
Lorey Hayes’ Power Play Set for National Black Theatre Festival 7/29-8/3
Photos & Video: Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-Stars, Manu Narayan, Deep Singh and More
Photos: Working Theater’s World Premiere of Ed Cardona, Jr.’s La Ruta through May 12, 2013
Christine Toy Johnson and Raul Aranas Lead the Cast of the National Asian Artists Project’s (NAAP) Benefit Presentation of Hello Dolly!, at The Pershing Square Signature Center on April 29 and May 6
Playing Lady Thiang in the Harbor Lights’ Production of The King and I is a dream come true for Christine Toy Johnson
Theater of the Stars Presents The King and I Starring Ronobir Lahiri, Victoria Mallory, Raul Aranas, Ali Ewoldt, Josh Dela Cruz, Jee Hyun Lim and Raphael Aranas, Helmed by Baayork Lee on Tour through September 11, 2012
Two-Time Grammy Nominated Hiroshima Kicks off 2013 Spring Tour at The Laguna Playhouse, with Special Guest Taiko Master Kenny Endo on April 15, 2013
Mu Performing Arts Honors Rick Shiomi at Mu Gala 2013 on April 27, 2013; Randy Reyes to Succeed Shiomi as Artistic Director
Photos: All-Access Pass to August Wilson’s Two Trains Running with John Earl Jelks, Harvy Blanks, Chuck Cooper, Anthony Chisholm, Owiso Odera, Roslyn Ruff and James A. Williams
Jose Llana, Ruthie Ann Miles, Maria-Christina Oliveras, Conrad Ricamora, Kelvin Moon Loh and More Set for World Premiere of David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s Here Lies Love at The Public, April 2 – May 19, 2013
Keith David, January LaVoy, John Douglas Thompson, Glynn Turman, Lillias White and More Set for Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the CTG/Mark Taper Forum, April 24 – June 9, 2013
Multimedia: Manu Narayan Dazzles as Richard Roma in La Jolla Playhouse’s Revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross
Albee, Hwang, Enos, Taylor, Wilson, Clarke and Jacobs-Jenkins Set for Signature Theatre’s 2013-14 Season
Signature Theatre’s Revival of David Henry Hwang’s The Dance and The Railroad Set for Wuzhen Theatre Festival in Wuzhen, China, May 9-12, 2013
Photos: David Henry Hwang’s The Dance and The Railroad Opening Night at Signature Theatre
Photos: Partying with the Cast of David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang
Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. She is a Signature Theatre alumni who was in the cast of Sam Shepard’s Chicago, during his Signature 1996-1997 Playwright-in-Residence Season. Lia is headed for the National Black Theatre Festival this summer to reprise her role as Carole Barbara in Lorey Hayes’ Power Play with Pauletta Pearson Washington, Roscoe Orman, Lorey Hayes, Marcus Naylor and Penwah.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2013 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Manu Narayan and Deep Singh will perform with Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars’ Klezmer-Bhangra Extravaganza at Washington DCJCC on May 7, 2013

Lia Chang — Mon, 06 May 2013 21:50:10 +0000

Manu Narayan and Frank London. Photo by Lia Chang
On Tuesday, May 7, 2013, Bombay Dreams‘ vet Manu Narayan and master percussionist Deep Singh will perform with Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars’ Klezmer-Bhangra Extravaganza at the Washington DCJCC, at 1529 Q Street Northwest, Washington, DC at 7:30pm. The concert also features special guests Sarah Gordon and Jeremiah Lockwood. Click here for tickets.

Indian and Jewish musics collide. Trumpeter Frank London of the Klezmatics joins master percussionist Deep Singh in presenting a new look at some old traditions.

Back Row (l to r) Manu Narayan, Aaron Alexander, Frank London, Ron Caswell, Deep Singh. Front Row (l to r) Sarah Gordon, Patrick Farrell, Jeremiah Lockwood on 5/2/13 at Rivington Studios, NYC. Photo by Lia Chang.

India was host to one of the oldest living Jewish communities in the world, with roots stretching back to biblical times. The country of India is called Hodu in Hebrew, most commonly recognized from the opening lines of the Megilla Esther on Purim, when King Achashverosh is depicted as ruling a kingdom that stretched “me’hodu v’ad kush” from India (Hodu) to Ethiopia (Kush). The contemporary Jewish community in Calcutta dates back to 1784 when Shalom Cohen arrived from Aleppo, Syria to be the court jeweler of the Nawab of Oudh. The connection between Jewish and Indian culture is a long one.

Deep Singh. photo by Lia Chang
The roots of this Klezmer-Bhangra Extravaganza concert have little to do with these historical antecedents, and spring from a more personal source. Frank London and Deep Singh are neighbors in New York’s Lower East Side. The pair have played together for both traditional Jewish and Punjabi Sikh weddings, playing bhangra and klezmer music for baraats and khuppah processions. They toured Europe performing Jewish sacred mystical music with Judith Berkson, recorde tsuker-zis with Lorin Skleamberg, and collaborated with writer Glen Berger (Spiderman, A Night in the Old Marketplace) on the apocalyptic psychedelic Bollywood musical, On Words and Onwards. Their dinner parties (replete with massive amounts of overly spicy food, early morning alcohol and ghee fueled percussion jams, and stunt ping pong tricks) are legendary. A benefit for the HONK! Festival of Brass Bands gave them the opportunity to bring together the worlds of klezmer and bhangra party music, and that experience is the impetus for this collaboration. The concert will explore both the ecstatic and the meditative aspects of Jewish and Indian music, and will feature songs by Malkit Singh and Moyshe Oysher. Songs will be sung in multiple languages: Yiddish, Punjabi, Hebrew, Hindi, and English.
Frank London. Photo by Lia Chang

The Cast:
Member of the Klezmatics, leader of many bands (including the new Shekhinah Big Band that has been rocking John Zorn’s venue, The Stone); Grammy award winner, composer and trumpeter, Frank London remains on the cutting edge of Jewish music.

Manu Narayan. Photo by Lia Chang

Manu Narayan, an actor, singer, songwriter and classical saxophonist, has collaborated with Grammy winner Frank London numerous times around the world, most recently recording and performing for his Soundbrush records’ Klezmer concept album A Night in the Old Marketplace, in which he sang the part of the Badkhn. He made his Broadway debut as Akaash in Bombay Dreams, for which he received a Drama League award nomination, and co-starred in Mike Myers’ The Love Guru as Rajneesh alongside Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, and Justin Timberlake. Narayan recently starred as Richard Roma in La Jolla Playhouse’s critically acclaimed revival of Glengarry Glen Ross and was nominated for a San Diego Critics Circle 2012 Craig Noel Award for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play. Multimedia: Manu Narayan Dazzles as Richard Roma in La Jolla Playhouse’s Revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross In 2003, he was invited to sing at a small state dinner for the first official visit of President George W. Bush to the UK. Narayan sang for and met the Queen of England, The Royal Family, President Bush and Colin Powell. He has had the privilege to sing for then Senator John Kerry’s presidential campaign sponsored by Hillary Clinton as well as elsewhere with Cyndi Lauper, Garth Hudson and Martha Wainwright.

Frank London and Manu Narayan in rehearsal at Rivington Studios in New York on May 2, 2013. Photo by Lia Chang
As a recording artist, Narayan has collaborated on and recorded original and cover tracks for feature film soundtracks including The Love Guru, Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song, Hiding Divya, Good Night|Good Morning, Walkaway and Vanessa Williams’ And Then Came Love. As the lead vocalist, Narayan has performed the concert version of the album throughout Europe and North America. In addition to solo work, Narayan is lead singer of the band Darunam with Radovan Jovicevic, founding member of Yugoslavia’s Grupa Zana. The band brings together the melodies and rhythms from three homelands: America, India, and Serbia. He recorded with D A R U N A M band mate Radovan Jovicevic the single Have Me for the 2007 film And Then Came Love starring Vanessa Williams. Narayan and Jovicevic released the EP All That’s Beautiful Must Die and the title track’s video featuring Janina Gavankar. Their album of Electronic Lounge/World Gypsy music with Canadian Clarinetist Milan Milosevic entitled The Last Angel on Earth was released live on CBC national radio in Canada in 2010. Click here for Manu Narayan’s Website.

Deep Singh. Photo by Lia Chang

Master indian percussionist Deep Singh has played with everyone from the legendary Punjab singer, Malkit Singh, to the legendary British singer, Sting. He has performed Indian classical music internationally since beginning tabla at age 4, and has produced r&b dance tracks for Rihanna and Justin Bieber.

Sarah Gordon. Photo by Lia Chang

Sarah Gordon is the lead singer of the prog-ethnic band, Yiddish Princess. A third generation Yiddish singer and composer of new Yiddish song, she composed and sang on FLKBAS’ Carnival Conspiracy (Rolling Stones’ #1 non-English
recording).

Jeremiah Lockwood. Photo by Lia Chang

Jeremiah Lockwood, leader and singer of the Sway Machinery, guitarist with Balkan Beat Box, and co-collaborator with Frank on Songs of Zebulon, a project reinventing the music of the great Cantor Zebulon ‘Zawel’ Kwartin.

At the core of this special project is London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars krewe – Ron Caswell, Aaron Alexander, Brian Drye, Patty Farrell and Michael Winograd.
Patty Farrell. Photo by Lia Chang

Aaron Alexander. Photo by Lia Chang

Ron Caswell. Photo by Lia Chang

Back Row (l to r) Manu Narayan, Aaron Alexander, Frank London, Deep Singh, Ron Caswell. Front Row (l to r) Patrick Farrell,Sarah Gordon, Jeremiah Lockwood on 5/2/13 at Rivington Studios, NYC. Photo by Lia Chang.
Click below for a slideshow of Manu Narayan and Deep Singh with Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars’ in rehearsal at the Rivington Studios in New York.
Click to view slideshow.
Other articles about Manu Narayan:
Manu Narayan, Mark Bennett, Lea Salonga, Michael K. Lee and Stafford Arima Among 2012 Craig Noel Award Nominees
Good Night | Good Morning starring Manu Narayan and Seema Rahmani on J. Hurtado’s Top Ten Indian Films of 2012
Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor Hosts 1st Annual Varli Culinary Awards with Co-hosts Manu Narayan,Jehangir Mehta & Gaurav Tandon in New York
Sudhish Kamath’s Good Night | Good Morning Starring Manu Narayan and Seema Rahmani in Theaters
Shailja Gupta’s WALKAWAY Featuring Manu Narayan & Samrat Chakrabarti, Opens on 26 Screens Across 18 Cities on 10/29
ONE Musical stars Paolo Montalban, Manu Narayan, Pearl Sun and Michael Winther
AAIFF Karma Calling, You Don’t Know Jack and Children of Invention

Other articles by Lia Chang:
Photos: Partying with the Cast of David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child
Harlem Nights with Lorey Hayes, Actress, Director and Award-Winning Playwright of Power Play and Massinissa
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the
Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female
Cast
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang
Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. She is a Signature Theatre alumni who was in the cast of Sam Shepard’s Chicago, during his Signature 1996-1997 Playwright-in-Residence Season.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2013 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com