asian american festival

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Hello everybody,

I hope you’re all enjoying the temperate climate. I figure we’ll have two weeks of nice weather, and then approximately 7 months of bitter cold. You gotta love Chicago!

This coming Saturday, October 6, we’ll be presenting the 12th Annual Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival, featuring JASC Tsukasa Taiko (Japanese drumming) and stalwarts of the Chicago Asian American Music scene, the Funkadesi Trio. That show will be at the Chicago Cultural Center’s Claudia Cassidy Theater at 2p (78 E. Washington in downtown Chicago). Free admission!

The AAJF continues on Saturday, October 13 with the Jeff Chan Trio plus One plus Two at the Hyde Park Art Center (5020 S. Cornell). I’ll be performing with leading Chicago artists Jimmy Ellis, Tatsu Aoki, Ed Wilkerson and guests from San Francisco Lewis Jordan and Francis Wong. There will be an opening panel discussion exploring the importance of musician-run recording labels. The program starts at 1p. Also free admission!

The festival closes on the evening of Saturday Oct 13 with a performance at the Velvet Lounge featuring Fred Anderson, Francis Wong, Chad Taylor and Tatsu Aoki. The Velvet’s at 67 E. Cermak. The show starts at 9p and admission is $15.

For a complete schedule/program, visit www.aajazz.org

Hope to see you at the Fest!

Jeff

Asian Improv aRts Midwest presents

The 12th Annual Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival

October 6-13, 2007

The Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival has been called “a crowning event on the city’s cultural calendar” by the Chicago Tribune and this year’s 12th season continues that tradition! The AAJF is dedicated to highlighting new and relevant music that represents the Asian American experience.

This year’s AAJF is proud to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Asian Improv Records, the only international recording label dedicated to presenting Asian American creative music. Founded by San Francisco musicians Francis Wong and Jon Jang, Asian Improv Records is a Grammy-nominated recording label with a catalog of over 70 titles that represent the diversity of Asian American musical expression. Asian Improv Records now bases its operations out of Chicago.

This year’s Asian American Jazz Festival lineup will feature artists who have recorded on Asian Improv Records, their collaborators and artists who have made contributions to the Asian American music scene of Chicago and the nation.

The AAJF is also expanding its geographic reach and we are pleased to be working with a new collaborator, The Hyde Park Art Center, not to mention our familiar friends at the Chicago Cultural Center and the Velvet Lounge.

Schedule:

Opening Day!

OLD AND NEW - Roots with a twist

Saturday, October 6, 2007

2pm

The Claudia Cassidy Theater at The Chicago Cultural Center

78 E. Washington

Free Admission

• JASC Tsukasa Taiko

• The Funkadesi Trio featuring Navraaz Basati - vocals, Rahul Sharma - bass guitar, sitar, tabla, acoustic guitar, Rich Conti – vibes and percussion

The 4-Time Winner of The Chicago Music Awards, Funkadesi has been hailed by Time Magazine, and even caught the attention of U.S. Senator Barack Obama, who notes: “Funkadesi really knows how to get a crowd going. I can't say enough how energizing this band is. There's a lot of funk in that desi!”

This smaller ensemble of Funkadesi members will highlight Punjabi folk music fused with reggae, funk, and jazz themes.

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WINDS OF CHANGE - The More the Merrier

Saturday, October 13, 2007

1pm

The Hyde Park Art Center

5020 S. Cornell Avenue

Free Admission

• The Jeff Chan Trio plus One plus Two featuring Hyde Park's own Jimmy Ellis - saxophone, Jeff Chan - winds, Tatsu Aoki – contrabass, Ed Wilkerson - winds and special guests from the West Coast, Lewis Jordan and Francis Wong – winds

Preceding the performance will be a panel discussion with Asian Improv Records founder, Francis Wong and its current President, Tatsu Aoki plus special guests, who will talk about the significance and impact of musician-run recording labels. Moderated by Daniel Melnick of the Jazz Institute of Chicago.

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Closing Night!

BY POPULAR DEMAND - An encore presentation of last year’s critically acclaimed quartet

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Sets starting at 9pm

The Velvet Lounge

67 E. Cermak

$15

• Fred Anderson – tenor saxophone and Tatsu Aoki – contrabass, New-York-resident-but-Chicago-native Chad Taylor – drums and San Francisco’s Francis Wong – saxophone.