2021 has been a year to remember!
© Youri Lenquette
My birthday is coming up and I want to celebrate it with you! I’ve put togethersome upcoming shows in NYC and Europe and would love to see you there!
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March 1st 7 pm Green Room NYC
Featuring Matt Malanowski and guest master percussionist Mino Cinelufeaturing new original compositions by Matt and myself. The evening’s music is influenced by Flamenco Music and Jazz greats: Paco De Lucia and Chick Cora.
In Europe with my new Flamenco Kora Trumpet Trio featuring Ali Boulo Santo Cissoko and Alejandro Moreno:
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March 5th 8:30 pm Loft Cologne, Germany
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March 11th Opus Jazz Club, Budapest, Hungary
Last year was surprisingly crazy busy and creative.
I was part of the Freispieler at Supergau - a public art festival with the goal of bringing art into the country side. I had the pleasure of meeting new amazing musicians: Tuba artist Carl Ludwig Hübsch while reconnecting with Sebi Tramontana and Almut Kühne.
Here is 360 video sample from a performance at the sculpture “Das Gelbe vom Gau” by Moritz Matschke and Anna Pech:
© Moritz Matschke und Anna Pech
I was invited to perform at the summer festival of the German Bundespräsident and I invited Ali Boulo Santo Cissoko and Trilok Gurtu. Unfortunately, it was canceled due to Covid-19. Nevertheless it was encouraging to be invited receiving recognition for our two decades of cross cultural work.
Nevertheless we recorded a new album at the Goethe Institut in Paris with Ali Boulo Santo featuring Mino Cinelu. Huge thank to the Institute and their team especially Maxime Libiszeski and Susanne Bigot! It will come out sometime later this year. Mino Cinelu’s artistry has been with me since a teenager: I listened to him on so many recordings with Miles Davis, Gil Evans and Sting. I am excited for new collaborations with both amazing artists in the future!
© Youri Lenquette | Cover Art © Vincent Bloch
The album is a deep spiritual continuation of my long time trumpet/kora collaboration, which we also took onto another level in October by being invited to the Jazz & The City Festival. Thank you, Tina and everyone in Salzburg, for giving us the opportunity to rehearse a new flamenco | Kora | trumpet trio. Here is a private video from a live performance with the duo and trio:
Flamenco | Kora | Trumpet Trio live a the Marionetten Theater Salzburg
We will be rehearsing and recoding the new trio album next month.
And it didn’t end here! The ART OMI Music Residency during the summer was mind blowing and truly life changing!
I met and connected with incredible artists:
Odero George Achieng, Kenya
Henry Fraser, USA
Amana Irarrázabal, Chile
Zach Layton, USA
Lee Odem, USA
Mint Parker, Uruguay, Mexico
Carola Zelaschi, Argentina
Stephanie Griffin, Canada, USA
Thank you Jeffrey for your vision and for bringing together this group!
Here a two 360 video from our experiences:
We were able to already record two new projects:
First Amanda Irarrazabal a double bass and vocal artist and myself recorded a session at St. Peter Church in Staten Island.
And secondly George Odero a single stringed fiddle artists and singer from Kenia. Many thanks to the German Konsul for opening their concert hall to recorded a duo album at the German house in New York.
They are pre-mixed samples and the recordings will come out this year as well.
I continued my lessons with flamenco master Enrique Vargas. What an amazing generous teacher and player. My friend Joe Quitzke a drummer from Paris and myself are now planning to create our own residency with Enrique in Spain. Joe speaks fluently Spanish and it can be helpful to do things together.
Besides four films, documentaries and Immersive projects which need to be finished, we completed the production of “Roll 4 US” by visiting Minneapolis, Moorhead and Austin competing additional missing interviews. More soon! It was great to see NeSey again while also visiting Rosy Simas new Dance Studio! What a great space!
This year I hope we can finally complete and perform the Immersive Community Performance about indigenous homelessness, historic trauma and genocide at Rosy Simas‘ Studio.
City Artist Corps gave me a grant for “Placed Notes Opus 2”- The composition consists of placed notes in space creating a sound bath based on the cardinal points: lighter keys in the south, darker keys in the north, ascending sounds in the east and descending sounds in the west. Twenty-five musicians were placed in space improving within parameters. Here a video:
Thank you for supporting the arts! Thanks for subscribing! And please follow me on Instagram and Youtube.
See you in New York (March 1), Cologne (March 5) or Budapest (March 11)!
Long Life, Happiness and Peace for 2021
What happened in 2020?
Covid Restriction at a concert in Salzburg (Photo by Edward Perraud)
Chair Mandala - 10 chairs painted by Almut Kühne Florian Weber, Anna Lena Schnabel, Edward Perraud, Alejandro Moreno, Christopher Dell, Niklaus Troxler, Boris Cassata, Almut’s sun & cousin and Helge Leiberg.
Boris and Alejandro overseen by Mozart…
On the road filming a wheel chair road movie “Roll 4 US” now in assembly stage thanks to Sak Costanzo.
You can help us finishing the film by donating here: Roll 4 US
Arrival at the Capital after 270 miles raising after Gulf War illness and legalizing recreational marijuana with Andrew Hanson, Lonnie Johnson and Blind Native Veteran Kevin Shores.
Almut Kühne performing at the Blaue Gans Art Hotel with Niklaus taped chair. Special thanks to Andreas for hosting us!
Anna-Lena Schnabel, Florian Weber and Edward Perraud in after Chair Mandala…
Empty planes across the Atlantic felt safer than taking the subway in NYC….
Solo Improvisation over the Mirabell Platz from the Mozarteum.
Helge Leiberg’s overhead projection on Mozart’s birth-house. A few trumpet notes may had an impact on the painting? Inside the house were Anna-Lena and Eduard performing but we couldn’t hear them and I was happy to make some noise..
A gift from Helge now hanging in our NYC Appartment.
All the bandits and art fighters creating a infectious art virus… Many thanks to Claudia and Fred to open their “Leerstand”. And of course Tina Heine on the left who put the “Zwischenräume Festival” together! THANK YOU!
Madrid stop over visiting Museo Reina Sofia and a lesson with flamenco master Enrique Vargas.
Grateful to have met, learned from and performed with Alejandro Moreno.
Amsterdam Stop Over visiting the Rembrandthuis.
How to you ride blind on an electric chair? Ask Kevin and Lonnie they have answers…
Studying UNITY for Wall of Forgotten Natives. Play the Four Direction Scene here (Desktop Computer only). Graphic Art by Tony Grahn.
Many thanks to Lara Lewison for teaching me UNITY at Harvestworks via an artist scholarship.
Please support Harvestworks by clicking here!
Plant some trees to save the planet and expose our former president hoarding paper. Click Play (Desktop Computer only)
Raising funds to bring GRIOT to more fans worldwide! You can help!
Big THANK YOU to everyone who already did chip in!
THANKS YOU AGAIN for making 2020 a product year despite our challenges!
SILENT THUNDER
Mat Malanowski - piano
Volker Goetze - trumpet
Friday, January 17, 2020, 8:00 PM
America's National Opera Center
330 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10001
Dear Friends,
It's been a while since my last newsletter. I hope you have all
been well. I wanted to share some exciting news!
I am releasing a new duo album, which was recorded back in
2013. My friend, the very talented multi-instrumentalist Chris Torkewitz and I worked for months on the musical context and the arrangements. It was recorded at the historic Avatar Studios
here in New York with sound magician Jim Anderson.
I will be touring to promote the album with Matt Malanowski, an
innovative musical prodigy and we are looking forward to presenting the music to you. Please join us for the following concerts:
Dec 13 LOFT, Wissmanstraße 30, Cologne
Jan 17, National Opera Center America, New York
Tell your friends and see you all either in New York or
Cologne!
Also please help me to reach 1000 subscribes
on YouTube which will allow me to
distribute GRIOT a feature documentary about the oral history and music of West
Arica!
All the best and peace to the
world!
Volker.
Please see below for news about my other
projects:
Wall of Forgotten Natives
Last year the American Composer Forum honored me with the Knight Composing residency. The community VR project follows a group of Native Americans
in Minneapolis who are forced to live in an encampment near the highway. They survive the worst of circumstances by bonding together and fighting for desperately needed resources. The project was
shot using 360 video and features a dance performance utilizing VR technology. It was one of the twelve finalists for the Knight Foundation's immersive technology call this year. I am excited to announce that the project has made it to the second round for
the New Frontier
Lab at the Sundance Film Institute. I am grateful to
the many friends I have made and the invaluable support from from the Native Community. They invited me to a sweat lodge, to their most sacred sun dance ceremony and I also interviewed Sioux chief
Galen Drapeau.
Tony Grahn a former resident of the encampment painted the four
directions for the 360 video and we traveled together to the badlands and wounded knee.
Native Choegrapher Rosy Simas, cellist Jacquline Ultan and myself had the opportunity to workshop a VR project inspired by Wall of Forgotten Natives in Salzburg at Jazz & The City which was a
blast! Here is a special links only for you:
Workshop Performance Wall of Forgotten Natives
And I had the amazing opportunity to perform solo at
the Toscaninihof in Salzburg with light-projection
artist Katrin Bethge. She is amazing check her work out!
SONIC GATES
Click on the map to view a 360 video from last year's
opening ceremony of SONIC
GATES!
Float, Float, Float On by Arthur Simms
SONIC GATES was installed - NYC's first sound sculpture walk uplifted local communities by bringing new customers into
the Bay Street Corridor, driving small businesses and highlighting the work of NYC local artists.
Ablaye Cissoko and myself toured again around Europe and I feel
blessed to be alive to create beauty and deep healing through our concerts.
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