Wednesday | November 16, 2022 | 12:30pm
Quarantined Quartet
The Quarantined Quartet is a family affair. Guitarists Elysa and Jason Hochman, and sons Joseph (12 years old) and Noah (10 years old), play Spanish, Classical, Flamenco, and Acoustic styles. They have been posting daily on Instagram since March 21, 2020, tracking their progress during the pandemic. Since then, the Quarantined Quartet has gained almost 500,000 followers worldwide on Instagram and Facebook. Their inspirational story and talents have been featured on Good Morning America, the Kelly Clarkson Show, and many more media outlets.
Elysa and Jason are also the founders of the New York Guitar Academy and have so far released two books which feature original songs and etudes for classical and flamenco guitar students.
Originally from Brooklyn, Jason is an Argentine-American and Elysa has a Mediterranean background. They have learned from renowned guitarists all over the world and hold a Graduate Degree in Music and Music Education from Columbia University Teachers College.
Featuring
Elysa Hochman – guitar
Jason Hochman – guitar
Joseph Hochman – guitar
Noah Hochman – guitar
Wednesday | December 14, 2022 | 12:30pm
Holiday Jazz
Oscar Feldman is an Argentinean saxophonist and composer based in New York City. He is a graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Feldman has recorded and toured internationally with reknowned artists including Al Di Meola, Eumir Deodato, Bebo Valdes, Dave Samuels, and Paquito D'Rivera. He has performed at notable venues including the Vienna Opera House, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Town Hall in New York City, Park La Villette in Paris, the Blue Note in NYC as well as many International Jazz Festivals in Europe, the Americas, and Africa. Oscar most recently performed in Greece with his own band featuring Horacio Negro Hernandez.
His debut album, El Angel, received rave reviews and features guest appearances by Gato Barbieri, Claudio Roditti, Alex Acuña and Paquito D'Rivera. For his next album, Oscar e Familia, he collaborated with a Who’s Who of players including Pablo Aslan & Cuartetango, and Argentinean pop star Luis Alberto Spinetta. His latest CD is entitled GOL. Oscar also played on the recording of Paquito D’Rivera’s Tropicana Nights which won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album.
Dario Eskenazi has a diverse musical background in jazz, world, and orchestral music. He is well known as a pianist, arranger, and producer, and is a noted film composer.
He has recorded several award-winning albums with Paquito D’Rivera, including Live At The Blue Note, winner of the 2001 Latin Grammy Award for Best Jazz Album. Dario was a former member of the Caribbean Jazz Project with whom he recorded five albums including The Gathering, Grammy Award Winner for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2003.
He has also played, toured, and recorded with such great artist as Andy Narell, Ruben Blades, Gato Barbieri, Mongo Santamaria, Dave Valentin, Tito Puente, Rosa Passos, Leny Andrade, Dianne Schurr, Dori Caymmi, Joyce Moreno, and Herbie Mann, among others.
Dario received early classical musical training in his native Argentina. He moved to the United States in 1985 to attend Berklee College of Music where he graduated with a major in Film Scoring. Dario has helped to encourage and inspire a new generation of composers as an Assistant Professor in the Film Scoring Department at Berklee where he taught for over 10 years.
Bassist , composer, educator, and producer, Pablo Aslan is recognized internationally as one of the leading figures in traditional and contemporary Tango. His extensive discography includes Piazzolla in Brooklyn, a jazz-tango tribute to Astor Piazzolla, and Tango Grill. The latter earned him nominations for a Latin Grammy Award (“Best Tango Album”) and a Grammy Award (“Best Latin Jazz Album”).
His most recent album of works for bass and string quartet, ConTraBajo, presents him as a soloist and covers an eclectic repertoire ranging from Villa-Lobos and Ellington to original flamenco and tango-inspired compositions. With guest artists Paquito D’Rivera and bandoneonist Raul Jaurena.
He performs and tours with a variety of ensembles, and has worked and recorded with many world-class artists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Shakira, Lalo Schifrin, Denyce Graves, Osvaldo Golijov, Pablo Ziegler, the New World Symphony, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Aslan has also performed with clarinetist David Krakauer’s band Klezmer Madness! in the U.S. and Europe, and collaborated with other leading klezmer musicians such as composer-trumpeter Frank London and violinist Alicia Svigals.
Percussionist Diego Lopez originally from Milan, Italy, has been a professional musician since the age of 16. He has recorded and performed live with many blues greats including Pinetop Perkins, Sugar Blue, Otis Rush, and Melvin Taylor. Diego moved to the NYC area in 2000, and he was a steady member of the Gato Barbieri Band from 2002 until 2008. He has worked with Ray Vega, Hilton Ruiz, Dave Samuels, Diane Schurr, Steve Turre, and many others. He’s been the drummer for the Latin Jazz All-Stars since 2009. In 2018, he received a Congressional Award with M’Boom Percussion Projected created by the late great Max Roach, performing along with original members Joe Chambers, Warren Smith, and Ray Mantilla.
Featuring
Oscar Feldman – alto & soprano saxophones
Dario Eskenazi – keyboard
Pablo Aslan – bass
Diego Lopez – percussion
Wednesday | March 15, 2023 | 12:30pm
Poor Man's Gambit
Poor Man's Gambit was formed in 2015 and hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The trio has released three albums, completed two international tours, and is gaining popularity as an up-and-coming Irish-American band.
Featuring a variety of instruments such as button accordion, guitar, bodhran, Irish flute, and cittern, vocals, and dance, the trio brings together diverse musical backgrounds which complement the other's musical styles both on stage and in the studio. With two multi-instrumentalists in the line-up, PMG has been noted for their ability to change instrumentation many times over the space of a performance, and offer several levels of musical depth to listening ears. Vocals are an important part of the show and there is even some flashy footwork on the occasional reel which adds an extra punch of energy to their performances.
The trio's latest album, Land of Sunshine, showcases a carefully selected offering of spirited tunes balanced with an equal number of expressively performed songs. Most of the repertoire is rooted in Irish traditions, but some pulls from other provincial influences including England, Brittany, and Scotland, in addition to several original compositions also included in the collection.
Featuring
Corey Purcell – button accordion, bodhran, cittern, and vocals
Deirdre Lockman – violin and vocals
Zac Leger – guitar and Irish whistles
Wednesday | June 7, 2023 | 12:30pm
Arkai
ARKAI is an award-winning electroacoustic duo that has inspired audiences around the world through their genre-defying string music. Graduates of The Juilliard School, their past engagements have included performances at The MET, Joe’s Pub, City Winery, US Air Force Academy, Rockwood Music Hall, 54 Below, Lincoln Center, Musikfest, Chateau Marmont, and Carnegie Hall and TED. They recently opened for Oscar and Grammy-winning musician Jon Batiste at YPO EDGE hosted in NYC's Javits Center.
As creative collaborators, ARKAI was commissioned by the Museum of Chinese in America to compose a work for their exhibition Responses: Asian Americans Resisting the Tides of Racism. Other commissions have included a piece for Silver Lining Ltd’s Impact 5X initiative — a global economic justice project supporting hundreds of small business owners from underserved communities around the world.Alongside performing, ARKAI creates artistic programs that connect and uplift communities. Their initiative SupportNYC has helped raise over $80,000 in monetary support for small businesses and organizations. Through their fundraising performances, they spread hope and healing to communities across the country through the power of the arts.
ARKAI was selected by the U.S. Department of State and the Association of American Voices to participate in the ‘21-22 American Music Abroad season. Through this program, ARKAI has engaged in exchange programs with underserved audiences around the world with little or no access to American music, demonstrating the power of cultural diplomacy as a tool to bring people together.
ARKAI is a winner of the 2021 Astral Artists National Competition.
Featuring
Jonathan Miron – violin
Philip Sheegog – cello
Presented by the Hudson Riverfront Performing Arts Center, Inc., with generous support from the Township of Weehawken, the County of Hudson, and:
