Thursday Evening Jazz Jam Session. 9:30PM.

Bookspace continues it's weekly jazz sessions every Thursday night with Dan Loeb heading up the Bookspace Houseband.  This week, we welcome

Tim Wendel-Guitar
Mark Przybylowski-Bass
Matt Scarano-Drums

The sessions are open to all musicians who would like to participate. Bring your instrument and sit in! We have a baby grand piano and a Fender Rhodes in house for every session.

There is a suggested $5 donation for the hard working rhythm section that will be providing the foundation of the weekly session--pay what you can.

Please share this with your friends by clicking on the social networking buttons below!

Tonight, June 18th: Brian Medlin/The Water/The ground is Lava/Speed Skating/Slant of Light

All Ages! // June 18th  8pm // $7 // BYOB!
Address: 1113 Frankford ave.

Brian Medlin/The Water/The ground is Lava/Speed Skating/Slant of Light

...Brian Medlin (of The Minor Times and Person L)
http://www.last.fm/music/Brian+Medlin
Brian Medlin plays drums for Person L, a band fronted by Kenny Vasoli (formerly of The Starting Line). Brian also plays drums for The Minor Times and is a founding member of Ghost Away, where he sings, plays keys, guitar, and drums. He also writes and records solo acoustic music. A few of his influences are Radiohead, Thom Yorke, and Bob Dylan.

The Ground is Lava
http://thegroundislava.bandcamp.com/
The Ground Is Lava has been an idea since January 2008, but we started actually working on it in the fall of 2009. We're trying out new ideas in our music and exploring new influences. We're doing things a little differently and it's working out, so far.

The Water
http://thewater.bandcamp.com/
The post-rock duo's lush and thunderous live show does more with two musicians onstage than most bands two or three times their size, with the help of a suitcase full of effects pedals and a dazzling DIY light show. With Dan Cohan switching between drums and guitar and James Klink juggling guitar and keyboards, the duo pile on layers of loops and beautiful overlapping tangles of melody and polyrhythms. Building each song up and tearing it back down with linear song structures and ingenious arrangements, The Water transcend predictable soft-loud-soft dynamics but almost always reach a euphoric crescendo, often accompanied by a flash of color from the strange obelisk of light that stands center stage.

Speed Skating
http://www.speedskatingmusic.com/
Speed Skating is a noise-pop 4-piece from Philadelphia. Often loop-driven, sometimes layered, and sometimes spacious, the group always keeps ambient sonic textures and a pop sensibility at the forefront.

Slant of Light
website
Slant of Light started anew in early 2010 as a three-piece consisting of an acoustic and electric guitar, drums and plenty of vocal cords. While the three members hold very different musical tastes individually, together they blend rock, Americana, bluegrass and folk into original songs influenced by the likes of Tom Waits, Devil Makes Three and Wolf Parade. The group released their first full-length LP “Treading Water” in November 2010, where they dedicated their focus to harmony, thoughtful arrangements and emotion that many fans can relate to. Since the release, Slant of Light has continuously played shows around the Boston area, including The Burren, The Lily Pad, Precinct, and Church. The group is currently working on their third album, which is sure to add energy and depth to upcoming live shows.

An Evening of Nigerian Afrobeat. June 17th. 9PM.

Femi Kuti band alum Rotimi Hundeyin and his Afrophonic Rhythms Crew will be performing this Friday at Bookspace.  Horns, percussion, and vocals will be filling the space with rhythms to get your body and soul moving.  Opening performance by Yemi.  $10.  BYOB.  21+.

Check out some of their music at http://www.myspace.com/afrophonikrhythmscrew

RSVP here!  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=164275270302212

We've been looking forward to this show for some time now and it's going to be a really good one.

ROTIMI'S BIO:

For the past eight years, Rotimi Hundeyin has been touring the globe as musical director with one of his mentors, Afrobeat legend Femi Kuti. His original and eclectic music style is known as Afrophonik Rhythms engages an audience with talent and charm. His band, called Rotimi Hundeyin and De Afrophonik Rhythms Crew hold a powerful stage presence and includes a full horn section, drums, percussion, female vocalists, keyboards and several guitars this band has a unique and powerful stage presence. Such collaboration with a full spectrum of diverse ethnicities and races of Americans has never been seen before in African music, a testament to Rotimi’s forward-thinking methods.

For Rotimi growing up in 1980’s, Nigerian music became a passion. At a young age he excelled at performance, quickly picking up drums, trumpet, saxophone and piano. As a teenager it became clear that music was to be a way of life for Rotimi, and by his mid-twenties he earned the title of Music Director for The Lagos State (similar to New York) Council for Arts and Culture. It was at this time that he began touring with Femi Kuti (son of legendary Fela Kuti) and The Positive Force. Sharing the stage with some of the world’s top musicians including: Hugh Masekela, Roy Hargrove, Erykah Badu, Damian Marley, Lucky Dube, The Gorillaz, Green Fields, Kilimanjaro, Orlando Julius, and The Lagos Folk Quintet. His work has been produced by such luminaries as Danger Mouse.

A man of paradox, Rotimi questions violence with beauty. His focus is sharp, providing a musical resolution to the political injustice he knew growing up. With songs like Osusu he questions the relationships mankind has with one another and suggests a higher way of life. Heavily influenced by African folk music and jazz legends like Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, Hugh Masekela, Dizzy Gillespie, Fela Kuti, and Miles Davis, Rotimi’s music breaks the world music mold. He balances genius with simplicity, an amalgamation of soul, afro-beat, rock, hip-hop, and jazz. He is currently working on his first solo album with his Afrophonik Rhythms Crew.


Yemi's Bio

The product of a transcontinental youth, yemi’s sound is boundless. From King Sunny Ade to K’naan, her inspirations span several decades. She brings to her music a traditional sound and a contemporary feel and all of this is what makes her music so unique. Her songs are conceived, developed, and delivered to express not only emotions, but the human condition. Sometimes playful, sometimes spiritual, and always authentic, yemi’s music speaks the universal languages of beauty, pain, and love.

Opeyemi Akanbi, a native of Nigeria, is a young educator and musician. Yemi has a strong musical background, having studied music theory, vocal performance, and piano from a very young age. After graduating from the prestigious Wilberforce University in Xenia, Ohio, she decided to move to Philadelphia and continue her graduate studies. Subsequently, she became very active in Philadelphia's vibrant music scene, meeting and performing with dynamic vocalists, lyricists, and musicians alike in addition to working as a music teacher. Yemi has an unwavering passion for music. Growing up rooted in Nigerian culture and tradition even after her family's relocation to America at 8 years old, Yemi has special interest in the preservation of African and African-American musical traditions. Presently, Yemi teaches professional voice and piano lessons and also performs her eclectic mix of soul-afrobeat-folk-world music within several bands in and around Philadelphia. She is working towards the release of her solo album. 

Jazz Jam Sessions at Bookspace.

*The jam sessions are on hold for the moment.  We have to sort some things out with the city before we can continue to host live music.  Please check back or be sure to "like" our Facebook page to receive updates as they become available.*

Jazz jam session every Thursday night.  The sessions are open to all musicians who would like to participate.  Bring your instrument and sit in.  We have a baby grand piano and Fender Rhodes on site. 

Feel free to BYOB.  9:30PM until around 1:00AM.