Marc Ribot was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1954 and began his musical journey under the mentorship of the Haitian composer and guitarist Frantz Casseus. After moving to New York in the late '70s, Ribot dove deep into the musical treasury and quickly established himself as an exceptional guitarist. Among his collaborations from this era are those with the Lounge Lizards, Brother Jack McDuff, Wilson Pickett, Chuck Berry… In 1985, together with Tom Waits and the cult album “Rain Dogs,” Ribot helped in the opening of a completely new chapter in American music, leaving no doubt about his impeccable innovation. Ribot has been featured on nearly 600 releases - an impressive number that includes 25 personal projects, each influential in its way. Few artists have such a prolific résumé, which includes works with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello, Diana Krall, Marisa Monte, Arto Lindsay, Caetano Veloso, Neko Case, Solomon Burke, John Zorn and many, many more. His new, solo project, “Map of a Blue City”, is a unique album. Marc Ribot has been living with Map of a Blue City for nearly thirty years. 30 years. It is also the first record to fully revolve around his singing. The album presents a fusion of diverse styles: traditional American music, blues, bossa nova, no wave, noise, and free jazz—all forming a perfect whole that has received fabulous responses from both fans and critics alike.
KAHIL EL’ZABAR’S ETHNIC HERITAGE ENSEMBLE
Kahil El’Zabar has been one of the deepest and most forward-thinking artists from Chicago’s renowned improvised music scene for many years. Working in a variety of creative contexts as a member of the boundlessly innovative AACM, which he led for almost a decade, El’Zabar founded the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble in 1974. This was his way to further explore the connections between African-American music, like jazz, with more traditional African instrumentation and rhythms. The definitions of “spiritual” and “improvisational” do not sufficiently capture the multidimensional, evocative, educational, and progressive core of his work. Simply put, it is black music in its purest state. Last year, The Ensemble celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a much-acclaimed Album, “Open Me, A Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit” for Spiritmuse Records. Here, the great artist delivers a meditative ambience with soaring spirituality and a laid-back swing that does not allow the groove to fall apart. His lush and interstellar portfolio of collaborations includes Dizzy Gillespie, Don Cherry, Archie Shepp, Cannonball Adderley, Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, David Murray… among others. But El’ Zabar doesn’t look back on the past half a century. He is interested in the future…