
I’m Director and co-founder of CRS (Center for Remembering & Sharing) where we study and teach A Course in Miracles and meditation under the guidance of CRS Founder Yasuko Kasaki. I’m also a multi-disciplinary artist and curator/producer of music, dance, theater, film and visual arts events and the organizer of the Sufi Dance NYC meetup group. You can explore my music/dance/theater performance photography and video here.
Percussionist Yuko Togami
9/10/23 at CRS
Photos by Christopher Pelham
Yuko Togami is a drummer and composer currently based in New York City, originally from Saitama, Japan. She was exposed to music from a very early age as she was always watching her mother teach piano and Eurhythmics. She started taking Eurhythmics classes and playing piano when she was about 5. Later on, she also started playing marimba and studied classical music until she graduated from high school. While she was in high school, she got attracted to drums and began taking drum lessons. A couple years later, she started performing as a drummer based in Tokyo. In 2013, she moved to New York City to pursue further musical studies at the City College of New York. She received a scholarship from The Kaye Scholars Program, and studied privately with Adam Cruz, Nasheet Waits, and Ben Street. She graduated with her BFA degree in jazz performance and The Pro Musica Award from City College, and has performed with many different musicians and projects including Steve Wilson, Mike Holober, Scott Reeves, Ben Paterson, Mark Wade, Jakob Dreyer, Takaaki Otomo, Nori Naraoka, Berta Moreno, Maksim Perepelica, Latvian Concert Choir, Musicsnake, Kijima Sound System. Her debut album “Dawn” was released in April 2018, and has won a Silver Medal at the 2018 Global Music Awards for Outstanding Achievement.
https://www.yukotogami.com/
#yukotogami #drummer #jazzdrummer #musicphotography #jazzphotography #percussionist #femaledrummer #femalepercussionist
Pianist Rema Hasumi
9/10/23 at CRS
Photos by Christopher Pelham
Rema Hasumi is an experimental pianist, vocalist, producer and writer who is based out of Brooklyn, NY. Hasumi was born in 1983 in Fukuoka, Japan, and moved to the United States in 2002 to pursue her passion for music, which was nurtured through more than ten years of classical piano study and the listening experiences of her audiophile parent’s record collection. Hasumi has performed at venues across NY, the United States and Asia. In 2009 she performed at the Kennedy Center as one of the four finalists of Mary Lou Williams Women In Jazz Pianist Competition. In 2014, upon invitation by acclaimed vocalist Jen Shyu, Hasumi presented her solo work “The Patterns of Duplicity” at a series of “Solo Rites” concerts by Ms. Shyu. The piece featured the poetry “Spring and Asura” (1925) by Kenji Miyazawa interpreted in multiple languages, exploring the possibilities of musical ideas unique and inherent to each language. Hasumi has also worked extensively as both pianist and vocalist in many other projects, including a series of collaborations with the saxophonist Darius Jones in which they performed the music of Alice Coltrane. She has also worked as the vocalist in the guitarist Todd Neufeld’s new two-drummer group. Hasumi’s new trio premiered in June 2015 in two nights of concerts in NYC. It featured compositions she wrote for piano and voice, performed alongside the great Randy Peterson and Masa Kamaguchi. Her first record “UTAZATA” was released in May 2015 from Ruweh Records, which she runs as a co-founder. It features the highly sympathetic cast of Todd Neufeld (guitar), Thomas Morgan (bass), Billy Mintz (drums), and fiery guest musicians Ben Gerstein (trombone) and Sergio Krakowski (pandeiro). The group interprets the themes of Japanese Gagaku and ritual music. This record was made as a result of mindful searching on femininity, mythology and rituals in Japanese performing arts. In 2016, Hasumi released a trio recording “Billows of Blue” featuring Randy Peterson and Masa Kamaguchi.
https://remahasumi.bandcamp.com
James Carter, saxophones
SOMETHING ELSE! Vincent Herring Septet
Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, 8/27/23
Photos by Christopher Pelham
“You have to be totally comfortable wherever. I feel that music equals life, that’s the way my teacher always taught me. You just can’t go through life and experience it fully with a set of blinders on. I think there’s tremendous beauty in cross-pollinations of music and influences.” — James Carter
http://jamescarterlive.com
#somethingelse #vincentherringseptet #charlieparkerjazzfestival #saxophone #musicphotography #jazzphotography #tompkinssquarepark
Easiet Okon Essiet, bass
SOMETHING ELSE!
Vincent Herring Septet
Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, 8/27/23
Photo by Christopher Pelham
Essien has performed and recorded with such notables as Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Benny Golson, Johnny Griffin, James Moody, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Cedar Walton, Sam Rivers, George Adams, Pat Martino, Kenny Burrell, Jackie McLean, Frank Morgan, Kenny Barron, Louis Hayes, Ben Riley, Jimmy Cobb, Billy Higgins, Billy Hart, Art Farmer, Abby Lincoln, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Billy Cobham, Bennie Maupin, Al Foster, Eddie Henderson, Steve Turre, Jon Faddis, Bobby Watson, Victor Lewis, Kenny Garrett, Kenny Kirkland, Mulgrew Miller, Jeff "Tain " Watts, Mike Stern, Kevin Mahogany, Kurt Elling, Fort Apache Band, Danilo Perez, Claudia Acuna, Geri Allen, and Ralph Peterson to highlight only a partial list.
Currently, Essiet leads his own group called "IBO" named after a Nigerian tribe. It is a Nigerian jazz project which mixes jazz harmonies with West African rhythms.
http://essietokonessiet.net
#essietessiet #somethingelse #vincentherringseptet #charlieparkerjazzfestival #bass #musicphotography #jazzphotography #tompkinssquarepark
Iva Bittová
Long Play Festival, 5/6/23
Photos by Christopher Pelham
“For many years, I have worked in a range of musical genres, including jazz, rock, classical and opera. Deciding on a name for my style of music is far from over yet. Whatever it is, many of my listeners have long considered it highly original. It has always been everyday life that inspired my music and interpretations. Its inspiration has been total silence and an absolutely positive atmosphere. Those are the most important conditions and surroundings in which when my ideas spring into life. I believe they have a significant impact on my music.” — Iva
https://www.bittova.com
#violin #ivabittova #longplayfestival #musicphotography #bric
Nora Brown
norabrownmusic.com
At Mokkiriya in Kanazawa, Japan
April 12, 2023
Photos by Christopher Pelham
Nora will play a free show at Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse with Stephanie Coleman this Satuday, June 10 @ 5:30pm!
https://www.gowanuscanal.org/creekers-jamboree-nora-brown-and-stephanie-coleman
#mokkiriya #norabrownbanjo #jalopyrecords #kanazawa #oldtimemusic #musicohotography #acousticguitar
Nora Brown
norabrownmusic.com
At Mokkiriya in Kanazawa, Japan
April 12, 2023
Photos by Christopher Pelham
Nora will play a free show at Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse with Stephanie Coleman this Satuday, June 10 @ 5:30pm!
https://www.gowanuscanal.org/creekers-jamboree-nora-brown-and-stephanie-coleman
#mokkiriya #norabrownbanjo #jalopyrecords #kanazawa #oldtimemusic #musicohotography #acousticguitar
The Brooklyn Nomads
Joe’s Pub, 5/20/23
Photos by Christopher Pelham
The Brooklyn Nomads is a cross-cultural ensemble rooted in musical traditions from the Arab World, with a mission to create memorable experiences for its audiences.
https://www.thebrooklynnomads.com
#brooklynnomads #joespub #joespubnyc #publictheater #musicphotography #oud #lebanesemusic #lebanesemusicians
YouTube
CRS Presents Crossing Boundaries Vol. 18: Freedom -- July 16, 2022
CRS Presents Li-Chin Li & Jeonghyeon Joo — Duet Improvisation — June 25, 2023
CRS Presents Crossing Boundaries Concert Series #19: Careful in the Sun