OccasionalMusic.org provides details on upcoming concerts in Corrales, Bernalillo, and other nearby communities. We don't book the shows or sell the tickets; we just do our best to make sure our audience has an opportunity to be IN the audience when these world class performers pass our way.
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Jazz icon Bill Frisell’s four-decade career as a guitarist and composer has been cited by Downbeat as “the best recorded output of the decade.” “Frisell has had a lot of practice putting high concept into a humble package,” writes the New York Times. “Long hailed as one of the most distinctive and original improvising guitarists of our time, he has also earned a reputation for teasing out thematic connections with his music… There’s a reason that Jazz at Lincoln Center had him program a series called Roots of Americana.” Critics and peers have lauded Frisell as one of the music’s most treasured participants, praising his playing as well as the anatomy of his compositions — how he structures a form around often a simple melody or progression, creating a gesture at once complex and elemental.
Recognized as one of America’s 21 most vital and productive performing artists, Frisell was named an inaugural Doris Duke Artist in 2012. He is also a recipient of grants from United States Artists, Meet the Composer among others. In 2016, he was a beneficiary of the first FreshGrass Composition commission to preserve and support innovative grassroots music. Upon San Francisco Jazz opening their doors in 2013, he served as one of their Resident Artistic Directors. Bill is also the subject of a new documentary film by director Emma Franz, entitled Bill Frisell: A Portrait, which examines his creative process in depth.
His most recent recording with acclaimed bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston—the same trio that will play Santa Fe—is Valentine (Blue Note), which has been hailed as “a masterpiece” by Downbeat: “They consistently and strikingly play as one, voices intertwined, completing phrases as if sharing a single thought… Even overdubs are so perfect that everything feels utterly organic… the performances represent jazz playing at its most sublime.”
General Admission - First Four Rows - $20
Tickets beyond the firs four rows are FREE but must be acquired on tickets link.
Free tickets to this event are made possible with support
from the New Mexico Humanities Council.
Scott and Johanna Hongell-Darsee perform traditional Scandinavian/Celtic ballads and tales. From Finland and Iowa respectively, they've traveled through Europe, Scandinavia, India, and the U.S., collecting songs and stories that explore links between various singing traditions.
Their performances have been acclaimed as magical and mesmerizing. As described by Mel Minter: "the Hongell-Darsees summon ancient characters from the depths of our collective unconscious and bid you take leave of the modern world and join your ancestors."
Their recordings have earned three New Mexico Music Award nominations and spent 40 months on The Top 40 World Music Charts by Ethnocloud. Johanna, born in Finland, brings expertise in vocals, woodwinds, and theater, having studied in France and India. Scott, from the USA, specializes in stringed instruments and spent 16 years in Europe consulting with major ballet companies before settling in New Mexico.
A quirky singer-songwriter who will make you laugh, cry, and cry from laughing throughout her show.
Shanna in a Dress is your quirky best friend who refuses to wear pants. She says what everyone has felt but no one else will say and you'll get an uncensored journey of clever humor and heartbreak, extreme candor, and a hefty side of entertainment at her shows. This witty wordsmith is known for taking you on an emotional roller coaster, sometimes within the same song. Think John Prine mixed with Ingrid Michaelson with a twist of Phoebe Buffay from Friends all wrapped up in a sweet voice accented by guitar, piano, and ukulele. She's as real as it gets, as anyone who follows her on FB or Instagram knows.
In duet with his wife Jan Fabricius on mandolin and vocals, you can expect rootsy acoustic instrumentation and sweet harmony singing, interspersed with O’Brien’s self deprecating humor. Born in West Virginia in 1954, Grammy winning singer-songwriter and multi instrumentalist O’Brien grew up singing in church and school. Gaining attention in the 1980s with Colorado’s Hot Rize, O’Brien scored a country hit with Kathy Mattea’s cover of his song “Walk The Way The Wind Blows” in 1986. Soon artists like Nickel Creek and Garth Brooks also covered his songs. Collaborators include his sister Mollie O’Brien, old time musician Dirk Powell and songwriter Darrell Scott, as well as Steve Earle, Bill Frisell, Mark Knopfler and Sturgill Simpson. O’Brien formed his own record label, Howdy Skies Records, in 1999, and launched the digital download label Short Order Sessions (SOS) with then-partner Jan Fabricius in 2015.
O’Brien says his most recent recording, He Walked On, is about “what you need to do to survive in America.” Covering work, racial issues, and modern technology, its eight originals and five covers offer an expansive portrayal of the nation from its beginnings to the present day. Personnel includes long-time bandmates Mike Bub (bass), Shad Cobb (fiddle) and Jan Fabricius (mandolin and vocal), along with drummer Pete Abbott, bassist Edgar Meyer, guitarist Bo Ramsey, and gospel singer Odessa Settles. Other notable O’Brien recordings like the bluegrass Dylan covers of Red On Blonde and the Celtic-Appalachian fusion of The Crossing led to Grammy winning CD’s Fiddler’s Green (2005) and The Earls of Leicester (2014). 2017’s Where the River Meets the Road paid tribute to the music of his native West Virginia.