Music Amherst College Jazz Ensemble performs with Natraj: ACJE Family Weekend Concert

The Amherst College Jazz Ensemble performs Friday, October 26, at 8 PM in Buckley Recital Hall, Amherst College. Free and open to the public; donations accepted for the Amherst Survival Center. General seating.

Under the direction of Visiting Director of Jazz Performance Carl Clements, ACJE, the Amherst College Jazz Ensemble, collaborates with Boston-based world-jazz group Natraj. The two groups perform together on a piece by Natraj leader Phil Scarff based on the North Indian rag Jog. ACJE also features works by Mongo Santamaria, Wayne Shorter, Charles Mingus, and others. And Natraj performs a set of original compositions.
Natraj seamlessly melds the classical music of India, traditional music from West Africa, and contemporary jazz to create its own unique and infectious style. Hard-driving African grooves and graceful Indian ragas meet in the band’s expansive jazz conception. Selected as Boston’s Best Jazz Band by the Improper Bostonian and nominated Best World Music Act in the Boston Music Awards, Natraj captivates and excites audiences with exotic textures, accessible melodies, and rhythmic energy.
Natraj:
www.natrajmusic.com
Phil Scarff – soprano saxophone
Bruno Raberg – string bass
Jerry Leake – tabla, multipercussion Bertram Lehmann – drums and percussion Carl Clements – special guest, bamboo flute
“Natraj blends complex tempos and traditions with graceful, unforced virtuosity... a hypnotic, symbiotic tapestry. Fusion is rarely this deep and exotic yet accessible... discover a new world here.” — Boston Globe
ACJE performs in Buckley Recital Hall in the Arms Music Building. The concert is free and open to the public, collecting cash for the Amherst Survival Center.

For a complete listing of upcoming Amherst College Department of Music events, please visit us on the web: www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/music/events. For further information please contact Alisa Pearson, Manager of Concert Programming, Production and Publicity, at 413/542-2195.