Oran Etkin, an internationally acclaimed jazz clarinetist and composer and founder of the Timbalooloo method of introducing young children to music, will release Finding Friends Far from Home: A Journey with Clara Net on August 30th. Recorded and filmed on location in Zimbabwe, Turkey, Czech Republic and China with veritable masters of each country’s traditional music, Finding Friends Far from Home is an ambitious audio-visual project born out of Etkin’s belief in creating deep musical connections across cultural boundaries.
Voted #1 Rising Star Clarinetist in Downbeat Critics’ Poll, Etkin has the honor of regularly being invited to perform at major festivals and theaters throughout the world. Over the past two years, he has reimagined what touring can mean – taking time off between shows to live with traditional mbira masters in Zimbabwe and building collaborative projects with Roma (Gypsy) musicians in Czech Republic. With this Timbalooloo project he further redefines the creative process by gathering the fruits of these encounters into one album which tells a tale of friendship and understanding through the eyes of the instruments themselves – via the friendly and childlike main character Clara Net (Etkin’s clarinet).
The globe-spanning album will be available on Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify and other music sources as well as physical distribution in North America and Europe. Etkin plans a US and Europe tour to celebrate its release, kicking off with an October 5th concert at Symphony Space in NYC before continuing to California, Washington DC, Baltimore, Paris and more.
Finding Friends Far from Home opens with the voice of a young child, chanting “We Want a Story.” Gradually other voices -- some human and some instrumental – harmonize in, and Etkin introduces the story of Clara’s musical journey. Next up is “Chaye Shukariye,” which means “sweet girl” in the language of the Roma people (more commonly referred to as Gypsies). The band on this song has its roots in a project initiated by Mladi Ladi Jazz Festival, which invited Etkin to create a new band with Roma, Czech & Slovak musicians and to help combat the history of discrimination suffered by the Roma in Czech Republic. Together, they performed to an audience of 8,000 fans in the center of Prague and took their music to remote and underserved Czech areas. The energetic song blends vocals by Pavlína Matiová (“Princess Pavlina”) and Etkin with Roma accordion virtuoso Roman Horvath. Clara Net’s happy “voice” riffs and responds to the main melody.
On the other tracks, Clara and Oran engage with traditional artists from Zimbabwe, China, Turkey, Russia and Japan. Clara meets new instrument friends like the mbira, kopuz, balalaika, and shamisen. The instruments take on personalities and evoke a range of feelings, from joy and humor, to weariness and sadness. “What we’re doing here is showing that music is a language. It’s all about expressing emotion. Young children can easily identify with Clara Net as she meets each instrument, and they want to engage with these sounds.”
A new music video and details about the fall tour dates in the United States and Europe will be announced in August. Visit www.timbalooloo.com or Oran Etkin on Facebook or Instagram for more information and the latest performance news.
No comments:
Post a Comment