Harpblog

Edmar Castaneda's new album: Double Portion

 

Second International Jazz Harp Academy, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, September 2011

It's not too late to apply for the second International Jazz Harp Academy! It will take place at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA between September 23rd and 25th of this year. at the end of this month! Brenda Dor-Groot and Sabine Meijers of the Jazz Harp Foundation write:

Do you want to make a head start in jazz harp, or seriously improve your already developing jazz harp skills? The Jazz Harp Academy is the place to be.

WHAT: 3 day intensive course
WHEN: September 23-25, 2011
WHO: YOU, Park Stickney, Carol Robbins, and many others
Costs: $ 350 (lodging and meals not included)

WHAT: 2 day light course
WHEN: September 24-25, 2011
WHO: YOU, Park Stickney, Carol Robbins, and many others
Costs: $ 230 (lodging and meals not included)

Jazz Harp Academy ingredients: hands-on harp lessons | combo classes | theory lessons | jam session | concert | bass lines workshop | blues workshop | optional private lessons | optional outing to New Orleans on Sunday night

Faculty: 
Park Stickney - jazz harpist 
Carol Robbins - jazz harpist 
Kurt Schwab - saxophone player 
Bill Grimes - bass player 
Brenda Dor-Groot - blues harpist (yes, the harp with strings and levers) 
Sabine Meijers - harp educator 
Kimberly Houser - LSU harp professional in residence

Levels: The 3 day course will be an intensive course for harp students and professionals with some experience in jazz playing, divided in 2 levels: intermediate & advanced. The 2 day course will be an exploration course for harp students, professionals and amateurs who are beginners in jazz playing, divided in 2 levels: beginner & intermediate. 

Did you know that:
- the 2 day course is especially interesting for lever harp players, since there will be a lot of blues in this course
- all participants get to play with a jazz ensemble (drums, bass, etc.)
- the 2012 edition is expected to take place in Europe, so US harpists should grab their chance now!

Separate concert tickets for Saturday September 24 are available in our webshop.

Register for the 2 or 3 day course here
More info @ www.jazzharpacademy.org 

 

Edmar Castaneda plays the EC Llanera at the Bolzano Jazz Festival

 

Speaking of Edmar Castaneda - here is a video of Edmar performing in duo with Hamilton de Holanda at the South Tyrol Jazz Festival this year. Edmar is playing the new harp Camac have built especially for him: the EC Llanera.

The EC Llanera is a Latin American llanera harp, built to the highest contemporary technological standards. Its traditional string tension is combined with wrapped bass wires for better intonation and resonance, concert harp spacing for greater ease of playing, an improved soundbox and a rich, balanced acoustic sound. It is also the first lever llanera, unlocking still more musical potential for everyone interested in Latin American harp-playing.

The EC llanera has now been released into mainstream production. Contact us for more details, harpblog@camac-harps.com!

September 18th, 2011: workshop and concert with EDMAR CASTANEDA

Woo-hoo! It's the new season! The Camac workshops and office desks are back firing on all cylinders - and here is our first upcoming event. And it is...EDMAR CASTANEDA returning to l'Espace Camac! On September 18th, 2011, you have the chance to participate in a workshop with Edmar, from 4 to 6 PM. During this class, you'll be able to explore some of the fundamental principles of Latin jazz improvisation, before hearing the master himself in a solo concert at 7PM.

Edmar Castaneda

As with all our events at l'Espace Camac, admission is free, but you need to reserve your place for the workshop and it's a good idea to do the same for the concert. Please send your name and contact details to Claude Bouly: +33 (0)1 40 40 08 40, or via email at c.bouly@camac-harps.com.

Second International Jazz Harp Academy, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, September 2011

Following the great success of the First International Jazz Harp Academy, organised by Brenda Dor-Groot and Sabine Meijers of the Jazz Harp Foundation, the Second iJHF Jazz Harp Academy will be held in Baton Rouge & New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, between September 23rd-25th, 2011. It will take place at Louisiana State University, through the kind cooperation of the harp professor there, Kimberly Houser, and will offer courses both for harpists who already have experience of jazz harp, and for those who want to try jazz for the first time. 

See the JHF website for more information, or email info@jazzharp.org.

Corrina Hewat in Landerneau: concert and masterclass, 18th and 19th of February

Scottish lever harp, jazz-folk-electro-Celtic star Corrina Hewat is playing a gig and giving a masterclass in Landerneau, France, on Friday the 18th and Saturday the 19th of February.

The concert is a one-off chance to hear Bachué, Corrina's band with David Milligan (piano), Donald Hay (drums) and Colin Steele (trumpet). One-off, because Bachué actually disbanded in 2006, but are coming together once again specially for this concert. These days, you normally hear the quartet in The Unusual Suspects, a Scottish folk big band with a bigger line-up. Tickets for the show are available from l'atelier culturel, and information about Corrina's masterclass the following day from the event's organiser and major Celtic harp artist in her own right, Anne Postic.

Photo: Lieve Boussauw

Anneleen Lenaerts, Jakez François: Harp weekend in Cracow, December 4th - 5th, 2010

Camac is delighted to be sponsoring a harp weekend in Cracow, Poland, on December 4th and 5th, 2010. Organised by Agnieszka Grela, the weekend will begin with a presentation by Jakez François about the Camac electric blue harp at 3:30PM - a presentation which will conclude with a jazz performance by Jakez in trio with Jacek Fedkowicz (bass) and Wojtek Fedkowicz (drums). This lecture-performance will take place at the Szkoła Muzyczna I i II st. im. B. Rutkowskiego, ul. Józefińskiej 10, Cracow.

On the evening of December 4th at 7PM, the beautiful Florianka concert hall in the ul. Basztowa 8 will welcome the Cracow debut of Anneleen Lenaerts. Anneleen will need little introduction to many of you as one of the harp world's brightest young solo talents, winner of the grand concours Lily Laskine 2005. Her programme will include works by Fauré, Smetana, Granados, Walter-Kune, and - by way of a sneak preview for her second CD, due to be released in April 2011 - Chopin and Liszt.

Anneleen Lenaerts

On Sunday at 11AM in the Szkoła Muzyczna I i II st. im. B. Rutkowskiego, ul. Józefińskiej 10, Anneleen will give a public masterclass for pupils of a level equivalent to the  Polish "first and second stopni" (pre-conservatoire level, without age limit). If you are interested in playing for Anneleen, please send your Polish or English application with your name, details of your harp studies to date, and the piece(s) you would like to play, to dniharfy@op.pl, BEFORE NOVEMBER 30th please!

All events are free of charge.

 

Camac Harps ma zaszczyt zaprosić Państwa na weekend z harfą, który odbędzie się w Krakowie 4 oraz 5 grudnia 2010. Weekend ten, zorganizowany przez Agnieszkę Grela, rozpocznie prezentacja harfy elektroakustycznej firmy Camac o godzinie 15:30 w Szkole Muzycznej I i II st. im. B. Rutkowskiego przy ulicy Józefińskiej 10 w Krakowie.Prezentacje uwieńczy występ jazzowego trio w składzie: Jakez François (blue harp), Jacek Fedkowicz (kontrabas) i Wojtek Fedkowicz (perkusja).

4 grudnia o godzinie 19.00 w auli Akademii Muzycznej „Florianka”, przy ulicy Basztowej 8 w Krakowie, odbędzie się koncert Anneleen Lenaerts –wspaniale zapowiadającej się młodej artystki, zwyciężczyni nagrody Lily Laskine w 2005 roku. Podczas koncertu usłyszą Państwo utwory Fauré, Smetana, Granados, Walter-Kune, oraz Chopina i Liszta, które dadzą przedsmak drugiej płyty Anneleen, mającej ukazać się już w kwietniu 2011 roku.

W sobotę, 5 grudnia o godzinie 11.00 w budynku Szkoły Muzycznej I i II st. im. B. Rutkowskiego przy ulicy Józefińskiej 10 odbędą się kursy prowadzone przez Anneleen Lenaerts. Wszystkich zainteresowanych zagraniem przed artystką prosimy o wysłanie formularza (w języku polskim lub angielskim) zawierającego imię i nazwisko uczestnika, wiek uczestnika, tytuł oraz autora kompozycji na adres: dniharfy@op.pl do 30 listopada!

 

Try this at home

In September, Jakez went to Harpfest III in Malaysia, and gave an introductory workshop to jazz harp...

Congratulations to...

...Edmar Castaneda, who has won "Player of Instruments rare in jazz" at the 2010 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards!

Don't forget that Edmar has a new album out, Entre Cuerdas (video clip here!), which is available from - you've guessed it - the Camac online shop.

Harp, swing and Christine Lutz

Christine Lutz not only has a brilliant website designed like a cellar bar.  She is also a terrific jazz harpist - I came across her CDs at the start of this season.  "La danse des écureuils" is a mixture of standards and original compositions from her quartet Harpiswing (Christine Lutz, harp, Michel Altier, double bass, Vittorio Silvestri, solo guitar, Julien Vandyck, rhythm guitar).  Her most recent album is a duo one with Michel Altier, "Le temps d'un rêve".  "La danse des écureuils" is a lovely and largely up-tempo album with a great sense of swing.  Swing's not always easy on the harp, but the combination of essentially melodic, soloistic harp  treatment brings it off beautifully here.  The all-string instrumentation of harp, bass and two guitars also creates subtle and intrieguing interactions between the instruments, without ever compromising the unity of the whole.   "Le temps d'un rêve" is a fascinating, reflective exploration of the harp and bass's different colours across a wide range of styles, from Chick Corea to Rodgers/Hart, three original compositions from Michel Altier, and "Some day my prince will come."

Christine trained classically, studying harp with Edwige Motte and harmony at the Conservatoire de Roubaix.  It was during her postgraduate studies with Marie Astrid Aufray (harp) and Christian Bellegarde (harmony) at the Conservatoire National de Région in Lille that she began to study bass:  classical, and jazz.  Three years playing in jazz clubs in and around Lille followed, such as in Lille's famous piano bar, Le Caveau de la Treille.   There she played with, among others, Harry Rajaobelison, Jean Christophe Tant, Andry and Bara Ravaloson, Clark Terry, Laurent Cugny and Jeannot Rabeson.  She also quickly became the bass player for many bands, performing with - for example - Michel Barrot, Philippe Petrucciani, Didier Lockwood, Vincent Lafont, Benoit Paillard, Sebastien Germain, Boris Pokora, and Monique Zuppardi.  In 2004, Christine began to play jazz on the harp, first including it in two trios where she played the bass.  Harpiswing was formed in 2006, "La danse des écureuils" recorded in 2006, and "Le temps d'un rêve" in 2008.

I am particularly struck by the way Christine doesn't harmonize much on either album, but rather plays the melody as a soloist, accompanying herself with a bass line or chords.  This makes the rhythm and swing comes across very strongly, and also the harp isn't hidden in the middle of the band.