World of Music: Tomchess Trio (World Fusion Jazz)

In this concert, City of Asylum welcomes back renowned multi-instrumentalist musician Tomchess to the Alphabet City stage. Along with Tomchess’ original compositions, this concert will feature improvisations inspired and influenced by different musics of the world—specifically West African, Middle Eastern, Andalusian, Mediterranean, and Indian—as well as American Jazz. These compositions and improvisations will be presented towards creating stories and dialogue through sound. The Tomchess Trio embraces the notion that improvised musics promote collective and individual development, spontaneously creating common languages that alter perceptions and encourage us to imagine different alternatives in music and life, working towards creating a more beautiful world for all.

Featured Musicians:

Ravi Padmanabha: tabla, sarangi, percussion

Tomchess: oud, ney, morsing, composer

Will McEvoy: upright bass

About the Artist:

Tomchess is a Pittsburgh/NYC based multi-instrumentalist, improviser, and composer who has played and recorded with some of the most esteemed players in the improvisational and Jazz scene (Dewey Redman, Butch Morris, Pharoah Sanders, Drew Gress, Ronald Shannon Jackson), as well as Moroccan Sintarist Hassan Hakmoun. Having deeply studied the Near Eastern and North African traditions, his syncretic sound encompasses the tonal palette, rhythms, and forms of these traditional musics as well as focusing on the transcendent unity of all human culture and the importance and freedom of improvisation. He has performed in Africa, Canada, Holland, France, Switzerland, Turkey, India and Italy. He has performed at Lincoln Center, The David Rubenstein Atrium, The Turkish Embassy, The Pakistani Embassy, The Asian Society, The Natural History Museum, The Metropolitan Museum, The Himalayan Museum of Art and The United Nations among countless other venues in the United States. He has also performed on NPR and PBS and played on Grammy Nominated recordings. Tomchess has been awarded grants from the Turkish American Society and The Maryland Council For The Arts and he has been nominated for an Independent Music Award.

About Your Visit: 

The in-house restaurant Cucina Alfabeto is open for dinner from 5-10pm. Please visit Open Table or call 412-435-1111 to make a reservation.