News & Updates — give the drummer some

Dave Noonan's Green Island at the Root Cellar, Feb 4

Dave Noonan's Green Island at the Root Cellar, Feb 4

Good news! Dave Noonan's new island-jazz ensemble is playing their third ever concert this Saturday at The Root Cellar, our Greenfield MA home base venue. We had the group for their debut concert as part of our Peace & Rhythm Presents weekly series last summer/fall and the results, musically and crowd-wise, have been quite pleasing for the first two shows. This group is a collection of some of the finest musicians in the region and their blend of Ernest Ranglin-inspired jazz, Marvin Gaye-inspired soul and roots reggae is quite a flavorful recipe. This time out they present a special Bob...

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Steve Reid / Jan 29, 1944 - Apr 13, 2010

Steve Reid / Jan 29, 1944 - Apr 13, 2010

Steve Reid was an underrated jazz drummer for decades who finally enjoyed some limelight with his late-life collaboration with Kieran "Four Tet" Hebden. He got his start in the Apollo Theater house band working with Quincy Jones. After serving time as a draft-resister, he played in his own ensembles, as well as albums, concerts or sessions with Ornette Coleman, James Brown, Sun Ra, Fela Kuti, Jimi Hendrix, Horace Silver, Dionne Warwick, Randy Weston and others. He also did jams at John Coltrane's house, played in stage bands and on Motown sessions ("Dancing In The Streets", "Heat Wave"). He worked on...

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Red Baraat Spring 2017 Tour

Red Baraat Spring 2017 Tour

Our favorite bhangra / funk / go-go / dhol n' brass party band Red Baraat is hitting the road this Spring in anticipation of their forthcoming album Bhangra Pirates, out March 24 on Rhyme & Reason. The record will be released on digital, CD and on LP. (The group's first vinyl, believe it or not!). Pre-order here. The band will be hitting both US coasts, as well as a gig in Abu Dhabi. Dates: 02.17.2017  Abu Dhabi @ NYUAD Arts Center   Tickets       Info       03.04.2017  Miami, FL @ Carnaval on the Mile   Tickets...

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RIP. Jaki Liebezeit, Founding Member & Drummer of Can

RIP. Jaki Liebezeit, Founding Member & Drummer of Can

Jaki Liebezeit, founding member, drummer of Can, and human metronome has passed from pneumonia. (May 26, 1938 - Jan 22, 2017). After playing free-jazz in Germany in the mid-to-late '60s, including an ensemble led by Manfred Schoof, as well as with Globe Unity Orchestra (with a young Peter Brotzmann on sax!) he decided to go with a disciplined "motorik" beat. Indeed, Can are synonymous with the "Krautrock" history. From Can / Spoon Records' official social media announcement: It is with great sadness we have to announce that Jaki passed away this morning from sudden pneumonia. He fell asleep peacefully, surrounded...

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Peace & Rhythm's Interview with Jim Thomson of Electric Cowbell

Jim Thomson is an enthusiastic promoter of music, with a hand in booking, producing and distributing the wide variety of sounds he digs. A percussionist with several notable ensembles (discussed within), his Electric Cowbell label puts out (mostly) 7" records with seemingly no stylistic boundaries. Since 2009 the label has released "a marching band that thinks it's a rock band" (Mucca Pazza), a funk band with people from USA Is A Monster (CSC), an Ethiopian groove band (Debo), a progressive salsa band (Bio Ritmo), a collaborative 7" with ESP-Disk (Talibam!), a record by Greg Ginn...and that is just a tip...

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