“What the Classical Music Establishment Could Learn from Checkpoint KBK”
Checkpoint KBK just received another rave review for their recent program at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas. In a review titled What the Classical Music Establishment Could Learn from Checkpoint KBK, Wayne Lee Gay for D Magazine writes:
“The Soundings new music series, now in its second year at the Nasher Sculpture Center, once again delivered a flawlessly paced program in which the classical tradition intertwined convincingly with frontline musical innovation. […]
For this concert, traditionally trained musicians from Yellow Barn (violinist Anna Elashvili, violinist Keats Dieffenbach, violist Margaret Dyer, and cellist Hamilton Berry) were joined by members of Checkpoint KBK, an ensemble that almost defies description. Clarinetist David Krakauer and accordionist Merima Ključo were both remarkable in their own right, while Moravian-born Iva Bittová, who plays the violin and sings (and makes bird noises, and dances, and composes, all at pretty much the same time) must surely be one of the most remarkable performers in the world today. […]
The classical music establishment is searching—sometimes desperately, it seems—for new ways to engage an increasingly fragmented audience. In their highly intelligent, unfailingly dramatic approach, both the Soundings series as a whole and the musicians of Checkpoint KBK have discovered a promising direction.”
Following a captivating performance at Dallas’ Nasher Sculpture Center, Checkpoint KBK - the collaboration between extraordinary performers violinist-vocalist Iva Bittová, clarinetist David Krakauer, and accordionist Merima Ključo - is receiving glowing responses from audience members and critics.
Writes Gregory Sullivan Isaacs for Dallas’ Theater Jones:
“When a concert takes you suddenly to unknown regions and keeps you there, it can be difficult to write about the experience. The Friday’s Soundings concert at the Nasher Sculpture Center was just such a concert. […] There was a string quartet on the stage. A singer would enter down the side aisle, singing in an unrecognizable language. A clarinetist would wander in. An accordion player appeared. They all took turns playing and it was so dark that the program was useless as a road map through the modernist and vaguely Hebraic-Middle Eastern-klezmer influenced musical landscape. It was wonderful to be a bewildered visitor in a different world.”
New Audio: Krakauer Plays Zorn - Live at New Morning, Paris
In his newest project, David Krakauer explores the songbook of avant-garde jazz icon John Zorn. A handful of top-notch players join Krakauer at New Morning in Paris in this recording of the first ever public performance of Krakauer Plays Zorn.
“If clarinetist David Krakauer is the name-giver and organizing genius behind the genre-busting ensemble Abraham Inc., does that mean trombonist Fred Wesley is the law-giver, Moses? And if so, what about DJ Socalled, a.k.a. Josh Dolgin, or rapper C-Rayz Walz - where do they fit in? Well, if you were at the Secrest Artist Series performance in Winston-Salem on Thursday or in NCSU’s Stewart Theatre on Saturday night, where the joint was jumpin’, to borrow an old Fats Waller line, and where there was, quite literally, dancing in the aisles, you know that putting these folks together, in one place, makes for an extraordinary event.” [John W. Lambert for CVNC]
Also in attendance at the Raleigh show was funk immortal Maceo Parker, former saxophonist for James Brown and long-time friend and collaborator with Abe Inc.’s Fred Wesley, who joined the band for some photo ops after the show.
The international ‘blendation’ phenomenon Abraham Inc. rings in the new year with their official music video for Tweet Tweet, the title track from their recent album. Inspired by clarinetist and co-leader David Krakauer’s collection of kitsch dolls, the video follows a motley crew of stereotypes, cartoons and absurdities through an animated world mash-up of geography, time and culture.
Excited crowds packed into Cité de la Musique in Paris to catch Abraham Inc. last Saturday as part of Jazz à la Vilette. The 10-piece ‘blendation’ phenomenon had the audience cheering for more. Video from the concert is streaming in its entirety at liveweb.arte.tv. This footage is not to be missed!
“We are raising money for a video campaign to introduce more of the world to our unique home brew of funk, klezmer and hip hop. So far it seems to be hitting a collective nerve. Our “house parties” across the US and Europe have been fantastic. The CD “Tweet Tweet” just charted on Billboard. NPR’s “All Things Considered” profile made a major impact. But we still need to reach all the folks who will dig what we are doing. We need to spread the word.” [Abe Inc. on Kickstarter]
Abraham Inc. Featured On NPR’s All Things Considered
The secret is out: Abraham Inc. knows how to throw a party. The crowd pleasing, genre-blending, multi-cultural collaboration is catching national attention thanks to yesterday’s feature on NPR’s All Things Considered. Their brand new, self-produced, self-released album Tweet Tweet is climbing charts on amazon.com, and their Facebook Page is abuzz with delighted new fans.
