SUSANA BEHAR - ADIO KERIDA

I'll be at the City Winery in Chicago, on August 29!!

So excited about this new collaboration!!

On August 29, I will be joining my longtime friend, fabulous cellist Ian Maksin and the trio Guitarra Azul at the City Winery in Chicago..

Ian and I have known each other for many years, and I have admired his musicianship, his musical taste and his dedication since the day I first heard him play with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach. Several years have gone by since that day, during which we have solidified our friendship and the idea of collaborating came about. A couple of years ago, while on a tour in South Florida, he invited me to be a guest artist on one of his concerts.. It was an amazing experience, one I'm always excited to repeat...and so we have. Many times we spoke about how cool it would be for me to go to Chicago to perform...well here it is! 

I am sure this will be a beautiful and fun concert, like everything Ian is involved with, so I want to make sure that all of you, who are in the area, join us on August 29 ....hope to see you there!!

For more information please visit the City Winery site:

http://www.citywinery.com/chicago/ian-maksin-solo-special-guest-susana-behar-guitarra-azul-8-29.html

Networking Hispanos event on May 26th at the Arts Garage in Delrey Beach, Fl

On May 26th I was invited to be part of a beautiful celebration for Networking Hispanos, at The Arts Garage in Delray Beach, Fl. What was supposed to be just some entertainment for the audience, ended up being a beautiful recital experience! As always, blessed by the best musicians I can dream of, I had Jose Luis Rodriguez (guitar) and Reza Filsoofi (percussion), with me.. We played and enjoyed ourselves sharing our love for beautiful music with a very attentive and warm audience..What an audience! Would love to perform again for that bunch of sweet people very soon!

Some pictures by fabulous Amy Pasquantonio..

Reza Filsoofi (percussion) and Jose Luis Rodriguez (guitar)

With Reza and Jose Luis..

With one of the artists who exhibited her work that evening, Maria del Pilar Vargas and her husband Eduardo... the sweetest people.

OF ESSENCE AND TIME - Miami, Fl - April 2013

A very exciting project I've been involved with this past year, is 'Of Essence and Time'. A concert I co-created and co-produced with guitarist/composer Jose Luis Rodriguez and dancer/choreographer Niurca Marquez..

“Of Essence and Time” was commissioned by Next@19th in October 2012. It's a concert in which we were looking to expand the traditional aesthetic and authenticity of Jewish culture present around the world, without loosing its essence, and in this case, with a special interest in the Sephardic culture. 

This concert feeds of common elements in the Andalusian and Sephardic musical traditions, transforming and shaping them in order to create a sound and visual universe, which is an important part of our musical life experience.

This aesthetic, riding along between contemporary flamenco, traditional Sephardic and popular Andalusian music and the Mediterranean elements, creates a new and particular sound that results in “Of Essence and Time”...

Enjoy the pictures and the video..

Reza Filsoofi (percussion and setar), Renyel Rivero (bass), Romulo Bernal (percussion) and Federico Britos (violin) 

 Niurca Marquez (dancer and choreographer)

Jose Luis Rodriguez (guitar and compositions)

                                    
                                                                                   

Thanks to Stephen Malagodi who came to the concert and took the time to write a review.... here is what he wrote..

Superlative restraint. Now that's something we really appreciate in South Florida, right?

Friday's concert of Nu Flamenco [hey, this isn't hip-hop, let's spell Nuevo correctly!] at the Dade County Auditorium was indeed superlative, and made so by its intelligent restraint.

With compositions by Flamenco guitarist Jose Luis Rodriguez (Spain), Flamenco dance by Niurca Marquez (USA/Cuba), and singing by Susana Behar (Cuba/Venezula), it was definitely Flamenco. Of course Flamenco is a cultural form loaded, often overloaded, with Mediterranean melodrama, and melodrama is something I can always do without, particularly if it's supposed to be music. But the principals never went over the top. Behar delivered the songs, which in Spanish must have revolved around love, longing and exile, freedom and death, etcetera, without weeping all over the place. We got the poignancy without the puddles. Her voice was clear, comfortable and solid ; always in range without any sense of strain. While I am in no way qualified or even capable of saying anything about dance, Niurca Marquez gave us dance not drama. Stern-faced but not tragic, arms articulate but not flailing, the timing of her percussive footwork, particularly on the opening duet with Rodriguez, was perfect, at least to my ears.

Now about the Nuevo parts. There was no attempt to force something Nu here. There was the unmistakable base of Flamenco, but the addition of violin virtuoso Federico Britos (Uraguay), percussionist Romulo Bernal (USA/Equador), bassist Renyel Rivero (USA/Cuba) and Reza Filsoofi (Iran) on setar and Middle Eastern percussion made for a music that was entirely historic and natural. Thankfully there was never any kind of forced fusion into something hip and modern. From Spain, through North Africa and the Levant, it all worked together in an integrated music that was an organic expression of the people, the centuries of people, who actually lived, worked, loved and traveled together for thousands of years. You don't create that sound out of nothing, and if you try, it's worthless. Or rather, it's the equivalent of eating a strange 99 cent industrial meat burger versus a complete culinary composition at an old café with friends.

I think a lot of the success of this anti-Nu, Nuevo Flamenco has to be credited to the composition of Jose Luis Rodriguez. The massive talents of Britos and Filsoofi seemed intentionally constrained to the compositions, which allowed the deliberate structure of the music to work. If the composition itself were not so well crafted, or if the individual musicians were allowed to run free, the whole thing would have been a mess. As it was, it produced a music that was exactly what its marquis declared, the historical Essence of great and varied peoples and the rhythmic Time of their cultures, together.

Which leads me to my one complaint which really isn't a complaint at all. On that stage were some amazing, masterful musicians. Rodriguez on guitar is absolutely world-class. When he plays the notes just fall out of his guitar. The most intricate runs and arpeggios seem to materialize out of sound itself, with no apparent effort 

What the press has said..

'...Behar delivered the songs, which in Spanish must have revolved around love, longing and exile, freedom and death, etcetera, without weeping all over the place. We got the poignancy without the puddles. Her voice was clear, comfortable and solid ; always in range without any sense of strain..' Stephen Malagodi 

‘..Ladino singer Susana Behar, flamenco guitarist Jose Luis Rodriguez, and dancer Niurca Marquez's worldly fusion, exploring the roots of Spanish and Jewish music culture, left the crowd awestruck…’ Jacob Katel, Miami New Times

‘..Together, Behar and Rodriguez created a captivating experience for their audience..’ Jon Santiago, Charleston City Paper

‘..Her sultry and poignant singing tends to have a hypnotic effect on an audience…’ Nick Smith, Charleston City Paper

‘..Susana’s music can be classified as folk art music… her sultry voice and style are a perfect foil for these spellbinding songs, some of which evoke a Portuguese Fado mood. Since I could not follow the words of the songs, the music came across as exotic and a bit mysterious…’ Manny Meland, MiamiARTzine.com..’

’Susana’s background puts her in the position of performing this music as ‘one of the folk’, with an incredible voice and artistic spirit. One can hear the origins of the flamenco sound, combining with Middle Eastern and North African influences. This is truly a diverse musical language, as diverse as the wanderings of the Sephardic Jews.. Susana Behar sets the standard for the performance of this material…’ Steve Rosenberg, Chair Music Department – College of Charleston.

…’Her dedication and professionalism comes through in every performance. In Susana’s emotional and melodic voice it reaches unprecedented artistic beauty…’ Mayte de la Torre, Centro Cultural Espanol - Miami, Fl

‘..At all times, her impeccably fine taste, acute sence of a song’s meaning and wonderful feel for the song’s style are immediately apparent. Her stage presence can only be described as heavenly…’ Dr. Alan Mason, Barry University