Wave Hill Presents Outdoor Music on Sunset Wednesdays

Make your way to Wave Hill on Wednesday evenings this July and August for an experience unlike any other. A high point of the evening includes live music performed on the grassy expanse of the Great Lawn, overlooking the majestic Hudson River and Palisades. Enjoy a wide range of genres that range the globe, from Ghana and West Africa to Cuba and Puerto Rico, all celebrating the centennial of the Bronx!  All the performances are offered free with admission to the grounds.

Starting with an Afro-Peruvian ensemble of extraordinary professional dancers and musicians, Caracumbe, on July 2, take in the “soaring voice” of Jann Klose and his Trio on July 9. July 16, enjoy a Latin-Jazz performance by top saxophonist and flutist Mitch Frohman with upright bass, drums and keyboard rounding out his quartet, then explore the rich cultural legacy and sounds of Africa in the Americas and the Caribbean with Ilu Aye (The Drum of the World). Travel across the globe on July 30, as kora musicians Salieu Suso  and Malang Jobarteh bring traditional West African storytelling and music. August 6, the final music evening the summer, Los Monstritos, percussionists who bring to life a host of Latin music genres.

This sunset series brings a summer of outstanding performances to a magnificent garden setting.

A series of six outdoor, early evening concerts celebrating the Bronx Centennial and exploring the dynamic, vibrant musicians, dancers and cultures of the borough. Concerts begin at 7PM on the Main Lawn. Bring your own chair, but please leave your blankets at home.

Caracumbe, July 2, 7PM

Led by master percussionist Marcos Napa, Caracumbe brings the artistic legacy of Afro-Peruvian music and dance traditions to the Bronx. For Sunset Wednesdays, the ensemble of six includes a singer, guitar player, two percussionists (cajon and congas) and two dancers. Dances often performed include the festejo, lando and zamacueca.

Jann Klose and his Trio, July 9, 7PM

Singer, songwriter Jann Klose has fashioned a career offering his own tunes and covers of such great artists as Pete Seeger, Paul McCartney and Louis Armstrong. His recent CD, Mosiac, was so successful it was on first round ballots for the 2014 Grammy Awards. The Washington Post commented on his “soaring voice” that “wins over the listener”. Profiled on WNBC and interviewed on Entertainment Tonight, Klose’s Sunset Wednesday collaborators are an upright bass player and a drummer. A real crowd pleaser, he opens Woodbridge Township, New Jersey’s outdoor series the week before his appearance at Wave Hill.

Mitch Frohman Quartet, July 16, 7PM

Saxophonist and Bronx native, Mitch Frohman is one of the top saxophonists and flutists on the jazz scene today. He has toured and/or recorded with a list of who’s who in the music world including Tito Puente, Paquito D’Rivera, Celia Cruz, Chico O’Farrill, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, David Byrne, the Talking Heads and Blood, Sweat, and Tears. And last, but not least, he is the saxophone soloist for the theme song for the mega-hit television show Sex & The City, heard world-wide every day. For Sunset Wednesdays, his quartet comprised of upright bass, drums, keyboard and Mitch on sax and flute, offers selections from his latest CD, From Daddy with Love.

Ilu Aye (The Drum of the World in Yoruba), July 23, 7PM

This eight member ensemble of singer percussionists is led by Norka Hernandez-Nadel. More often than not, hers is the only female voice. Founded in 2004, the music of Ilu Aye represents the cultures of Cuba, Afro-Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, often complemented with newer original tunes by Norka in a concert. Trained by master musicians from all three islands, the members of the ensemble are well versed in sacred and popular rhythms such as bata, guiro, rumba (Cuba); bomba and plena (Puerto Rico); and palos, salves and kongos (Dominican Republic). The artists appear in traditional garb or western attire.

Muhamadou Salieu Suso & Malanga Jobarteh, July 30, 7PM

The kora is a beautiful 21-string African harp played by the traditional storytellers of West Africa known as grios in French and jeli, jail, guewel or gawlo in African languages. Muhamadou Salieu Suso was born into a family of traditional Gambian musician historians that extends back nearly 1,000 years. A descendant of Jalimady Wulayn Suso, the inventor of the kora, Suso began his training at the age of eight and has performed throughout Africa and Europe.

Los Monstritos August 6, 7PM

Los Monstritos are young “monster” percussionist virtuosos who hurtle headlong into a variety of Latin music genres from plena boogaloo, from bomba to bachata, salsa, rumba and meringue, adding their own twist that reflects the hip-hop and reggaeton rhythms of their Bronx neighborhoods. They are: Nelson Matthew Gonzalez, scion of one of the great families of Afro-Puerto Rican music; Oreste Abrantes, a Cuban Puerto Rican powerhouse conguero; and Jason Gonzalez, bongo virtuoso and Kyle Matthews, grandson of the Afro/Puerto Rican folklorist Emilio Escobar. At Wave Hill, the percussionists are joined by upright bass, guitar and keyboard players.    

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What:                         

Sunset Music at Wave Hill

When:                            

Wednesdays, July 2 through August 6, 2014

Time                         

Concert 7PM Grounds open till 8:30PM Wave Hill House, Glyndor Gallery, The Café and The Shop open until 7:30PM

Cost:                    

Performances are free with admission to the grounds

Admission:              

Special Sunset Wednesday event pricing after 4PM: $10 adults, $6 students & seniors 65+; $4 children 6–18; free to Members, children under 6

No guest passes or reciprocal admission accepted

Performance Schedule:           

July 2                           Caracumbe

July 9                           Jann Klose & His Trio

July 16                         Mitch Frohman Quartet

July 23                         Ilu Aye

July 30                         Muhamadou Salieu Suso & Malang Jobarteh

August 6                     Los Monstritos

The Performing Arts Program is made possible in part by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Presenters Network Presenter-Artist Partnership Project, made possible through a regrant from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, The Mark Twain Foundation and the Cathy and Stephen Weinroth Commissioning Fund for the Arts.

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