Piano Craft Concerts
Piano Craft Concerts are supported by funding from the Neighborhood and Downtown Activation Grant from City of Boston’s Arts and Culture Department. This concert series was selected from a wide array of proposals and juried by Piano Craft Gallery’s Board of Directors. Piano Craft Concerts offers visitors a diverse overview of some of Boston’s best musicians.
Can you see sounds? Can you hear colors? In Richie Smith's Color Room, the deeply personal experience of synesthesia is physically manifested in a dazzling display. This multimedia experience uses live guitar playing to control a projected visualizer and color-changing lights all around the room. Every chord, key, and harmony has its own unique color palette and changes as each note moves. As the room fills with each vivid hue, works of visual art become music in real time, songs and pieces become lush colorscapes, and new compositions blur the lines between visual art and music.
This special set of brand new music is be composed specifically for Julia McGehean’s “for you, no wound.” Drawing from the vivid pops of color, organic textures, and deft juxtaposition of her works, the intent of this set is to open a dialog between the aural and visual. Colors and themes featured in the exhibition will be projected onto sculptures and throughout the room for an unforgettable immersive experience.
FauxMenco are Catherine Capozzi and Rafi Sofer, translating their loud and adventurous experimental electric guitar worlds to nylon string guitars. Drawing from rock, classical, flamenco, surf, gypsy, and the ambience of time & space, FauxMenco loves to explore - striving to create exciting guitar dreamscapes that are propulsive and timeless.
FM Collective
FM Collective is a Latin hip-hop band blending jazz, soul, and high-energy rhythms. With two lead vocalists—one delivering powerful rap in Spanish and the other singing melodic hooks in English—our sound is both dynamic and engaging. The band features electric guitar, drums, bass, keyboards, and saxophone.
Lefteris Kordis: piano
Brad Barrett: acoustic bass
Dor Herskovits: drums
Masterful and deeply expressive, Lefteris Kordis brings his trio to the Piano Craft Gallery stage tonight, presenting Mediterranean jazz originals from his critically acclaimed album Aquarelles (Inner Circle Music, 2024).
In “Aquarelles: Celebrating the Inner Child” (released in March, 2024 on Greg Osby’s Inner Circle Music), the pianist and composer Lefteris Kordis presents a double album full of captivating and beautiful Mediterranean-inflected jazz compositions.
The 12 ‘Aquarelles’ (‘watercolors’) - are conscientious sound paintings, adroit & engaging reflections on a series of memories, mentors and heroes both personal (a story of family migration, an early seminal piano teacher, etc.) and public (the great Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos, and the politically courageous internationally renowned composer Mikis Theodorakis, and with whom Kordis performed as a precocious 18-year-old).
And the band swings, expertly, across a diverse but clearly brethren set of musical idioms. Kordis takes influence from Jazz (of which he’s been a serious and busy practitioner, backing Osby, Shelia Jordan, Joe Lovano, Steve Lacy, etc.), from the Scriabin and Shostakovich he ingested in prodigious early classical studies, from a variety of Greek folk styles in which he’s fluent, and even from medieval Byzantine chant.
The sound-painting is vivid. In the first Aquarella, Harris Lambrakis, a precise & lyrical master of the ancient end-blown Ney, illustrates a grandmother’s refugee journey, in the embers of World War I, from Asia Minor to the ancient town of Elefsina, outside of Athens, where Kordis was born.
And, in Pastor Randy Coplin, when we hear Jerry Bergonzi, the rightfully venerated Boston tenor saxophonist, hold forth with both poise and abandon, it seems an apt musical portrait of the spiritual leader at Boston’s historic Columbus Ave AME Zion Church, where Kordis served for many years as organist and choir director.
An energy of youthful dance is felt throughout, even in the more somber moments (Aquarelles 2 and 8 engage with some of life’s inevitably challenging experiences), but especially when Kordis, drummer Dor Herskovits (from Israel), bassist Brad Barrett (from Texas), and Edmar Colon (from Puerto Rico, on piquant soprano), are all playing around each other and the Parker’s-Confirmation- through-a-prism theme that is Aquarella 4: Danza del Sol.
The diverse cast of musical voices also includes Lefteris Bournias, a contemporary master of traditional Greek clarinet language, the virtuosic and in-demand Peruvian-born bassist Jorge Roeder, Israeli drummer Eviatar Slivnik, and the Catalan guitarist Isaac Romagosa, among others.
It’s a cosmopolitan crew befitting a musician with an international perspective, and a member of the select faculty at Berklee’s Global Jazz Institute (to which Kordis was recruited by director Danilo Perez, and where Colon is a former student and now faculty and Romagosa former student, among a plethora of up-and-coming stars.)
To be clear, “Aquarelles” is no pastiche or slapdash assembly. Kordis fully digests and transforms (and is transformed by) the varied musics on which he has been raised, leaning into the commonalities and the universalities, always singing through his fingers with a soulful humanity. It’s a great addition to an impressive body of work, the 7th album, by an inspiring musical global citizen from whom we’ve surely much more to hear.
RazAvaz
RazAvaz is a Boston-based world fusion ensemble founded by Ali Arshi, blending ancient Persian poetry with contemporary musical expressions. Rooted in Persian classical music yet infused with new colors, the group creates a distinctive sound that bridges tradition and modernity. With a versatile instrumentation featuring voice, tar, clarinet, bass, and percussion, RazAvaz explores rich textures and dynamic arrangements that transcend cultural boundaries.
The ensemble features Ali Arshi (voice, tar), Mehrpouya Daneshvar (clarinet), Omar Bahr (percussion), and Filippo Novi-Goller (bass). Committed to artistic innovation, RazAvaz embraces improvisation and cross-genre collaborations to reimagine Persian musical heritage in a contemporary context. Through its evocative performances, the group seeks to create deep musical connections, offering a fresh perspective on Persian music while engaging listeners from diverse backgrounds.
India Rosenwald
A journey of alternative RnB where the musicians will aide in guiding our story. Showcasing the inner thoughts and emotions otherwise never shared. Themes of self discovery, love and uneasiness will shape our landscape. Best of wishes on your trip, meet us at the destination.
J.F.R. (Jazz For Republicans) is an experimental jazz odyssey that captures the raw complexity of today’s social and political landscape. Created by saxophonist Seba Molnar with trumpeter Billy Buss, bassist Max Ridley, pianist David Ling and drummer Tyson Jackson, as well as guest feature by poet and vocalist Dzidzor Azaglo on Track 3, this provocative album blends improvisation, poetry, and sampled soundscapes in a free-flowing exploration of frustration, division, protest and the search for common ground. Each track deconstructs political themes through dynamic instrumentation and emotional nuance, inviting listeners to grapple with the discord of polarization while celebrating the transformative power of music as a tool for dialogue and reflection.
While often flexible in nature to meet the demands of ensemble and performance capacities, my music centers primarily around the relationships between my practices in instrumental improvisation, composition, recording/studio technology, and deep listening. This presents itself as experimental electroacoustic music combining pre-conceived structures and improvised ideas on live instruments. One major concept I approach in my practice is the effect of electronic designs on the human artistic voice; where does electronic influence amplify vs. hinder, create vs. destroy, accent vs. overtake, and how does the advent of continued electronic innovation create new musical dialects? Other ideas and processes I associate with my work include the effect of contemporary musical structures and non-musical sound on human states of being, place-based recording and its artistic uses, and the make-up, development, and general subjectivity on what comprises a 'beautiful' sound [musical or otherwise].
Huá Yè
"Nocturnal Reveries" is a solo piano program exploring the well-known genre “nocturne” through late 19th- and 20th-century piano literature. It captures the solitude, wonder, and introspection of the night, offering a poetic and immersive listening experience. Program Highlights: A selection of Nocturnes by classical composers including John Field, Francis Poulenc, Gabriel Fauré, Chopin, Debussy, and an original composition with improvisation on the famous Chopin nocturne motive - the 6th.
Brazilian guitarist, Caio Afiune and American vocalist, Jessica Curran are award-winning musicians (ASCAP Young Composers Award, John Lennon Songwriting Contest) and professors at Berklee College of Music. Their compositions reflect their shared experiences and cultural dialogue, offering a sound and vision unlike any other. Music Style: A unique blend of Rock and Brazilian music, and Jazz, featuring intricate rhythms, lush harmonies, and evocative melodies. Themes include mental health and compassion, feminism and the natural world.
Paul Willis
Paul Willis’ career highlights as a creative professional with ties to youth-focused, arts, education and social justice nonprofits include starting up City Year Sacramento, growing the Boston Art & Music Festival as managing director, providing leadership training and executive coaching for the Nehemiah Emerging Leaders Program, and serving as an executive board member at Sol Collective, a nonprofit focused on art, culture and activism. A talented Hip Hop teaching artist with experience as a DEI consultant and executive leadership coach, Paul returned to his hometown of Boston, MA in 2021 and released a teacher’s edition of his last album Wonderland that was paired with a documentary film, and curriculum. Paul’s latest work is defining the ABC’s of rap with an album, book, and curriculum offering on Hip Hop Leadership. Since July 2023, Paul has been awarded multiple grants to complete this very album, book and curriculum, which he piloted with Beat The Odds - Boston, a creative youth development nonprofit organization, Conservatory Lab Charter School, Neighborhood House Charter School, and with Frugal Bookstore through a series of author talks and community events. When he’s not in the classroom or the studio, you can find him on stage speaking, performing, or working behind the scenes with creative leaders and organizations that are aligned with his mission, vision, and values. If you're a fan of Talib Kweli, Black Thought and Common, you're gonna love this!
HeartVoiceSoul
HeartSoulVoice is a duo with Janna Maria Fröhlich performing with voice, lever harp, keyboard, and guitar, and Joy Grimes, performing on violin. Our eclectic, sometimes improvisatory, music has multi-genre influences: folk, jazz, pop, non-European world music, Celtic, Eastern/Central European, and classical music eras.. Our proposal is a two-hour concert (with 10-minute intermission) of mostly original music composed by Janna on the themes of love, loss, compassion, transcendence, emotional resilience, and protest. The music will include songs and instrumentals. For setup, we would need a vocal mic, harp mic, amplification for the violin, and if there's no piano on site, then a place to plug in a portable electronic piano. Also, we delight in taking audience suggestions for improvised songs and lyrics based on seasonal or other themes.
Haasan Barclay is a recording artist, songwriter, and record producer from Boston, MA. His music represents the melding of classic pop sensibilities with a fresh, modern intensity. Barclay's creative approach to short form video has amassed millions of views across social media, acclaim from music critic Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop, and led to partnerships with brands like Giphy, Topo Chico, Gretsch Guitars, and ARP Synthesizers.
His work has been featured in publications like Pitchfork, NPR, Complex, and Stereogum; as well as through exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Art and Boston Center for the Arts. His latest project Dual Shock is a high energy dance tape that harkens back to the sound of Y2K-era house, pairing his precise, distinct sample style with a frenetic collection of rhythms and melodies. It serves to bridge the gap between previous pandemic era releases and his long anticipated follow up project, slated for release later this year.
