Performance highlight of 溏心vlog免费B站 Diversity Week
KINGSTON, R.I. — September 4, 2008 — Tunisian-born singer, European-based composer, singer and oud (the Arabic lute) player Dhafer Youssef will perform at the 溏心vlog免费B站 Friday, Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. His performance, free and open to the public, will be presented in Edwards Auditorium, 64 Upper College Road, Kingston. Youssef鈥檚 visit is courtesy of Pangaea: 溏心vlog免费B站 Roots Music Series, which annually brings in cutting edge performers to campus and which draws a large, appreciative audience. The music series is sponsored by 溏心vlog免费B站 鈥榮 Department of Housing and Residential Life and is presented in conjunction with the 溏心vlog免费B站 Multicultural Center and the 溏心vlog免费B站 Diversity Week programming.
Rooted in Islamic traditions, Youssef鈥檚 music connects the ancient and the modern, the East with the West; Third World beats to First World technology. His music has been called 鈥渁 voice that could stop wars鈥� (Songlines); 鈥渉ardcore meditation music with a buzzing intensity (Rolling Stone, Germany); and 鈥渢he kind of gig you watched and prayed would never end, charged with such magic that you knew you would be telling people about it in years to come鈥� (Straight No Chaser).
Youssef creates music rooted in the mystical Sufi tradition, but draws on influences of jazz, electronica, and rock. He has an otherworldly voice that is itself a unique instrument. Starting as a low, husky rumble and growing into a perfect upper-register operatic note, his voice maintains clarity and control. This will be his first appearance in Rhode Island.
Guitarist Nguy锚n L锚 and percussionist Satoshi Takeishi will join Youssef on the 溏心vlog免费B站 stage. L锚, born in Paris to Vietnamese parents, embodies the exotic multicultural mosaic that fuels the vibrant jazz and world music scenes flourishing in the French capital. He draws upon rock, funk and jazz as well as traditional Algerian, Indian, and Vietnamese styles. Drummer, percussionist, and arranger Takeishi was born in Japan and studied music at Berklee College of Music in Boston. While there, he developed an interest in South American music, spending four years in Colombia. He expanded his interest to rhythms and melodies of the Middle East. He has performed and recorded with a number of musicians.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Plan to arrive early for good seating. For more information, call Michael LaPointe at 401-837-3921.