Public Programs And Events

Turning Jewels into Water, a beat-and-ritual-based project from percussionist Ravish Momin (founder of Tarana) in collaboration with Haitian experimental electronic artist Val Jeanty (Val-Inc), began with a jam session at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, NY, while Momin was artist-in-residence there in September of 2017.

Their collaboration, rooted in improvisation shaped by ritual, evokes the esoteric realms of the creative subconscious. Drawing from the voodoo religion, Val recreates the ancient rhythm and pulse of Haiti through digital beats, while Momin, whose own musical background is rooted Indian, North African and Middle-eastern traditions, has developed an original blend of electro-acoustic beats, drawing together the improvisational traditions in Jazz and South Indian classical music. Together they explore the capabilities of new technologies to create a seamless blend of multiple electronic and acoustic instruments.

During this masterclass the duo of Momin and Jeanty will explore the the intersection of improvisation, global rhythm and music-technology through different methods and technologies for altering acoustic sounds and blending them with electronically generated ones. 

They will discuss the intricacies of shifting between complex time signatures, sync’ing all the instruments, and creative solutions for MIDI mapping in order to create new frameworks for improvisation. They will demonstrate how these performance and compositional strategies for creating spontaneous arrangements build on the elements of their respective musical traditions.

Ravish Momin is a versatile percussionist/composer/electronic musician currently residing in New York City. He has worked with a diverse range of artists, from the pop-star Shakira to the avant-Jazz legend Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre (of the Chicago AACM, founded in 1969.) He is also the leader of the acclaimed Jazz/electronic group Tarana which has been touring internationally since 2004. Amongst their highlights, they have performed at The Bandung International Digital Arts Festival (Indonesia), The New Music and Sound Summit (Austin, TX), Festival Alfonsino (Monterrey, MX), Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage (DC) , Rough Trade NYC (Brooklyn, NY), Unyazi Festival of Electronic Music (South Africa), Kaunas Jazz Festival (Lithuania), The San Servolo Jazz Festival (Italy), The Calgary Jazz Festival (Canada), Jazz Lent (Maribor, Slovenia),  Jazz Ao Centro Festival (Coimbra, Portugal), Detroit Institute of Art (US)  Mediawave Festival (Hungary), Smithsonian Institution’s Freer Gallery (Washington, DC) and the Taipei Arts Festival (Taiwan.)

Haitian electronic music composer/percussionist/turntablist Val Jeanty evokes the musical esoteric realms of the creative subconscious self-defined as “Afro-Electronica.” She incorporates her African Haitian musical traditions into the present and beyond, combining acoustics with electronics and the archaic with the post-modern. She has worked with a diverse array of artists, including Geri Allen, Anthony Braxton and Harriet Tubman Double trio. She is the recipient of the Van Lier Grant, Meet the Composer Grant, and her project "ON" was supported in part by the New York State Music Fund. Her “Afro-Electronica” installations have been showcased in New York City at the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Village Vanguard, and internationally at SaalFelden Music Festival in Austria, Stanser Musiktage in Switzerland, Jazz à la Villette in France, and the Biennale Di Venezia Museum in Italy. 

 

Presented by the School of Jazz.