SAT. 6/14
9:00 PM
LENI STERN & THE AFRICAN PROJECT
also special guest
TWO GUITARS
Born
in Munich, Germany, Leni started playing piano at the age of
six and guitar at eleven. At seventeen, she formed her own acting
company, and her radical productions sold out houses across Europe.
In 1977, she turned her attention to music and left for the United
States to study film scoring at the Berklee College of Music
in Boston. Scoring gave way to her love for guitar and in 1981,
Leni moved to New York to play in a variety of rock and jazz
bands. In 1983, she formed a group of her own with Paul Motion
on drums and Bill Frisell on guitar. As a recording artist, she
originally made a name for herself in jazz circles (her first
nine albums were instrumental,) then crossed her talents over
into the singer-songwriter realm, garnering consistent praise
in the process. Critics have said her music incorporates “intelligent
lyrics and beautifully drawn vignettes” (Washington Post),
“crystalline, jazz-meets-blues guitar lines” (Guitar
Player), and “thoughtful structure, evocative moods, attention
to groove” (San Francisco Bay Guardian). A “Fleet and
Lyrical guitarist”, (The New Yorker). “A Gifted Singer-Songwriter
with a Wide-Ranging Sensibility and Sophisticated Guitar and
Harmonic Chops” (The Boston Globe). Leni runs her own label,
LSR/RED.
Leni Stern's new CD 'Africa'
continues to earn praise for its authenticity and for Stern's
decision to record the album in Africa, with African musicians,
at the pace of African life. Two years in the making, the CD
integrates African and Western music forms with such distinction
that it may come to be regarded as an 'Audio Documentary' of
African musical life. Stern notes: "I want people to hear
what Africa sounds like. Africa deserves our respect, not just
our mercy."
Without the support of a
major label, Leni Stern (a self-professed 'gypsy') has worked
for years to keep her releases frequent, of the highest quality,
and well noticed. With 'Africa', she has seen major media outlets
weigh in with laudatory and in-depth coverage -- from The Los
Angeles Times to AllMusic, from CNN Radio to Guitar Player, from
Downbeat to All About Jazz -- Stern is being recognized for both
the content of her new CD as well as for the achievement of getting
it done. ‘Africa’ has been described by AllMusic as
"One of the finest offering of 2007 in any genre."
And, in The Los Angeles Times, Greg Burk praised the CD as "A
work of variety and complexity."
More about Leni Stern
Two Guitars is...Brian Conigliaro
and Gus Wieland. Two guitars comes collectively with great versatile
playing backgrounds, including stints with: The Turtles, The
Tokens, Al Wilson, Lou Rawls, Chubby Checker, Leslie Gore, Bobby
Day, Ray Charles, Eubie Blake, Snoop Dogg (believe it or not!)
as well as jazz artist Jerry Mulligan, Jackie Paris, Sue Raney,
Dizzie Gillespie, etc.Brian & Gus have been in the music
business on both coasts and have also done many commercials.
This eclecticism brings a wise and experienced mastery to Two
Guitars. Acoustic exotic arrangements of well known songs as
well as originals & obscure nuggets, garner their sets and
guitar interplay with uncanny perception for one another. Together
they create a really unique duet.
More about Two Guitars