SOUNDTRACK: EDWIN PEREZ-GlobalFEST Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #136/155 (January 14, 2021).
GlobalFEST is an annual event, held in New York City, in which bands from all over the world have an opportunity to showcase their music to an American audience. I’ve never been, and it sounds a little exhausting, but it also sounds really fun.
The Tiny Desk is teaming up with globalFEST this year for a thrilling virtual music festival: Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST. The online fest includes four nights of concerts featuring 16 bands from all over the world.
Given the pandemic’s challenges and the hardening of international borders, NPR Music and globalFEST is moving from the nightclub to your screen of choice and sharing this festival with the world. Each night, we’ll present four artists in intimate settings (often behind desks donning globes), and it’s all hosted by African superstar Angélique Kidjo, who performed at the inaugural edition of globalFEST in 2004.
The first artist of the fourth and final night is Edwin Perez.
From the basement of the Bowery Electric in downtown Manhattan, composer and vocalist Edwin Perez and his 10-piece band come together to put on a show. With a strong backbeat and enough room to move around, Perez’s up-tempo energy brings the party and keeps it going. The theme of the night is salsa dura music, which originated in New York in the 1970s and gained acclaim thanks to acts like the Fania All-Stars and Spanish Harlem Orchestra.
This set is a lot of fun (even with the seriousness of the second song). Cuban music is so full of percussion and horns it’s hard not to want to dance to it. And this band has three percussionists: Nelson Mathew Gonzalez: bongo, cowbell (from Puerto Rico); Manuel Alejandro Carro: timbales (from Cuba); Oreste Abrantes: (from Puerto Rico). The horn section is also pretty large: Leonardo Govin (from Cuba) and Michael Pallas (From Dominican Republic): trombone; Jonathan Powell (from USA) and Kalí Rodriguez (from Cuba): trumpet.
They play three songs. “La Salsa Que Me Crió” has lots of percussion and a great trumpet solo. Perez even dances during the instrumental breaks. And throughout, Jorge Bringas (from Cuba) keeps the bass steady.
After introducing the band, he says “Say her name Breonna Taylor. Say his name Philando castile. Say his name George Floyd. End the abuse.” This is the introduction to the quieter “No Puedo Respirar” (I Can’t Breathe). Despite the subject, this song is not a dirge. I don’t know what the words are but there is joy in the music as well. There’s a jazzy keyboard solo from Ahmed Alom Vega (USA).
Yuniel Jimenez (From Cuba) opens the final song “Mi Tierra” with a fantastic introductory solo on the Cuban tres guitar. The rest of the song brings back the Cuban horns and percussion. There’s even a drum solo (or two) in the middle.
[READ: February 25, 2021] March Book 1
I had heard amazing things about this trilogy of books. I don’t know why it took me so long to get around to reading them. Now that John Lewis is dead for almost a year, it was time to read them.
This is essentially a biography so it’s not easy to write about. It’s also an incredible story of selflessness, fortitude and unbelievable courage.
The framing device is very well executed. After a brief prologue that shows John and is marchers getting attacked by police, the book shows us Washington D.C. January 20, 2009, the day that Barack Obama is being inaugurated President. Since John is (in 2009) in office he will be attending the ceremonies.
As he is preparing and getting ready to leave, a woman and her two children walk into his room hoping to look at Mr. Lewis’ office–a inspirational moment for her young boys. But it happens that John (or Bob as he is called) is still in his office. They are embarrassed to interrupt, but he welcomes them warmly and shows them some of the things around his office.
Like photos of him meeting President Kennedy when Lewis was 23. And from the March on Washington in 1963, where Dr King gave his “I have a dream” speech.
Then the boy asks him why he has so many chickens in his office.
The story then flashes back to young John (called Bob by his parents). His father purchased 110 acres in Pike County, Alabama for $300. John was incharge of the chickens on the farm. He also loved preaching. He learned to read at 5 and began preaching to the chickens (they never said Amen or anything).
He also loved going to school. He would even away from his house on the days his father insisted all the children work in the field because he didn’t want to fall behind. (Even if it meant getting in trouble).
One of the first being moments in his life wa when his Uncle Otis drove him North.
Otis knew which places offered colored bathrooms and the ones where you would never get out of the car: “Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky. These were the states we had to be careful in as we made our way North.”
It wasn’t until they got to Ohio that his uncle relaxed. They arrive in Buffalo 17 hours later and John was amazed to see white and black people living next door to each other. (more…)
GlobalFEST is an annual event, held in New York City, in which bands from all over the world have an opportunity to showcase their music to an American audience. I’ve never been, and it sounds a little exhausting, but it also sounds really fun.
As it looks like the COVID pandemic will continue into 2021, bands have already begun cancelling their shows/tours in the early parts of the year. Swans were very proactive back in the summer when the virus hit and they are being very proactive again, cancelling the tour in October 2020. 
GlobalFEST is an annual event, held in New York City, in which bands from all over the world have an opportunity to showcase their music to an American audience. I’ve never been, and it sounds a little exhausting, but it also sounds really fun.
GlobalFEST is an annual event, held in New York City, in which bands from all over the world have an opportunity to showcase their music to an American audience. I’ve never been, and it sounds a little exhausting, but it also sounds really fun.
GlobalFEST is an annual event, held in New York City, in which bands from all over the world have an opportunity to showcase their music to an American audience. I’ve never been, and it sounds a little exhausting, but it also sounds really fun.
I Just Read About That... 