Neil Leonard, un músico entre Cuba y Berklee

Prensa-Latina article: published in Havana, Cuba

La Habana 11 nov (PL) El saxofonista y profesor de Berklee College of Music, Neil Leonard, regresará a La Habana con una alineación de músicos de esaimportante institución académica para participar en la próxima edición del Festival de Jazz, del 15 al de 18 diciembre.

  Impulsor de los prolíficos intercambios culturales puestos en marcha entre estudiantes y egresados del Berklee College y sus colegas cubanos, Leonard retornará a la isla para presentar su más reciente producción discográfica, Marcel's Window.

"En los últimos 20 años he colaborado con artistas de varias disciplinas en la creación de música y sonidos para danza, teatro, video, performance experimental y cine, dijo a Prensa Latina, desde Boston, en una entrevista vía correo electrónico.

"Estas colaboraciones incluyen a mi esposa, la artista cubana María Magdalena Campos-Pons, y han generado un espacio para investigar la historia y la geografía de sitios específicos en regiones como Japón, China, África, Cuba y Europa.

"Cuando compuse la música de este CD, agregó, me nutrí de las experiencias vividas en esos lugares, de gran interés cultural".

Su última visita a la isla fue en mayo pasado, de nuevo al frente del grupo de músicos norteamericanos participantes en la Feria Internacional Cubadisco. En esa ocasión realizó talleres y conciertos, en especial en conjunto con el Instituto Superior de Arte (Isa), el Laboratorio Nacional de Música Electroacústica, (Lnme) y la compañía Danza Contemporánea (Dcc).

"Esta expedición expuso a la comunidad de Berklee la amplia base de la innovación y el carácter interdisciplinario de las artes contemporáneas de Cuba, afirmó. Durante el periplo, nuestros estudiantes conocieron la obra de figuras como Juan Blanco, Carlos Acosta, Wifredo Lam, Manuel Mendive, X Alfonso.

"También tuvieron la posibilidad de crear junto a artistas del Lnme, Danza Contemporánea y el Isa, lo cual contribuyó a apreciar las sutilezas y complejidades de las artes en la Cuba de hoy", puntualizó.

El autor de Nuestro tiempo, quien imparte las asignaturas de composición, programación y performances con video, señaló que para sus alumnos ese intercambio clasifica dentro del pequeño espacio personal reservado solo a las experiencias que logran cambiar la vida.

"Mis estudiantes estaban particularmente impresionados por la forma en que los jóvenes artistas cubanos manifiestan un profundo sentido de identidad colectiva y respeto por las raíces tradicionales, y al mismo tiempo aspiran a ser profundamente modernos y hacen sorprendentes obras personales, detalló.

"Ellos me expresaron que la posibilidad de centrar su atención en una iniciativa como esta devino una experiencia que les cambió la vida. Estuvieron muy orgullosos por lo que lograron y fueron desafiados sin duda por el nivel de producción de sus colegas cubanos",subrayó.

En los últimos tiempos este proyecto les abrió las puertas de Berklee a diversos artistas y compositores cubanos. "Hemos fomentado el contacto continuo con programas de residencias cortas que incluyeron a George Céspedes, coreógrafo de Danza Contemporánea, quien impartió un taller sobre la creación de música para danza, particularizó Leonard.

"También acogimos un concierto con obras de 5 compositores del Lnme, con la presencia de la joven Maureen Reyes, quien dictó conferencias sobre música electroacústica en Cuba", añadió.

A su juicio,el éxito combinado de los últimos encuentros sostenidos en Cuba contribuyó a formar en Berklee el nuevo Instituto Interdisciplinario de las Artes con el objetivo de ayudar a los jóvenes compositores a participar en un diálogo global sobre la creación artística.

El modelo de talleres intensivos diseñado con el Lnme, incluyendo la composición colectiva y la integración en todas las disciplinas, es el que queremos mantener y desarrollar. En resumen, los viajes a Cuba, opinó, nos han incitado a reflexionar sobre nuestro trabajo y actualizar nuestros propios métodos para la educación".

ag/mih 

*Periodista cubano. Colaborador de Prensa Latina

Neil Leonard asistirá a Festival de Jazz en Cuba que preside Chucho Valdés

Neil Leonard asistirá a Festival de Jazz en Cuba que preside Chucho Valdés

AFP
LA HABANA -- El saxofonista estadounidense Neil Leonard, profesor del Berklee College of Music de Boston, participará en diciembre en La Habana en el Festival Jazz Plaza-2011, que preside el laurado pianista y compositor cubano Jesús ‘Chucho’ Valdés, informó este viernes un medio local.

Leonard, “impulsor de los intercambios culturales” entre Cuba y Estados Unidos, viajará a la isla acompañado por “músicos del Berklee College” y presentará en el Festival (del 15 al 18 de diciembre) su más reciente disco “Marcel’s Window”, de jazz contemporáneo, señaló la agencia cubana Prensa Latina (PL).

“Hemos fomentado el contacto continuo (entre artistas cubanos y estadounidenses) con programas de residencias cortas”, dijo Leonard que, según PL, estuvo en la isla en mayo pasado al frente de un grupo de músicos de su país que participó en la feria internacional Cubadisco-2010.

El Berklee College of Music, considerado la mejor escuela de jazz del mundo, entregó este año el título de doctor honoris causa a Valdés, quien fundó en 1973 el grupo Irakere -buque insignia del jazz cubano- y a su padre, el también pianista y compositor Bebo Valdés, por sus aportes a ese género musical.

En la edición anterior del festival, presidido por Valdés desde su fundación en 1980, participaron los músicos norteamericanos Andrea Brachfeld (flautista) y Arturo O’ Farrill (pianista), hijo del mítico Chico O’ Farrill, pieza clave en la creación del jazz afrocubano a mediados del siglo XX.

Los intercambios culturales entre Cuba y Estados Unidos -sin relaciones desde 1961- mejoraron con el gobierno de Barack Obama, que eliminó en 2009 restricciones a las remesas y viajes de cubanoamericanos a la isla, y comenzó a aplicar en abril una mayor flexibilización de las visitas de religiosos, académicos, artistas y deportistas estadounidenses.

Marcel's Window - CD Release concert

Friday, Novermber 18, 2009 at 5:00PM

Philadelphia Art Museum

Neil Leonard - woodwinds
Tom Lawton - piano (Dave Douglas, Don Byron)
Lee Smith - bass (Mongo Santamaria, Cedar Walton, Roberta Flack)
Craig McIver - drums (Max Roach M-Boom, Odean Pope)

 Now available at CDBaby and on iTunes. Click here to read press release at Allaboutjazz

SONGS OF SUN RA

SONGS OF SUN RA

Thursday, November 3 · 8:00pm - 10:00pm

Berklee Performance Center GA
136 Massachusetts Ave
Boston, MA

The Berklee Faculty Intergalactic Space Telepathy Arkestra performs songs and sound masses originally delivered to Earth by Afro-futurist composer and self-professed extraterrestrial Sun Ra. Tickets go on sale Friday, August 19 at 10:00 a.m. Can't make it to the show? This event will stream live on concertwindow.com.

Voice/Percussion - Diane Richardson
Piano/Keyboards/Voice/Percussion - Carolyn Wilkins
Trumpet/Voice/Percussion - Charles Lewis
Trombone/Voice/Percussion - David Harris
Saxophones/Flute/Voice/Percussion - Lance Van Lenten
Saxophone/voice/percussion - Rick DiMuzio
Saxophones/Reeds/Flute/Voice/Percussion - Stan Strickland
Saxophone/voice/percussion - Neil Leonard
Bass/Voice/Percussion - Ron Mahdi
Drums/Voice/Percussion - Ron Savage
Percussion/Voice - Ricardo Monzon
Conductor/Voice/Bass/Percussion - David Clark

Genma Speaks! Article on Magda and myself in Nashville

We will be interviewed by cultural activist and radio journalist Genma Holms this Saturday:

Living Your Best Life Radio Show can be heard on 880 AM in the Nashville-Middle Tennessee area and on Ustream.TV worldwide from 10am-12pm CST.

October 14, 2011 – 6:00 pm | Performance

Performance by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
Auditorium
Free; seating is first come, first served


María Magdalena Campos-Pons will debut an intimate performance art piece at the Frist Center in relation to her exhibition Journeys, on view in the Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery from October 7, 2011 to January 8, 2012.

Using her body, voice, and surrounding space, Campos-Pons will expand on the ideas about dislocation that she explores in the accompanying exhibition of her work, Journeys. The notion of journey refers to Campos-Pons’s own place within the African Diaspora: she is a woman of Nigerian ancestry, born and raised in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, who has lived in Boston since 1991.

The event will be performed in collaboration with her husband, American musician and composer Neil Leonard.

New CD: Marcel's Window available on CDBaby, iTunes, Amazon

Marcel's Window
Neil Leonard Quartet
To purchase go to: http://cdbaby.com/cd/neilleonard2

Over the previous two decades, I have collaborated with artists from a variety of disciplines to create music and sound for dance, theater, video/sculpture installation, experimental performance, and film. Many of these collaborations included local artists and materials to create dialogues about the history and geography of specific sites in Japan, China, Africa, Cuba, and Europe where the works were premiered. When I began composing the music for this CD, I expected that I would be writing for a homecoming jazz concert. Instead, using methods I learned from visual artists, I found myself creating site-specific compositions inspired by cultural landmarks in my own backyard.

I grew up in Philadelphia and played with fantastic musicians as a teenager, including Uri Caine, Robin and Kevin Eubanks, and many more. In 2007, I was invited to return to Philadelphia to perform a concert in the newly renovated Paul Robeson House. I needed a band, so I called Tom Lawton, whom I first played with when I was 16 years old, and we put together this quartet. We premiered "4951 Walnut Street," "Resounding Arc" and "Invisible Cities" at Paul Robeson's home at 4951 Walnut Street. As a young musician, I passed that building many times, not knowing that this distinguished singer-actor, forceful activist, and true Renaissance man was living on this unassuming block. "Resounding Arc" refers to the resonance of Robeson's work and the base of Robeson's rocking chair, one of the few pieces of original furniture in his home. "Invisible Cities" is a reflection on the multiple realities of urban life.

A concert in the Philadelphia Museum of Art the following year provided an opportunity to reassemble the quartet and expand its repertoire. "Alex in the Atrium" and "Marcel's Window" were premiered in the main atrium of the museum where Alexander Calder's "Untitled" mobile floats above visitors, facing capstone works by Calder père at Logan Circle and Calder’s grandfather on top of City Hall. "Marcel's Window" refers to the window cut into the museum's Parthenon-style facade to illuminate Marcel Duchamp's "The Bride Striped Bare by Her Bachelors," an architectural comment on Duchamp’s rupture with the western art canon.

"Mood for Merritt," a blues dedicated to pioneering Philadelphia bassist and composer Jymie Merritt rounds out the set. I admired Merritt's work on recordings with Art Blakey and Lee Morgan and played with him when I lived in Philly.

I am joined on this recording by three musicians with outstanding knowledge and ability. Pianist Tom Lawton plays my compositions as if he wrote them himself. Bassist Lee Smith backed up soul diva Roberta Flack, laid down Cuban mambos with Mongo Santamaria, and is as inventive and daring as anyone I've worked with. Drummer Craig McIver, who played with Max Roach's M-Boom percussion ensemble, builds fantastic grooves and uses ideas from all of us as he crafts subtleties of the form.

I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with these superb musicians, who’ve made me feel like the‘ve spent their lives training to make this music together.

Neil Leonard

Neil Leonard - alto and soprano saxophone
Tom Lawton - piano
Lee Smith - bass
Craig McIver - drums

All compositions by Neil Leonard (ASCAP)
www.neilleonard.com

Produced by Neil Leonard
Recorded January 28-29, 2009 by Matt Balitsaris at Maggie's Farm, Pipersville PA
Mixed summer/fall 2010 by Neil Leonard and John Hull, at GASP Studios, Boston MA
Mastered by Jonathan Wyner at M Works Studios, Cambridge MA

Graphic Design by Terrance K. O’Leary; Design concept and photo for silhouette by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons.

Special thanks to: George Massenberg for mixing guidance; Philagrafika and the Paul Robeson House for commissioning "4951 Walnut Street" "Resounding Arc" and "Invisible Cities"; Sara Moyan of the Philadelphia Art Museum for featuring the full collection of compositions at the Museum; Tom Lawton for logistical assistance and Tom's family for lending me my first saxophone; and to my wife Magdalena, son Arcadio, and extended family for supporting me every step of the way.

© Neil Leonard 2011
All Rights Reserved

Maria Magdalena Campos Pons and Neil Leonard at NEU

Date: 10-06-2011
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: 305 Shillman, Northeastern University

Northeastern University and the Department of Art + Design presents artists Maria Magdalena Campos Pons and Neil Leonard.

Born in Matanzas in 1959, Campos-Pons was educated in Cuba at the Escuela Nacional de Arte (1976–1979) and Instituto Superior de Arte (1980–1985). In 1988 she continued her studies as an exchange student in the graduate program at the Massachusetts College of Art. Campos-Pons has been honored with numerous international solo and group exhibitions from institutions as MoMA and MoMA P.S.1,TATE Liverpool UK ; the Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; and the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which hosted a 20-year retrospective of Campos-Pons’ work in 2006 that traveled to the Bass Museum in Miami. Campos-Pons has also been included in a number of prestigious international art surveys, including the 49th Venice Biennale in 2001; the Johannesburg Biennale, Johannesburg, South Africa; the First Liverpool Biennial; the Dak’ART Biennale in Senegal; and most recently, the Guangzhou Triennial, China.

Her art can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Fogg Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; the National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, among many others. Campos-Pons teach at SMFA and Co founder GASP.

NEIL LEONARD works as a sound artist, electronic musician, composer and saxophonist. Leonard’s Dreaming of an Island, (for orchestra, electronics and live-video) was premiered by the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. Leonard's composition Totems was premiered at Carnegie Hall by Don Byron and Uri Caine. His Echoes and Footsteps was featured by the Tel Aviv Biennial for New Music, Issue Project Room (NYC) and the Auditorium di Roma. Leonard's collaborative work with visual artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons was featured by the 49th Venice Biennial, Museum of Modern Art (NYC); purchased by the National Gallery of Canada; and presented by the U.S. State Department at Dakar Biennial. Leonard composed the music for Relatives, by Tony Oursler and Constance DeJong featured by the Whitney Biennial. Leonard is a professor of Electronic Production and Design and Artistic Director of the Interdisciplinary Arts Institute at Berklee College of Music, Boston. He taught sound installation at the University of Padova and the C. Pollini Conservatory, Italy.
Admission: Free to the public

For Directions & Campus map: www.northeastern.edu/campusmap/maps.html

Organizer: Department of Art + Design
Contact: Judy Ulman j.ulman@neu.edu

Saxophone/Video Duets

Friday Sept 23, 8 PM

Doctor T, -- Video Improvisations
Dave Bryant -- Piano
Eric Crawley -- Harpejji and Electronics
Neil Leonard -- Reeds

Each Musician will perform a duet with Doctor T. The duets will be followed by a quartet set.

Outpost 186 1/2 Hampshire Street
Inman Square, Cambridge
zeitgeist-outpost.org

D.E.S.
Dubito Ergo Sum

eine Tanzperformance von
MORGAN NARDI CHOREOGRAPHY

PREMIERE : 6 - 7 - 8 OKTOBER 2011, Tanzhaus NRW, Dusseldorf, Germany

Choreografie, Performance: Morgan Nardi
Regie, Dramaturgie: Alessandro De Vita
Tanz: Kefa Odhiambo Oiro
Musik: Neil Leonard
Sounddesign: Idrioema
Visuelle Kunst: Hinrich Gross
Management, PR: mechtild tellmann kulturmanagement
Organisation: Martin Brüggemann

Es gibt keine Sicherheit.
Die haben wir verloren. Von diesem Punkt der Unsicherheit aus beginnt eine Reise der jegliche Richtung fehlt. Jemand hat einmal gesagt, dass man das Ziel vernichten muss, wenn man etwas finden will.
Was bringt es, wenn man sich völlig vom Zweifel einnehmen lässt? Was geschieht, wenn wir allen Stimmen Gehör schenken, die sich im Körper bewegen? Wie viele Körper haben wir? Welche Form wird die Zeit haben, wenn nichts sicher ist? Was geschieht im Raum, wenn sich die Wahrnehmung der Realität ständig verändert?
Der Zweifel ist ein Prinzip der Revolution, er kratzt ständig an unserer Sicherheit. Lässt man den Zweifel erst einmal Wurzel fassen, wird etwas in die Wege geleitet, dass unser gesamtes Handeln bestimmt und uns die Erfahrung des “Doppelten” und des zitternden Schatten des Ritus machen lässt. Aus diesem Zweifel entsteht dann der Samen der Kreativität

Eine Produktion von Morgan Nardi, koproduziert durch das tanzhaus nrw und Dance Forum Nairobi, Kenia.
Gefördert durch das Kulturamt der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf, das Ministerium für Familie, Kinder, Jugend, Kultur und Sport des Landes NRW, die Kunststiftung NRW und das NRW Kultursekretariat Wuppertal.
Unterstützt durch die Residenzprogramme von PACT Zollverein Essen und Körper -- International Dance Contemporary Art Center, Neapel, sowie GAI -- Association for the Circuit of the Young Italian Artists.

El Impacto de Musica Cubana en el Mundo - Cubadisco Talk

"El Impacto de Musica Cubana en el Mundo"
Cubadisco Talk, May 16, 2011, The talk and questions are translated from Spanish
Cine Rialo, Santiago de Cuba

EXCERPT

LEONARD:

When we studied Western music history in the conservatory, we were taught that a key point for Western music is the piece written by the French composer Edgard Varèse, called “Ionization”. It is a piece written for percussion alone, for eight classic percussionists but it also incorporates the bongo, the Cuban clave and perhaps other Cuban instruments.

Later, when I had time to research and study Cuban music, and read the book by maestro José Aldévol, I learned that Amadeo Roldán wrote a piece for percussion alone, months before Varèse. Roldán’s piece [Rítmicas V, VI] is still not available at the Berklee library. It is still not available at the New England Conservatory library, or at Julliard. This work remains invisible for the most rigorous composers of my country. I later learned that that Nicolas Slonimsky, a Russian scholar who wrote a book called “The Music of Latin America” and was collector of musical scores of Roldán and [Alejandro Garcia] Caturlas had deposited these scores at the Philadelphia library. So I went to the library, asked if I could see these scores, they brought me the scores and I immediately went to the copy machine to duplicate them. The collection director came to stop me and said: “What are you doing?” and I said: “I am making copies of the music”, and he said: “Stop.” and I said: “ Look, I am a teacher, if you could tell me where I can find this scores. In which library in my city I can check them out for one day to read them, or to rent them I will stop right now ”. And so he said: “Look, these do not exist elsewhere. Photocopy them for your students.”

We have some contact with Cuba. But what we have in the U.S. are only fragments. And to get to know Cuba one has to come here to experience it. I hope that in time, things will get better, the access to information is getting better, but for people of my generation, it was very hard. So I call this problem a problem of invisible roots.

Another thing that I want to briefly talk about is the impact of Cuban music on Jazz.

In the year 1948, the percussionist Chano Pozo was part of Dizzy Gillespie’s band. There was a very important composer and innovator, his name was George Russell and he was the composer for the band. Dizzy composed “Manteca” with Chano. George and Chano composed a work called "Cubano Be, Cubano Bop". The father of modalism in jazz that wrote a very important book for all us, even those that do not know Georges's book [Lydian Chromatic Concept] were influted by the theoretical work of George Russell who composed for Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and many others.

I am going to play a fragment of the work of George Russell with Chano Pozo and a fragment of George’s music after that. ... This exchange between Chano and George began in a bus from New York to Boston. George told me that Chano was in the back of the bus singing a ‘nañingo’ chant, and George asked Dizzy if they could include that chant in the show in Boston that night. So this innovation for the US premiered in Boston.

Ok so here is the fragment of Chano Pozo and George Russell" - Cubano Be, Cubano Bop," 1948.

(MUSIC)

So this was Dizzy’s orchestra with Chano and now I am going to play a fragment of George’s piece called “It’s About Time,” 1996.

(MUSIC)

In this music you can hear not only rhythmic but also a harmonic influence from Cuba.

Another thing, I want to briefly address is the vacuum of information that we had during the 70’s in the United States, during the blockade that still exist but this era was pre-internet, pre-CD’s, and pre-computers and it was still harder to exchange information.

In this vacuum, the most important mainstream jazz groups were Weather Report, McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock. They all had percussionists but most of the time the percussionist were Brazilian. There was Guilherme Franco with McCoy Tyner, Dom Um Romao with Weather Report and Airto Morea with all those groups. As a teenager, I had a band and these groups were the model for us. So we looked, for a percussionist in my hometown Philadelphia and there was an excellent percussionist named Frank Williams. He was part of a group of African American percussionists that were trying to retrieve their roots. These musicians had played with Mongo Santamaria, with Grover Washington, but they also a folkloric ensemble as well. Frank was a model musician for me because he was such an outstanding musician. ... He taught me that was that the important source for the art of hand drumming in the Americas was Cuba.

Around 1978 the first recording of a contemporary Cuban group made since the start of the blockade was released in the US, it Irakere recorded live in New York. With this LP it was possible for us to understand that yes, we have jazz in the United States but there are fragments and influences and a level of rigor, and even authentic jazz that exists outside of the U.S. Then because of that vacuum of information, I had the idea of going to Cuba and see this work first hand.

I made this trip to Cuba in 1986, I started here in Santiago de Cuba and played with Armando Garzón. I saw the Conjunto Folklorico Oriental. I met Danilo Orozco at UNEAC and I understood even more the fact that I only knew fragments. The more I became familiar with Cuban music, the more I was able to understand that I only knew fragments, but that also I only knew fragments of my own culture because our cultures are connected.

Well, we have little time today. But I am going to talk a little bit more about an impact of Cuban music:. When Muñequitos (de Matanzas) toured the United States two weeks ago they were in Boston. I was asked to introduce the Muñequitos on stage and to explain the cultural tradition of the Muñequitos de Matanzas and their significance. I thought that perhaps the most important thing that the US audience had to understand is that they are not only a marvelous ensemble, but for the most important musicians of my country, for percussionists such as Giovanni Hidalgo who played with Eddie Palmieri, Paul Simon and Santana; and for saxophonists such as Steve Coleman who played with many seminal musicians, and for Herbie Hancock’s percussionist named Bill Summers, after making gold records, platinum records and even after the Grammy’s, after this, the only thing that they could do after that was to go to Matanzas to study with Muñequitos. Bill Summers, after releasing those famous records with Herbie Hancock, went to Matanzas and studied with Chacha Esteban Vega, one of the founders of Muñequitos, who initiated him into the culture and the music of Cuba.

That is to say, our popular music, our modern music, our jazz has an immeasurable connection to Cuban music. It is a profound root for music in the United States. I was planning on ending with a phrase that Mayito Rivera said earlier today: “your music is more than a national patrimony, it is a world patrimony.”

Thank you.

MODERATOR:

Now is time for the debate, questions, and comments. I think it’s important to have this musician here sharing his experiences and everything he can tell us through composition examples and through many different ways. Mayito Rivera, please …

MAYITO RIVERA:

Neil, for us Cuban musicians, when we think about North American musicians, we have a lot of respect. But we would like to know what is their opinion about Cubania, the music of today, because you are taking about the masters of the past. I would like to know what opinion do North American musicians have about the quality of our music?

LEONARD:

I think that our opinion is still the same. When I had to prepare information for my students who are here with us I showed them a DVD of Los Van Van in Karl Marx theater and other examples I had of young artists. I showed the Habava De Primera but I still need more information. We’ve seen some Cuban rap artists on the internet as well. The opinion is how it has always been very strong. When I got to Havana to work on a project with Danza Contemporánea, Berklee students started to show up even if they were not part of my student group, and hoped to participate. They still have the notion that Cuban music is so important that they have to come and see for themselves.

MAYITO RIVERA:

I asked this question because I would like to hear his opion; I have an anecdote with the Van Van orchestra in 2006 at the Jazz Festival in Tokyo, Japan. We were there as Los Van Vans, and Chick Corea was there with a big group of great musicians. Omar Hakim was there, one of the greatest percussionists. [John] Patitucci, on the bass, and they were openning for the Van Van orchestra, we were closing the show. And it caught my attention, being the first time that I have had seen those great musicians at the stage together as a group, and again, that was the first time that I saw them and after they finished, they were behind the stage, Los Van Van were playing “Sandunguera” and they were behind, hidden on the stage, behind the curtain seated, observing Samuel [Formell] playing drums. Obesrving the execution of a piece that is so simple for us, musically speaking for us like “Sandunguera”. It really called my attention and I was fulley moved, I could not believe it. That is why I am asking, and it is very important to hear …

WILFREDO NARANJO VERDECIA [DIRECTOR, ORQUESTA TÍPICA ORIGINAL DE MANZANILLO]:

The magic is truly …

MAYITO RIVERA:

They were watching, from the back of the stage like little kids watching us between an opening in the curtain, watching Samuel playing the solo on Sanduguera on the timbale. So I had this anecdote, but let hear his point of view.

LEONARD:

When I went to Panamá for a jazz festival and Chucho (Valdéz) was playing with his quartet and I was with Ruben Blades. We went to the stage and Chucho’s piano was like let’s say right there [ten feet away] and he was studying Chucho because at that time Ruben was the Minister of Tourism for Panama, he was sort of studying with a great desire to join in singing. You are the school for us.

LEONARD

When we meet the administrative group from Berklee on Friday, my students had spent three days in here. We had already prepared a piece with Los Hermanos Arangos, a piece we will perform at Casa de las Américas. We also went to the ISA [University of the Arts] to prepare a concert with students at ISA. When the full Berklee group joined us, one of them asked my students “How is the experience of being here in Cuba as American musicians studying and playing with Cuban musicians?” Our cellist Dean Capper said: “Look, here we cannot fool the audience as we do in the United States”, Yes the rhythm is important but you can’t deceive the people either, you have to play hard.

MAYITO RIVERA:

That vacuum that you mentioned, during the 70’s, when did it end, with Irakere?

LEONARD:

The window into Cuban music?

MAYITO RIVERA:

Yes.

LEONARD:

No that was the beginning, but I had to struggle to learn more. Before I came to Cuba my friends told me there was another band called Afrocuba lead by Oriente Lopez and so I came here and brought back a pile of LP’s including Van Van, Reve, Caturla, Afrocuba, Pablo Milanes, Merceditas Valdes. I went to Cachao’s house [Orlando "Cachaíto" López] … Actually, in every town I went to I asked musicians “were could I find LP’s. I do not care about the gifts, I do not care about the rum, I want to leave with music.”

When I returned to the U.S. someone called me from San Francisco and asked If I went to Matanzas and I said ‘yes.’ This person asked if I saw Afrocuba of Matanzas and whether I had a tape recorder. I answered yes they said, “We want a copy of this concert and we are ready to exchange recordings for what you have.” ... So there was this underground of US musicians sharing music.

I see the exchange more with classic Cuban groups, but for example, with Berklee’s rap artist Shea Rose, that is with us here, she was not familiar with any rapper here in Havana. I looked for a rapper here in Santiago to work with her, but from the United Stated we still do not have sufficient information. I need more information because I am presenting Cuba, at least to my school, as a country a very diverse culture, because when I was here in Santiago de Cuba [in 1986] I saw the Conjunto Folklorico de Oriente, it started with women dancing in sandals and an African Cuban playing Chinese musette. I didn’t expect that kind of diversity. So I think it is important for my students to understand that there’s son, rumba, music for the orisha’s, Harold Gramatges’ music Roberto Valera’s music, Juan Blanco, Van Van, there’s reggaeton, rap. I have the responsibility to show something real, at least to open a window so they can at least know there’s more than one thing. A basis of information is not complete with only two or three points of reference. In Cuba there is an interaction between these musicians and these styles.

Los Hermanos Arangos

Los Hermanos Arangos performance at Casa Las Americas, Havana, Cuba, May 2011.

During the Berklee Interdisciplinary Arts Institute tour of Cuba, May 2011, we had the privilege to play opposite Los Hermanos Arangos in this concert at Casa Las Americas. Los Hermanos Arangos specialize in Jazz and music of the Yoruba and Abakua traditions in Cuba. The family lives in the Guanabacoa the epicenter of Afrocuban folkloric music in Havana. All chants, rhythms and dances heard in this video are authentic. The addition of horns, piano and bass are in addition and compatible with the traditional elements kept in tact in this performance.

Los Hermanos Arangos' will be visiting Berklee College of Music in September 2011.

Boston’s Berklee College of Music in Cuba

Juan Blanco was always close
May 10th, 2011, Granma (Cuba's national daily newspaper)

By Michel Hernández

Berklee College of Music has prepared a rigorous program of concerts for their second trip to the island, where they will perform in the international festival Cubadisco 2011 and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the work “Música para Danza,” by Juan Blanco, (1919-2008) electro-acoustic music pioneer of Cuba and Latin America.

Neil Leonard, saxophonist and organizer of this cultural exchange told Granma that a group of students from Berklee, headed by several vice-presidents of this prestigious North American institution will be offering a series of performances during their stay: Sunday, May 15th, 11:00 A.M., at la Sala Dolores de Santiago de Cuba, Tuesday, May 17th, 3:30 P.M. at the Superior Institute of Art and Friday, May 20th, at 7:00 P.M., at the theater of the National Fine Arts Museum.

Leonard, who is a Professor of composition, programming and performance with video explained that the theme for the program is Music and Movement; with shows at the National Theatre, Wednesday, May 18th, 11:00 A.M. along with Danza Contemporánea and on Wednesday at 8:00 P.M. at Casa de Las Américas where the Berklee students will be joined by Los Hermanos Arangos.

Last November Leonard worked with Laboratorio Nacional de Música Electroacústica (LNME) to coordinate the first collaborative concerts of Berklee students with Cuban students that took place on the island. At that time, North-American and Cuban musicians performed a varied collection of songs intertwining imagination and experimental flair including the premiere of the extraordinary work “Nuestro Tiempo” composed by Leonard and students from both countries, honoring Juan Blanco.
“It was extremely valuable for the students to create and perform a piece together. This made it possible for them to collaborate in the deepest sense and share ideas. The public reception was wonderful and it allowed for the sharing of common interests and attitudes towards education and musical interchange.” Leonard expressed.

During the 80’s, Leonard participated in several editions of the International Festival of Electroacoustic Music in Varadero, Cuba, organized by the composer of “Suite Erótica.” “Juan Blanco was a mentor to me. When I started in electroacoustic music I was very interested in his sense of artistic risk. His approach to creating music was very stimulating. The experience of knowing him and his guidance was an inseparable part of my artistic life,” remembers Leonard.

Since then, the US based composer has kept a very close relationship with Cuban cultural events, specially with LNME, an institution which has fostered and important niche for home brew DJ’s within the electronic music scene. “Cuba is known around the world as one of the most important producers of popular musicians, but it has been one of my fundamental objectives to present Cuba to the academic and artistic circles of the United States with a much broader view, in this case as a country with an important history in electronic music.

“After our first residency in Cuba, there was more interest in this project, both in Cuba and Boston. After the two concerts in May, we would like to organize a third visit to take place before the end of the year.”

Leonard enjoys these exchanges with the satisfaction of one who has seen a dream transformed into to reality. “I grew up as a jazz musician surrounded by both jazz and popular music of the U.S., however in order to fully appreciate my native culture it is imperative to know Cuban music. While in Cuba I learned a lot and I always had the dream of visiting with a group of students, little by little the dream is being fulfilled.”

Performances with Dave Bryant and Chris Bowman

Saturday, June 25 - 7:30 & 9:30 PM

Neil Leonard - reeds

Dave Bryant - piano

Don Miller - bass

Chris Bowman - drums

Jack and Luna's
3928 Main St.
Stone Ridge, NY
845.687.9794 

www.jackandlunas.com

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Sun, June 26, 2011 at 8:00 PM

Dave Bryant - keyboards
Neil Leonard - reeds, electronics
John Turner - bass
Chris Bowman - drums

Outpost 186 1/2 Hampshire Street
Inman Square, Cambridge
zeitgeist-outpost.org

** photo by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons ... Thats my new Yanagisawa Soprano --- super horn!

Boston Cyberarts Festival performance

La Compañía Danza Contemporánea de Cuba y el Berklee College of Music

La Compañía Danza Contemporánea de Cuba (DCCuba) y el Berklee College of Music de la ciudad de Boston celebrarán a mediados de Mayo 2011 un Taller Internacional bajo el nombre de Música y Movimiento.

Este encuentro entre jóvenes bailarines y músicos se realizará como parte del II Encuentro entre estudiantes del Berklee College of Music y del Instituto Superior de Arte auspiciado por el Laboratorio Nacional de Música Electroacústica del Instituto Cubano de la Música con la colaboración de Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, la Casa de las Américas, CUBADISCO, entre otros.

El Taller será conducido por el Bailarín y Coreógrafo alemán Andy Zondag y el Profesor Neil Leonard del Berklee College of Music y permitirá comprender la función de la música para la danza contemporánea y cubana y se realizará entre los días 11 y 12 de Mayo con una Presentación del Proyecto (abierta al público previa solicitud) prevista para el día 18 del propio mes a las 2 pm.

Introduction to Los Muñequitos de Matanzas

Good evening. My name is Neil Leonard. We are extremely fortunate that MassMoCA and Jacob's Pillow have brought Los Muñuquitos de Matanzas to Massachusetts this weekend. When I began to investigate Cuban music in the mid-80s the only way to hear this music was to travel to Cuba. I was one of the few US musicians to make the pilgrimage to Cuba and it changed my life, as well as that of my peers.

Traveling to Matanzas, I could see that Cuban folkloric culture is unlike anything that we know in the US. Matanzas is the cradle of West African culture in Cuba and the Americas for that matter. Los Muñequitos are the living legacy of this culture. We have heard fragments of these roots in salsa, rumba, son and music throughout the Americas. What we will experience tonight is the most authentic expression of this tradition. The rhythms, chants and dances that Los Muñequitos will present have been passed down within their families for generations.

Though the work that you will hear/see tonight originated in Africa, some of the culture and beliefs found in the dances of the Muñequitos no longer exists in this form in Africa today. Africans in Cuba preserved their beliefs as a way of holding on to their identity despite enslavement and in some cases their practice was even endorsed by the Church. During the years of slavery, the Church set up African meeting places, or cabildos, to help the slaves feel more at home. In cabildos, the slaves were permitted to hold African religious rituals at fixed hours on specific holidays.
Los Muñequitos are now passing their legacy down to new communities, not only in Cuba, but in the US. Here, they have attracted a following of dancers, musicians and artist who look to Los Muñequitos to grasp strains the African legacy that they have kept alive.

On behalf of MassMOCA and Jacobs Pillow, please join me in giving our warmest Massachusetts welcome to Cuba's premiere folkloric group, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas!

Reverberations:

Neil Leonard + Rudresh Mahanthappa

Cutting-edge improvisors premiere "Reverberations," a piece that they co-wrote for two alto saxophones, live audio processing and interactive software.

Thursday, April 21, 8:00 pm
Berklee College of Music,
Electronic Production and Design Recital Hall
22 Fenway Road, Boston, MA

New CD, Marcel's Window - available online next week

Spring Events, News and Concerts

My new CD, "Marcel's Window" will be available on-line later this week. "Marcel's Window" features a suite of compositions performed by my quartet: Tom Lawton, piano; Lee Smith, bass; Craig McIver, drums.

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Thursday, April 21, 8:00 pm
Berklee College of Music

Neil Leonard/Rudresh Mahanthappa - alto saxophones/live electronics

We will premiere "Reverberations," a piece that I wrote for two alto saxophones, live audio processing and interactive software.

Berklee College of Music
Fenway Recital Hall
22 Fenway Road
Boston, MA 02115
admission: free

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Friday, April 29, 8PM
CyberartsCentral at Atlantic Wharf

Cyberpool, an evening of electro-acoustic improvised music by:
Jorrit Dijktsra - alto sax, analog electronics
Michael Bierylo - cyberguitar
Michael Evans - drums, percussion and
electronics
Ernst Karel - analog electronics
Neil Leonard - sax,
laptop, electronics
Andrew Neumann - laptop, analog electronics
Arvid
Tomayko-Peters - TOOB, laptop, electronics.

CyberartsCentral at Atlantic Wharf
290 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02210
phone: 617-524-2109
www.bostoncyberarts.org
admission: free

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Saturday, April 30, 8pm
Sunday, May 1, 2pm
Jacobs Pillow @ MASS MoCA’s Hunter Center

I will be introducing the Muñequitos de Matanzas' performance "Tambor
de Fuego en Homenaje a los Ancestros."
More info on this event and the Muñequitos can be found at:

http://neilleonard.com/articles/munequitos.htm
http://www.jacobspillow.org

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Monday, May, 2, 8PM
Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church

Dave Bryant Septet:
Dave Bryant - keyboards
Tom Hall - tenor saxophone
Neil Leonard - saxophones and electronics
Curt Newton - drums
Eric Rosenthal - drums
Jeff Song - cello
John Turner - bass

Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church
1555 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
$10 or donation

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May 4 , 6PM
Boston Library, Copley Branch
Jazz Week @ the Boston Public Library presents:

"On the Edge: Exploring the Creative Music Scene"
Musicians Dave Bryant, Tom Hall, John Kordalewski, and Neil Leonard
present a conversation about current trends, with performances by the
presenters.

Boston Library
Copley Square, Boston

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Tour of Cuba (May 9-23)
concerts in Havana: Teatro Nacional, Universidas de las Artes (ISA),
Museo de Bellas Artes
concerts in Santiago de Cuba: CUBADISCO Interntaional fair
details TBA

March 2011 DownBeat article on my work in Cuba

Berklee Students Connect with Cuban Counterparts During Havana Visit 

Berklee College of Music professor NeilLeonard and four students in his electronic production and design department have broken new ground, not on the Boston campus, but in theCaribbean. Cuban-American relations have loosened up on the cultural front so it’s not as difficult for American artists to travel to the island. The Berklee students and professor landed in Havana last December, not long after Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra made the trip.

Leonard wanted the pupils in his Interarts Ensemble — bassist Kate Bilinski, guitarist JohnHull, singer Julia Easterlin, pianist Enrico de Trizio — to be exposed to what he called “manifestations of interdisciplinary art and those wonderful Cuban artists who work across disciplines.”

The Cuban trip, which Leonard planned with help from the Laboratorio Nacional deMusic Electroacústica, turned out to be successful beyond his expectations.

“I’ve been to Cuba a number of times and had amazing experiences,” he said upon his return to Berklee. “But this was the highlight of my 25 years of encounters with Cubans, all packed into one week, sharing it with young musicians who were making their first contact with Cuba.”

Going in, Leonard was concerned about how well his students would collaborate with students at the prestigious Instituto Superior de Arte(ISA) on pieces intended for a concert, but ultimately, he said there was no problem: “They were ambassadors for the arts and did everything possible to be welcoming and appreciative of the Cubans.” 

Under the Havana moon, the students mixed music, dance, poetry and spirituality. A highlight of the ISA show was Bilinski and Hull on iPads manipulating and incorporating samples from the Cubans into the electronic music tradition,especially as ISA has just a fraction of the technology available at Berklee. Hull said, “It was cool to see how interested the ISA students were in the live performance software and controllers we were using.”

Days before a final concert at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Leonard had request•ed of his crew that they become aware of the artistic milieu in Havana. 

“I didn’t want them to try to become amateur specialists in Cuban music so much,” Leonard said. “I wanted them to allow themselves to be open to and partially inspired and influenced by the city of Havana.”

Toward that end, de Trizio went to a ceremony held at a castle and taped the shouts of a soldier leading a procession of marchers.

“As a composer, I’m always fascinated by paradoxes,” de Trizio said. “In this case, it’s a march, but the guy screamed a very nice melody then ‘silencio!’ and I ended up writing a lullaby.” As for lyrics, he and Easterlin adapted an Eliseo Diego poem about Havana’s impressive old architecture. “Silencio” turned up as one of the short vignettes written by the students for the Museo concert’s feature piece “Nuestro Tiempo” (“Our Times”).

After that show, the Berklee gang went to thehome of master percussionists the Arango brothers, who were hosting a Yoruban holiday celebration in honor of the deity Chango. “I had chills when the entire patio of musicians erupted in a ritual chorus complete with beautiful harmonies,” Bilinski said.

Of other activities during the hectic week,there was a memorable visit with Chucho Valdés. Ge Trizio tried out his Steinway, with Easterlin singing. Thrilled by their music, Valdés took over on the keys and unleashed his own “Chucho’s Steps.” “We were in his parlor,” Leonard recalled, “listening to Chucho do his thing from three feet away. There’s nothing like that!” 

—Frank-John Hadley 

Berklee Distinguished Faculy Award

I am thankful to recieve the Berklee Distinguished Faculy Award along with colleagues JoAnne Brackeen, Greg Hopkins and Ross Bresler. This is a transcript of the the words that I shared on that occasion.

I am honored to receive this award. I would like to thank my colleagues in the MT Division and the EPD department for their support and inspiration. I would also like to thank my Chair, Kurt Biederwolf for his help every step of the way.
The degree to which I am effective as a faculty member is partially a result of the teachers that I had.
I studied saxophone Joe Allard for three years. Joe was sought out by Bill Pierce, Eric Dolphy, Michael Brecker and many more. Everything that Joe said was extremely insightful, remarkably clear. He was very tough without making it feel personal. Now, thirty years later, I still think about what he said every time I pick up the horn.

Later, I studied with composition Bob Brookmeyer for two years. Same deal. The critiques and ideas that he presented were always concrete, often tough, and assumed that you aimed to write at the highest level. Now, despite ten years of daily use, I have not worn out the advice that he shared with me.

I also learn from colleagues here at the college. Not long ago, I watched visiting artist, producer and engineer Nathaniel Kunkle, lecture to one of my classes. He was as insightful, clear and frank as Allard and Brookmeyer. The students sat up straight in their chairs for the duration and barely seemed to blink. Afterwards, I watched students as they left the classroom and I recognized that look on their face. One student said thee words to me as he passed ... "I got it." I knew that this one brief encounter might have changed his life - the puzzle about how to move forward was put together.

These teachers helped change my life. There is nothing more exciting to me than to help our students advance their work as artists, technologists and thinkers. Our connection might be long term, or simply one brief conversation. Either way it might be the tipping point where they grasp the compass that they will use for years to come.

I am grateful to the college and for giving me the opportunity to do this work for our students and grateful to my colleagues for their support and for teaching me.

Thank you.

2010 - Selected Events

December 10 to December 31, 2010
Dakar, Senegal

IIIrd World Festival of Black Arts & Cultures
Video installation with Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons

Location and hours TBA

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December 7 & 8 ,11:30am – 1:00pm
Isabel Stewart Gardner Museum

Ana Prvacki - Wandering Band
Featuring
Katie Bilinski - bass
Julia Esterlin - voice
Neil Leonard - saxophones
Christian Li - piano
Rose Seyfried - voice/laptop

The "Wandering Band" is a performance of vocalists and musicians performing on voice, piano, bass and saxophone wandering freely through the Gardner Museum. Conceived by artist Ana Prvacki, the Wandering Band artists will perform their daily practice of exercises, repertoire and improvisation while strolling through the galleries.

Born in 1976, Serbia / Yugoslavia, Prvacki has earned considerable intermational attention in the last decade.  In 2009, she was invited to participate in the show “The Girl Effect” at Lombard Freid Projects, New York and to create a series of performaces at  Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea (Turin). She has performed in various international biennials (2008, Sydney Biennial ; 2007, Singapore biennial; 2006 Turin Triennale). She has also participated in group shows such as    “25 Years Later: Welcome to Art in General”, New York (2007) . In 2010, upcoming invitations include the Pompidou Center in Paris (“Repetition”) , the Isabella Gardner Museum (Boston)  and MONA Tasmanis.

Isabel Stewart Gardner Museum
280 Fenway
Boston, MA 02115, United States
(617) 566-1401
http://www.gardnermuseum.org/

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November 27-December 5, 2010
Laboratorio Nacional de Musica Electroacoustica, Havana, Cuba
Neil Leonard and Berklee Interarts Ensemble in residence at the LNME

Concerts:
Wednesday, December 1, - Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA)
Friday, December 3 - Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
(Premiere of collectively authored work "Nuestro Tiempo" featuring Berklee Interarts Ensemble/Cuban students.)

Other performances and open rehearsals TBA

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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Private concert: solo saxophone/computer/video

Eagle Hill School
Hardwick MA

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Friday, November 12th, 2010 - 8:00PM
Fenway Center

Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra by Francisco Noya

Neil Leonard - "Dreaming of an Island"
Gustav Host - "Mars" and "Jupiter" from the Planets
Philip Glass - "Heros"
"Uncharted" - suite from the video game score

The Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra presents the Boston premiere of professor Neil Leonard's multimedia work, "Dreaming of an Island".  Neil writes, "'Dreaming of an Island' revisits ideas that I first explored in video/installations with Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons. Our work focused on ancient cultural themes, and their impact on contemporary personal narrative. 
 
"The score for 'Dreaming of an Island' draws on West African Yoruba music that Campos-Pons heard as a child in Cuba. Yoruba folkloric melodies and rhythms are heard in combination with ideas from 21st century concert music, electronic music and jazz. The video projection for Dreaming of an Island is a montage created by myself and Magdalena Campos-Pons using a software system of my own design."

Fenway Center
77 Saint Stephen Street
Boston, MA 02115

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Wednesday, October 27, 2010 - 7:00PM
Musicacoustica Festival

Concert of works by:
Richard Boulanger, Neil Leonard, Benoit Granier

Central Conservatory of Music
China Center for Computer Music
Beijing, China

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Thursday, October 28, 2010 - 7:00PM
Mako Art Center

Concert of works by:
Richard Boulanger, Neil Leonard, Benoit Granier, Anthony De Ritis, Bruce Gremo, Gerald Chenoweth

Mako Art Center
Inside Hongdian Art Factory,
Courtyard 36, Guangqu Lu, Chaoyang district
Beijing, China

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September 23, 2010 - 9:30 PM
Castello Malaspina

Castello in Movimento: Boston/Essen converge for premiere of Interdisciplinary Work on September 25
 
Castello in Movimento at Castello Malaspina proudly presents the world premiere of a site-specific work featuring large scale video projection and electroacousic sound performance by Berklee College of Music's InterArts Ensemble, directed by Neil Leonard, and students of the Folkwang Hochschule, Essen, Germany. The twenty-minute piece will feature several of Berklee's most outstanding students performing on laptop and processed instruments: voice, electric bass, saxophones. Top students and faculty from the Folkwang Hochschule will project interactive video of processed imagery mapped to the castle’s exterior.

Participants are:
Prof. Neil Leonard (Berklee College of Music, Boston), Project Director
Prof. Claudius Lazzeroni (Folkwang Hochschule, Essen)
John Hull - live audio processing
Katie Bilinski - bass guitar/laptop
Rose Seyfried - voice/laptop
Enrico de Trezio - keyboards/laptop
Steffen Mueller - live video processing
Simon Deeg - live video processing
 Marius Tippkaemper - live video processing

Castello Malaspina
54035 Fosdinovo - Massa Carrara, Italia
telefono +39 0187 680013 - 0187 68891
www.castellodifosdinovo.it  info@castellodifosdinovo.it

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September 23, 2010 - 10:00 PM
Loggiato di Gemmi

Neil Leonard Quintet

Neil Leonard - alto/soprano sax
Giuliano Perin - vibes
Luciano Milanese - bass
Enrico de Trizio - Piano
Matteo Cidale - drums

Loggiato di Gemmi
via Bonaparte 11
Sarzana
tel. 0187620110

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May 13, 14, 3:00PM
Nuits Sonores Festival

Neil Leonard and Transitoire live

May 15, 8:00PM
Nuits Sonores Festival

Neil Leonard - solo saxophone
Michel Doneda/Tetsu Saïtoh - duo

Le Périscope
13 rue Delandine
69002 Lyon, France
http://www.periscope-lyon.com/

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Saturday, May 1, 2010 - 8:00 PM
GASP Gallery/Boston JazzWeek

Dave Tronzo/Bruno Råberg/Neil Leonard Trio

$12 suggested donation, $8 students and seniors

GASP Gallery
362-4 Boylston St., Brookline, MA, 02445
galleryinfo@g-a-s-p.net
617.418.4308

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Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - 7:00 PM
Primavera en Havana: XIII Festival Internacional De Musica Electroacustica

Neil Leonard - saxophones/electronics

Teatro Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Arte Cubano.

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Thursday, March 11, 2010 - sets at 8:00 PM and 9:30 PM

VIDEOFORMES 25/25 :: NIGHT WILL NOT FALL
Live Broadcast to the 25th anniversary of VideoFormes international
video art and digital culture festival; Clermont-Ferrand, France

Pierce Warnecke and Max Abeles Duo +
GLOBAL SONIFICATION NETWORK ENSEMBLE
Live sound and video processing
Sound: Pierce Warnecke, Jinku Kim, Enrico de Trizio, Neil Leonard,
Daniel Piccione
Video: Daniel Cevallos, Shane Butler, Merideth Hillbrand

$10 suggested donation, $6 students and seniors

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Berklee College of Music Electronic Production and Design professor Neil
Leonard introduces the Boston premiere of the film
MEREDITH MONK: INNER VOICE
Friday, February 19, 7 pm
Sunday, February 21, 3:30 pm
at the Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Ave., Boston

MEREDITH MONK: INNER VOICE (by Babeth M.VanLoo) As part of the ICA’s ongoing commitment to presenting the best film of art and artists, the ICA features a new documentary about Meredith Monk. A “musician of boundless imagination and vision,” (The Plain Dealer) Monk is a composer, singer, director/choreographer and creator of new opera, music theater works, films, and installations.

Inner Voice follows Monk as she creates her latest piece, Songs of Ascension, a major new work developed in collaboration with renowned artist Ann Hamilton. The film observes Monk’s process from her initial, solitary work to the rehearsal process, seeking the motivation and source of her creative force.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

January 14, 2010 - 4:00 PM
Panama Jazz Festival

Neil Leonard - saxophones/electronics
Special guests - TBA

Ascanio Arosemena Theater
Panama City, Panama

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January 8, 2009 - 8:00 PM
Dave Bryant Ensemble
Amazing Things Arts Center

Dave Bryant - keyboards
Neil Leonard - saxophones and live electronics
Tom Hall - saxophones
Jeremy Van Buskirk - live electronics
Jeff Song - cello and kayagum
John Voit - bass
Curt Newton - drums
Eric Rosenthal - drums

Amazing Things Arts Center
160 Hollis St
Framingham, MA 01701

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November 14th, 2009 - January 2nd, 2010
HOPE: YES WE CAN
Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons Exhibition
Bernice Steinbaum Gallery

Neil Leonard - sound for multimedia installation "My mother told me that I am Chinese"
by Magda Magdalena Campos Pons

Bernice Steinbaum Gallery
November 26 – December 31, 2005
3550 North Miami Avenue, Miami, FL
www.bernicesteinbaumgallery.com

DOM Cultural Center, Russia

cardiotest with Neil Leonard

Neil Leonard/David Clark Duo

40 Years of Jazz at NEC

October 24, 2009 - 1:30 to 2:45 PM
New England Conservatory Jazz 40th Panel Discussion

A Musician's Toolbox:
Marketing, promotion & technology

Alan Ett ‘78MM, (Pres. Alan Ett Music Group – LA)
Neil Leonard '84BM, '00MM composer/performer, Professor at Berklee College of Music
Paul Lipson ’96 ‘99MM (VP of Business Development at Pyramid, an interactive entertainment industry – SF)
Michael Ricci – founder of All About Jazz.com (internet resource)
Moderator: Bob Blumenthal, Marsalis Music, (Former Boston Globe Jazz Critic)

Pierce Hall., St. Botolph Building
New England Conservatory
Boston, MA 02115

GASP Gallery Gala

Alternative energy - GASP marks five years

MAKING IT HAPPEN: Half a decade in, Campos-Pons and Leonard's gallery stands out as a rare "alternative space" in a Boston art scene that is dominated by commercial and institutional venues.

Fall 2009 Events

September 30, 2009 - 9:00 PM
Bar Torino
Piero Bittolo Bon, sax/bass
Achille Succi, alto sax, bass clarinet
Neil Leonard, alto and soprano saxes

San Marco 4591 Campo San Luca
Venezia, Italy
041 520 7634
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October 1, 2009 - 8:45
Conservatorio C.Pollini

Giuliano Perin-Neil Leonard Sextet
Giuliano Perin - vibes
Neil Leonard - sax
Maurizio Scomparin - trumpet
Marcello Tonolo - piano
Luciano Milanese - bass
Massimo Chiarella - drums

Conservatorio C.Pollini
Auditorium Cesare Pollini
Padova, Italy
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October 3, 2009 - 9:30

Computer Art Festival, 2009
Auditorium Centro Culturale
Altinate - San Gaetano, Padova, Italy

Musiche per Galileo
Dinu Ghezzo, pianoforte
Neil Leonard, saxofoni
Carlo Meneghini, recitante
Interensemble E-Quartet
Gianpaolo Capuzzo, flauti diritti
Francesco Socal, clarinetti
Marco Pavin, chitarra elettrica
Bernardino Beggio, pianoforte

Programma
Bruno Maderna - Serenata per un Satellite (1969)
Dinu Ghezzo - Last letters (*)
Salvatore Macchia - In silenzio di notte (*)
John Yannelli - When Parallels Rays of Light Converge (*)
Michele Biasutti - Sidereus Nuncius (*)
Neil Leonard - Galilei-Leonard, Double Remix (*)
(*) prima esecuzione assoluta

Free and open to the public
Auditorium Centro Culturale
Altinate - San Gaetano
Padova, Italy
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October 24, 2009 - 1:30 to 2:45 PM
New England Conservatory Jazz 40th Panel Discussion

A Musician's Toolbox:
Marketing, promotion & technology
Alan Ett ‘78MM, (Pres. Alan Ett Music Group – LA)
Paul Lipson ’96 ‘99MM (VP of Business Development at Pyramid, an interactive entertainment industry – SF)
Michael Ricci – founder of All About Jazz.com (internet resource)
Moderator: Bob Blumenthal BOV (Former Boston Globe Jazz Critic)

Pierce Hall., St. Botolph Building
New England Conservatory
Boston, MA 02115
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October 26, 2009 - 8:00 PM
Bryant / Leonard / Song / Newton @ Outpost
Dave Bryant - keyboards
Neil Leonard - saxophones and electronics
Jeff Song - cello and kayagum
Curt Newton - drums

Outpost 186 1/2 Hampshire Street
Inman Square, Cambridge, MA
http://www.zeitgeist-outpost.org
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October 29-November 12, 2009

Instytut im. Jerzego Grotowskiego
(Jerzy Grotowski Institute)
International Theater Festival

Me/Dea
An adaptation of Euripides' Medea conceived and performed by
I Pedoni dell' Aria
Music by Cristian Sommaiuolo and Neil Leonard

Rynek-Ratusz 27, 50–101 Wroclaw, Poland
http://www.myspace.com/ipedonidellaria
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November 15, 2009, 7:00 PM
Neil Leonard/David Clark Duo

Neil Leonard - solo saxophone/electronics
David Clark - acoustic bass/electronics

Free and open to the public

Berklee College of Music
Fenway Recital Hall
22 Fenway Road, Boston
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November 21, 2009
Autumn Moscow Festival of New Music, Russia

Neil Leonard - solo saxophone/electronics

Concert of works by composers from Berklee College of Music and IRCAM
Venue and time: TBA
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November 22, 2009
DOM Cultural Center, Russia

Neil Leonard - solo saxophone/electronics

Also appearing, Sergey Letov/Maral Yakshieva Duo
http://www.dom.com.ru/
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December 5th, 2009 - 8:00 PM
Dave Bryant Band
Longy School of Music

Dave Bryant - keyboards
Neil Leonard - saxophones and live electronics
Tom Hall - saxophones
Jeremy Van Buskirk - live electronics
Jeff Song - cello and kayagum
John Voit - bass
Curt Newton - drums
Eric Rosenthal - drums

Longy School of Music
1 Follen St, Cambridge, MA‎
(617) 876-0956‎
www.longy.edu

Tra Ealileo e il Futurismo

Galilei-Leonard, Double Remix (2009)
for saxophone and live electronics
Composed by Neil Leonard
World Premiere

Galilei-Leonard, Double Remix revisits material from two pieces that I composed using the computer as a key resource. The first composition is entitled Partita Tripla con Galilei (2009). While working on this piece I created a library of sounds based on a recording of Vincenzo Galilei's madrigal In Exitu Israel. Individual processed notes from In Exitu Israel are used in the first part of Double Remix to invoke celestial/angelic voices.

The second source is a composition named M87 (1995) from my debut solo CD Timaeus. M87 is named after a giant elliptical galaxy photographed by the NASA Hubble Space Telescope. M87 is believed by some to be a supermassive black hole. The Hubble photos shows a 5000 light-year long jet stream made up of electrons being ejected outward at near light-speed.

Partita Tripla con Galilei was composed in collaboration with Padova based composers Maura Capuzzo, Marco Braggion and coordinated by Nicola Bernardini for the Giornata dell' Ascolto, Padova, 2009. In Exitu Israel was sung by Alessandro Carmignani and used with his kind permission. Parts of the remix of M87 were created with Gadi Sassoon (aka Memory 9) in London, 2008.

Mimi Rabson Is Living in a Post-Bach World

Berklee instructor commissions new works for solo violin, By James Reel

Neil Leonard says of his contribution, “Mimi’s Metamorphology,” “The piece is a tribute to Mimi’s ability to find links between classical, folk, and jazz traditions. I also wanted to showcase her work in combining interpretation, improvisation, and live electronics. I've followed Mimi's performances for years and I marvel at her ability to learn and adapt in order to play with the unique groups of musicians that she has encountered.

“About 60 percent of the violin part is very precisely notated. The remaining 40 percent is an improvisational recapitulation of those materials. When Mimi performs the work, the audience is unable to determine which parts are notated and which are improvised—where my pen leaves off and her bow continues the musical idea.” —J.R.

These acts are hard to beat

These acts are hard to beat

These acts are hard to beat

By Bob Young / Jazz/World Preview
Friday, September 4, 2009

World music and jazz presenters are clearly counting on an improved economy to loosen wallets this fall. Look no further for proof than this fall’s ambitious lineup.

Always surprising guitarist Charlie Hunter rolls out his new CD, “Baboon Strength,” on Sept. 11 at the Regattabar in Cambridge. That same night, the quintet Agachiko, with Ken Field and Gabrielle Agachiko, digs into the Nina Simone songbook at Inman Square’s Lily Pad in Cambridge.

Among the hot young voices with club showcases are alto-sax man Benny Reid at the Regattabar on Sept. 29, and clarinetist and composer Darryl Harper’s C3 Project features poetry and dance at Scullers on the same day. Look for back-to-back nights of exploratory sounds at Outpost 186 in Inman Square on Sept. 25 with Strange Guitar, which features groups led by Jeff Platz, Kevin Frenette and Chris Welcome. And on Oct. 26 it’s the foursome of Neil Leonard, Jeff Song, Curt Newton and former Ornette Coleman keyboardist Dave Bryant.

The Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival takes place over nine days in various clubs and venues starting Sept. 18, with Berklee Performance Center shows with Branford Marsalis on Sept. 23, and Kickin’ the Blues with David Sanborn, Kevin Mahogany and Amina Claudine Myers on Sept. 25. The free outdoor, six-block-long party on Columbus Avenue on Sept. 26 is always big fun. Jane Bunnett, Donald Harrison and Melvin Sparks are among this year’s acts.

The annual John Coltrane Memorial Concert is a two-parter (Sept. 26-27), with Saturday’s show at Northeastern’s Blackman Theatre featuring the John Coltrane Memorial Ensemble, and Sunday’s show at Hibernian Hall a smaller group of Syd Smart, Stan Strickland, Laszlo Gardony and others.

New England Conservatory is blowing out the candles on the 40th anniversary of its jazz studies program with major shows, including the Wayne Shorter Quartet with NEC’s Philharmonia on Oct. 24 at Jordan Hall, and the NEC Jazz Summit on Oct. 23 with Fred Hersch, Gunther Sculler, Don Byron, Rachael Price and others.

The Caribbean is represented at Cambridge Carnival on Sept. 13, which kicks off in Kendall Square. Brazil gets fresh takes on the bossa nova Sept. 10 at the Beehive with Joao Marcos and Teresa Ines, and psychedelia Oct. 4 at the Somerville Theatre with Os Mutantes. Brazilian legend Milton Nascimento returns to town at Berklee Performance Center Nov. 15.

Cuban drum sensation Dafnis Prieto gets to showcase his pioneering rhythms as bandleader on Oct. 16 at the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, which will be followed on Nov. 6 by another Rock en Espanol multiband extravaganza.

Other hot shows: the Chicago Afrobeat Project (Johnny D’s, Sept. 30); electro-tango outfit Bajofondo (Paradise, Oct. 1); South African prog rockers BLK JKS (pronounced Black Jacks, T.T. the Bear’s Place, Oct. 4); the Warsaw Village Band (Somerville Theatre, Nov. 6); and Bollywood singer Kailash Kher (Somerville Theatre, Nov. 13).