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Bulgarian American Center Madara and Johnny D's present

A joyous evening of world fusion, jazz with unique interpretations of Bulgarian folklore to celebrate
The Bulgarian National Revival Day!


FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2011
doors open at 6:30 pm,
concert starts 7:30pm

in the program

The Bulgarian Orpheus, world-renowned kaval virtuoso
THEODOSII SPASSOV

NEWSWEEK: "He actually created a new musical genre."
BERLINER MORGENPOST: "What he manages to produce on his wooden flute is sensational."
(www.theodosiispassov.com)


VLADA TOMOVA
(voice)
BOSTON GLOBE: “Phenomenal acrobatic vocalizations of every last voice, song, snort, and alarm bell.”
& BALKAN TALES
CHRIS RAEL (sitar, Portuguese guitar, 12-string guitar)
KYLE SANNA (acoustic guitar) 
MIKE SAVINO (bass)
MATHIAS KUNZLI (percussion)
(www.bgfocus.com/events/2011/theodosii/balkan-tales)

with special guests from Boston
PLAMEN KARADONEV (accordion, piano)
known for his mastery of crossing elegantly American Modern Jazz and Bulgarian folklore by playing well harmonized both accordion and piano. (www.plamenkaradonev.com)
ELENA KOLEVA (vocal)
Jazz vocalist with deep sensitivity, velvety voice and musicianship that makes her a truly treasured international artist. (www.myspace.com/elenakoleva)

Place: Johnny D’s Uptown Restaurant and Music Club
"The premiere roots-music club in Boston, and one of the best in the country." –The Boston Globe
17 Holland St, Davis Square, Somerville, MA
http://www.johnnyds.com

TICKETS: $20 - Buy tickets online here >>
or at the door, CASH cover charge ONLY!  

For under 21: you need to come with a parent or a legal guardian and make a table reservation at Jonny D's 617-776-2004

Public Transportation and diving directions to Johnny D's
see on http://www.johnnyds.com/directions/

PARKING is available in the metered municipal (city) lot which is immediately on your left and in other lots nearby. Free after 8:00 PM. See the parking lots around Johnny D's: http://www.parksomerville.com/pdfs/davisparking_map.pdf


For more information: center.madara@gmail.com
or call BAC Madara 617-800-9720, Jonny D's 617-776-2004

PRESS KIT >>

THE CONCERT IS PART OF

THEODOSII SPASSOV'S
2011 NORTH AMERICA TOUR
To celebrate The Bulgarian National Revival Day and
Mr. Spassov’s 50th anniversary

SEE MORE INFO ABOUT THE TOUR HERE: www.BGfocus.com/tour2011

OFFICIALY SUPPORTED by the:
THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF BULGARIA NEW YORK, NY

With the media support of
     

our friends


THEODOSII SPASSOV
,  kaval, voice
www.theodosiispassov.com


NEWSWEEK: "He actually created a new musical genre."

CHICAGO TRIBUNE: "....like a jam session between Ian Anderson and Thelonius Monk."

BERLINER MORGENPOST: "What he manages to produce on his wooden flute is sensational."

HOWARD ROVICS: "His work on the Kaval was nothing short of pure genius."

CHRIS NICKSON: "....Spassov sounds like the late flutist and saxophonist Rahsaan Roland Kirk Except Spassov plays a simple, rural shepherd's flute."

Theodosii Spassov began his early training on the kaval at the Kotel Music School and The Academy of Music and Dance in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The kaval, an eight-hole wooden “shepherd” flute, is one of the oldest instruments in Europe, rich in tone and technical possibilities.  Theodosii Spassov has developed his own unique style of playing the instrument by synthesizing traditional folklore with jazz, fusion and classical music.

For over 20 years, Theodosii has toured all over Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Canada, and the United States.  In 1994, he performed with Sofia Women’s Radio Choir, which was awarded with a Grammy award for “Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares”.  In April 1995, “Newsweek” magazine recognized Theodosii Spassov as one of the most talented Eastern-European musicians in its “best of the East” article, noting that “Spassov… is not merely surviving the post-communist cultural wasteland. He has actually invented a new musical genre.”

Theodosii Spassov has contributed to 20 CDs, four of his own, which have been noted worldwide.  He has composed and performed numerous film scores including the French-Bulgarian feature film Granitza (The Border), 1993.  He has also recorded themes for films by Italian composers Carlos Siliotto and Ennio Morricone, An Italian Story and The Breakout of the Innocent. At the fourth European Jazz Night, Theodosii Spassov was a featured performer along with other jazz musicians, including Winton Marsalis.

At home, in Bulgaria, Theodosii Spassov is a national figure and musical hero.  He was most recently awarded The Golden Age Medal, the highest recognition of Bulgaria's Ministry of Culture, and has been honored twice with the Music Artist of the Year award (1997, 2002). Spassov is the Artistic Director of the world-renown Philip Koutev Ensemble Of Music, Drama and Dance.  He is a soloist of Bulgarian National Radio.

Theodosii Spassov was a member of the Irish music and dance company Riverdance, 1998-2001.  He is the recipient of The International Academy of Arts in Paris Award (1996), among other international awards. 
Read MORE here >>


BALKAN TALES
www.sonicbids.com/VladaTomovaBalkanTales

Vlada Tomova – voice, ensemble leader

Bulgarian/Russian-born vocalist and composer Vlada Tomova blends Balkan and world sensibilities to create her own personal sound. Based in New York City, Vlada leads the world music ensemble Balkan Tales. She founded and led Yasna Voices, New York’s first Bulgarian Women’s Choir; and is a member of female vocal quartet Lila. Her work with the group Balkan Beat Box continues to receive international acclaim. Her voice is featured on National Geographic's touring exhibit King Tut, and was heard in the sound installationEchoes from the Mountains at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy. Vlada is a guest vocalist in demand in the world music and theatre communities, and recently collaborated on a Lorca puppet plays adaptation, Don Cristobal, and Fire Throws, a contemporary reading of Antigone.

Vlada’s recent appearances include Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival (New York), Carnegie’s Zankel Hall and Weill Recital Hall (New York), the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Chicago World Music Festival, Toronto's Small World Festival, New York Summer Stage, the European Union-sponsored European Dream Festival (New York), and the Second Annual New York Gypsy Festival, among others.

A Berklee College of Music Graduate, Vlada teaches Bulgarian traditional singing and World Music Appreciation. She has presented workshops at Columbia University, Yale University, and Berklee College of Music, among others, and most recently collaborated on Carnegie Hall’s Musical Explorers educational concert series.

Chris Rael – Indian sitar, Portuguese guitar, voice

Chris Rael's acrobatic vocal style was influenced by years of classical music study in Varanasi, India. The sitarist/guitarist is leader of New York Indo-pop band Church of Betty, founder of indie label Fang Records, and producer of dozens of CDs and hundreds of live events in downtown New York. Composer of 300 songs and 25 CDs since 1989, he is currently developing the chamber musical Araby (inspired by James Joyce's Dubliners), composing feature songs and soundtracks for film (Outstanding Score Award at Outfest Film Festival, Los Angeles 2005), and developing The Lazarus Rose, a Sephardic music project with Bulgarian chanteuse Vlada Tomova.

Church of Betty was part of the first wave of progressive acts through the original Knitting Factory, and later became a regular favorite at Greenwich Village's legendary Bottom Line. Rael has performed at Town Hall, Lincoln Center & Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, Sydney Opera House, the Secession Building in Vienna, the National Mall in Washington DC, the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Berlin, London, Dublin, Glasgow, Mexico City, Varanasi, Eastern Canada and across America, with numerous appearances on National Public Radio. He has collaborated with many dozens of artists, including Penny Arcade, Oasis, Annabella Lwin (Bow Wow Wow), David Byrne, Stew (Passing Strange), Najma, Johnny Society, Elliott Sharp, Curt Smith (Tears for Fears), Jayne County, Samir Chatterjee, Amar Nath Mishra, Steve Gorn, John Kelly, Rebecca Moore, Frank London (Klezmatics), Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), White Magic, West Indian Girl, Ida, Gordy Goudie (Echo and the Bunnymen), Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Charles Henri Ford, Marty Matz, Ira Cohen, and Life in a Blender.

Kyle Sanna – acoustic guitar

Guitarist and composer, Kyle Sanna, has performed and recorded with many of today’s giants of acoustic music, including Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, Darol Anger, and Mike Marshall. Kyle’s arrangements can be heard on Yo-Yo Ma’s latest album Songs of Joy and Peace (Sony Classical), guitarist Kaki King’s Dreaming of Revenge (Velour), and an arrangement of Jimi Hendrix’s Machine Gun for cello and orchestra on Jan Vogler and The Knights Experience: Live from New York (Sony Classical). Kyle has performed original and improvised music in Canada, Luxembourg, France, Germany, and throughout the U.S. at such venues as Carnegie Hall, concert halls at The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Eastman School of Music, Cal Arts, UCLA, and others.

Mathias Kunzli – percussion

Swiss drummer/percussionist Mathias Kunzli started out playing in local rock and folk groups and then joined the Swiss Youth Jazz Orchestra, with which he performed for several years. After relocating to Boston and earning a degree from Berklee College of Music, Mathias moved to New York City. Mathias has performed or recorded with a diverse palette of artists, such as Moby, Lauryn Hill, Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Vieux Farka Toure, Randy Brecker, Bob Berg, Marc Ribot, John Zorn’s Electric Masada, Jamey Haddad, Yanka Roupkina, Theodosii Spassov, Bakithi Kumalo, Savina Yannatou, The Paul Winter Consort, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Frank London, and Gary Burton.

Mike Savino – bass

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Mike Savino hails from Long Island, NY, and moved to New York City in 1999. While pursuing a B.F.A. at New School University's prestigious Jazz & Contemporary Music Program, Mike studied double bass with jazz luminaries Reggie Workman, Michael Moore, Francois Moutin, and Billy Hart. It was during this time that he discovered a passion for folkloric music and rhythms from around the world, which in turn led him back to explore the folk traditions of his own country. Upon returning from a tour in Brazil, Savino took up the 5-string banjo and began writing songs for alt-folk quartet Tall Tall Trees. In 2009, he wrote, recorded, and produced the band's self-titled debut album, which is making waves for its unique blend of bluegrass, indie rock and world beat. Savino has collaborated with a diverse array of artists, including Nation Beat, Kate Havnevik, Leroy Powell, Gina Gershon, Michel Gondry, Ljova, Mary Wilson (The Supremes), Mikail Barishnikov, and The Klezmatics.



Special guests:
 
Elena Koleva – Jazz vocalist with deep sensitivity, velvety voice and musicianship that makes her a truly treasured  international artists.




Plamen Karadonev- known for his mastery of crossing elegantly  American Modern Jazz and Bulgarian folklore by playing well harmonized both accordion and piano.
(http://www.plamenkaradonev.com)
 

THEODOSII SPASSOV FOLK PROJECT BAND &TATIANA SARBINSKA
2009 NORTH AMERICA TOUR WAS AMAZING:



"Theodosi is such a virtuoso on the kaval and the songs played almost like Bulgarian "jazz".  The songs were beautiful and the kopanicas were played with such lightening speed by the group- it was just astonishing!" - Joan, LA
See tour photos, videos and more here:
http://www.bgfocus.com/NEWS/2009/theodosii-tatiana-tour-info.html

VIDEOS - THEODOSII SPASSOV - concerts around the world

THEODOSII SPASSOV AND BALKANIKA, Concert in Belgrade




THEODOSII SPASSOV AMAZING SOLO !!! LIVE WITH TAVITJAN BROTHERS



Theodosii Spassov-Kaval improvisation - MADARA-BULGARIA



Theodosii Spassov Viara Band concert at Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, Russia



 Our friends  



Todor Ialamov

Vasil Nenkov


David Flashenberg



emona