April 2010 Issue:
Welcome to the Ancient Future Times
Email newsletter of the World Fusion Music Ensemble Ancient Future
Twitter: Ancient Future Band (Ancient_Future) • Ancient-Future.Com Records (WorldFusion) • Matthew Montfort (MatthewMontfort)
Facebook: Ancient Future Fan Page • Matthew Montfort Fan Page
To subscribe, use the form below. Follow instructions thereafter, and make sure to ONLY check the geographic area where you actually live. We need this information so that we only send you information about concerts in your area. It doesn't refer to types of world music that you like.
In This Issue:
Seven Subscribers Sought A.F.A.R.
•A.F.A.R. is Where YOU Join with Ancient Future in the Creation of a New Cross-Cultural Recording. Your Financial Support of as Little as $10 Makes a Difference!
Ancient Future Trio In Concert
•TimnaTal Music Presents at Village Homes Community Center in Davis 3/27/10.
Ancient-Future.Com Records Presents Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Quintet in Concert
•Kuumbwa Jazz in Santa Cruz 4/15/10 and Yoshi's Oakland 4/19/10.
Matthew Montfort Performs on Scalloped Fretboard Guitar and Glissentar
•Steynberg Gallery in San Luis Obispo 4/23/10 and Body Balance in Grass Valley 4/30/10.
Live Radio and Podcasts
•Schedule of Streams and Live Broadcasts.
Free MP3's for the California Democracy Act
•Ancient Future Supports Initiative Signature Gathering Effort with Free MP3s Through April 5.
Seven Subscribers Sought A.F.A.R.
A.F.A.R. is Where YOU Join with Ancient Future in the Creation of a New Cross-Cultural Recording
Your Financial Support of as Little as $10 Makes a Difference!
The Archive of Future Ancient Recordings concept is to involve you, fans of world fusion music, in supporting the creation of a collection of new live and studio recordings that will be available to subscribers (YOU) as they are created. When the archive is complete, the best of the collection will be selected for release as the eighth Ancient Future release. There are already five songs in the archive available exclusively to subscribers: three live recordings of the band Ancient Future and two solo recordings of Ancient Future leader Matthew Montfort.
We have quite a few brand new songs in the wings waiting for funding to start the recording process. In the meantime, we are very close to adding a new live version of "Affinity Minus One," a previously unreleased Indo Latin jazz composition recorded live in high resolution audio at the debut performance of Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble at Yoshi's. Only seven more subscribers are needed to support mastering the high resolution audio so we can add it to the archive. Your support at $10 or more can be what puts this song in the archive! Please sign up for A.F.A.R. now and join us on this creative cross-cultural journey.
There are four supporter packages available:
Recording Newsletter Package: $10. Subscribe Now. Supporters at this level receive the A.F.A.R. Email Newsletter which provides a window on the creative process, good quality 128 kbps digital downloads of legacy recordings chosen from the Ancient Future archives of live concerts, radio performances, and unreleased performances, good quality 128 kbps digital downloads of music to be recorded especially for the A.F.A.R. project, and a 30% discount on advance copies of the final commercial release. This is quite a bargain with five songs already in the archive and more to come!
Download Supporter Package: $25. Subscribe Now. Supporters at this level receive everything included in the Recording Newsletter Package plus high quality 320 kbps downloads of legacy recordings chosen from the Ancient Future archives of live concerts, radio performances, and unreleased performances, high quality 320 kbps digital downloads of music to be recorded especially for the A.F.A.R. project forming an exclusive preview audio recording with digital liner notes that will not otherwise be available in shops (selections from which will form a final public edition), and the chance to submit feedback to questions posed in the recording newsletter. Limited to 300 packages.
Limited Edition CD Sponsor Package: $50. Subscribe Now. Supporters at this level receive everything included in the Download Supporter Package plus an exclusive limited edition CD-R of the same recording with printed liner notes signed by Ancient Future leader Matthew Montfort. Limited to 200 packages.
Honorary A & R Representative Package: $75. Subscribe Now. Supporters at this level receive everything included in the Limited Edition CD Sponsor Package plus a DVD-R including video and 24 bit audio files for hi-res playback on computers. Limited to 100 packages.
You can also help by spreading word of A.F.A.R. afar, so please share this with your friends near and afar (www.ancient-future.com/afar.html)!
Ancient Future Trio In Concert
TimnaTal Music Presents at Village Homes Community Center in Davis 3/27/10
Saturday, March 27, 7 pm
TimnaTal Music Presents Ancient Future
Village Homes Community Center
2661 Portage Bay East
Davis, CA 95616
Tix: $12 in advance, $15 at the door
Info: 530-867-1032
Email: info@timnatalmusic.com
Venue Website: www.timnatalmusic.com
Ancient Future Event Website: www.ancient-future.com/pr_3_27_10.html
Facebook Event: www.facebook.com/event.php?&eid=342956531894
Poster: www.ancient-future.com/pdf/3_27_10_timnatal.pdf (464k)
Ancient Future Trio
Matthew Montfort - scalloped fretboard and fretless guitars
Mariah Parker - santur (hammered dulcimer)
Joe Fajen - tabla, percussion
This concert features a trio version of the pioneering world fusion music group Ancient Future featuring scalloped fretboard guitarist Matthew Montfort, santurist Mariah Parker, and Joe Fajen on tabla and percussion. The Ancient Future Trio concentrates on Arabic, Indian, and Spanish musical themes, and has performed in Spain at festivals in Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Botarell, Torredembarra, and Salou.
Video
Ancient Future performing duet version of 'Moonbath' at 30th Anniversary Concert
(Subscribe to A.F.A.R. to download this song now!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGIliJuyfvs
In December, the Ancient Future Times featured a challenge from A.F.A.R. for five more subscribers. The challenge was met, and the new live version of Moonbath is now in the archive, plus we have posted the video on youtube! As you can see, this version from the 30th anniversary concert at the Freight and Salvage is a very delicate and moving duet featuring scalloped fretboard guitar and hammered dulcimer. Subscribers get the full resolution audio!
Planet Passion by Ancient Future
Planet Passion by Ancient Future (Ancient-Future.Com AF 2010) $17.98: Buy 1 Now. (>audio.)
“If the members of the United Nations formed a world-fusion band, it might look and sound a little something like Ancient Future’s re-issue of their seventh recording. Featuring instrumentation from Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East, Planet Passion is a mythical story of love, flirtation, seduction, courtship, marriage and longing. Manose Singh’s bansuri flute and Matthew Montfort’s scalloped fretboard work stand out in this eclectic, visionary global village, where each track features its own unique set of players. At its best, Planet Passion strives to preserve the world’s vast musical heritage via international collaboration: the idea that one protects the old by creating something new.” — Ryan Allen, LEO WEEKLY, Louisville, Kentucky
Mariah Parker’s Indo Latin Jazz Quintet in Concert
Exclusive Santa Cruz debut of Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Quintet
Celebrating Mariah Parker's debut release on Ancient-Future.Com Records, Sangria
Thursday, April 15, 7 pm
Cookin’ at Kuumbwa
Kuumbwa Jazz Center
320-2 Cedar Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Tix: $12 adv, $15 door; Jazz & Dinner: $24.60 adv.
Tix by phone: 1-866-55-TICKETS
Tix online: http://kuumbwajazz.inticketing.com/events
Doors open and dinner begins at 6 pm
For more info, call (831) 427-2227, email kuumbwa@kuumbwajazz.org or visit www.kuumbwajazz.org
Ancient Future Event Website: www.ancient-future.com/pr_4_15_10.html
Facebook Event: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=333388193262
Poster: www.ancient-future.com/pdf/4_15_10_kuumbwa.pdf (756 k)
Back By Popular Demand at Yoshi's Jazz Club, Jack London Square
Monday, April 19, 8 pm
Yoshi’s Jazz Club
510 Embarcadero West
Oakland, CA 94607
Tix: $18
For more info, call 510-238-9200 or visit www.yoshis.com
Ancient Future Event Website: www.ancient-future.com/pr_4_19_10.html
Facebook Event: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=348551128160
Poster: www.ancient-future.com/pdf/4_19_10_yoshis.pdf (756 k)
Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Quintet
Mariah Parker (composer, piano, santur) performs with a stellar lineup of musicians including including Grammy award winning woodwind virtuoso Paul McCandless (known through his work with the seminal chamber jazz groups Paul Winter Consort and Oregon), trailblazing guitarist Matthew Montfort (Ancient Future), bassist and cellist Kash Killion (Sun Ra Arkestra, Cecil Taylor); and Indian tabla/jazz drum set pioneer Sameer Gupta (Marc Cary, VidyA, Chitresh Das, Anindo Chatterjee).
“Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble packed Yoshi's in Jack London Square, and the incredible live performance had the audience roaring and screaming for more of the Indo-Latin jazz rhythms filling the celebrated jazz club during the CD release event for Mariah Parker's debut recording, 'Sangria.'” - Lynda Carson, BERKELEY DAILY PLANET
Video
Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble Performing 'Affinity Minus One' at Yoshi's
(Subscribe to A.F.A.R. now to put this song in the high resolution download archive!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WARbr891OGQ
Sangria by Mariah Parker
Sangria by Mariah Parker (Ancient-Future.Com AF 2017). $17.98: Buy 1 Now. (>audio).
“Parker and friends blend the rhythmic syncopations of Latin jazz music with the entrancing, asymmetrical meters of East Indian rhythms resulting in first-class world music.” — LATIN BEAT MAGAZINE
Matthew Montfort Performs on Scalloped Fretboard Guitar and Glissentar
Spread Your Wings & Fly with Us: A Musical Journey Featuring
Montana Skies, Matthew Monfort, and AZA
Friday, April 23, 8 pm
Steynberg Gallery
1531 Monterey Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Tickets: $12 advance, $15 door
Information & Reservations: 805-547 0278
Venue Website: www.steynberggallery.com
Ancient Future Event Website: www.ancient-future.com/pr_4_23_10.html
Facebook Event: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107227645972690
Spread Your Wings & Fly with Us is a musical journey featuring the cello guitar fusion of Montana Skies, world music for guitar by Matthew Montfort, and North African music by AZA. Montana Skies will perform new acoustic music for cello, six-string electric cello, Spanish/classical guitar, and steel string guitar. AZA founders Fattah Abbou and Mohamed Aoualouare from Morocco showcase their unique highly percussive music blending the traditions of North Africa with a hint of the West. Ancient Future leader Matthew Montfort will perform solo on scalloped fretboard guitar and glissentar (11 string fretless guitar) and sit in with the other musicians. A selection of international wine and cheeses will be available.
Spanish Serenades, Meditative Maqams, and Reflective Ragas
Featuring Matthew Montfort (scalloped fretboard guitar, glissentar) with Joe Fajen (tabla, percussion) and Anya Devi (Kathak and Flamenco dance)
Friday, April 30, 8 pm
Body Balance Studio
151 Mill St.
Grass Valley, CA 95945
Tix: $15 at the door. Children under 10 free.
Info: 530-470-0350
Venue Website: www.bodybalancenc.com
Ancient Future Event Website: www.ancient-future.com/pr_4_30_10.html
Facebook Event: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111377268875197
Poster: www.ancient-future.com/pdf/4_30_10_bodybalance.pdf (336 k)
Experience uplifting music from Matthew Montfort's new CD, Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar, which earned rave reviews and a feature in Guitar Player Magazine. He will perform Spanish serenades, meditative Middle Eastern maqams, and reflective ragas on scalloped fretboard and fretless guitars accompanied by Joe Fajen on percussion with Kathak and Flamenco dance by Anya Devi.
Matthew Montfort
As leader of the world music group Ancient Future, Matthew Montfort has devoted himself to the scalloped fretboard guitar since 1978. Featured in the December 2009 commemorative Les Paul issue of Guitar Player Magazine, Montfort is a pioneer among guitarists who have had their fretboards scalloped in order to play various forms of world music that require intricate note-bending ornaments while still being able to play chords. Montfort wrote the book Ancient Traditions – Future Possibilities: Rhythmic Training Through the Traditions of Africa, Bali, and India, which has been used by many musicians to improve their rhythm skills.
Video
Matthew Montfort Performing 'Soul Serenade' at Ancient Future's 30th Anniversary Concert
(Subscribe to A.F.A.R. to download this song now!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLfKTbpgO1Q
Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar by Matthew Montfort
"Because Montfort’s guitar has a scalloped fretboard, his fingers touch only the strings, enabling him to produce ornaments more characteristic of the sitar. This album reveals a thorough knowledge of Hindustani microtonal ornaments, transferred in ways that create one of the most distinctive guitar sounds in contemporary music. However, it also reveals a lifetime of exploration in world music, which can be immediately summoned in a flash of inspiration. When this level of mastery is reached, there is no need to rewrite. The first improvisation has the depth of a reworked composition." – Teed Rockwell, INDIA CURRENTS, March 2009
Live Radio and Podcasts
- Sunday, March 28, 12 pm, Wimmin’s Music with Laura Testa interviews Mariah Parker, KKUP, 91.5 FM, Santa Clara, CA 95050. Live on the air. No webcast.
- Thursday, April 1, 7 pm, WorldStreams with Dari interviews Matthew Montfort and Mariah Parker, WorldStreams.org. Streams live online. Archived one week later.
- Sunday, April 4, 11 am, Ancient Future duet with Matthew Montfort (scalloped fretboard guitar, glissentar) and Mariah Parker (santur), Please Stand By on KPIG (1510 AM), streaming live online at www.kpig.com, Watsonville, CA 95076.
- Sunday, April 4, 8 pm, One World in One Hour with Lars Bourne interviews Mariah Parker, KKUP, 91.5 FM, Santa Clara, CA 95050. Live on the air. No webcast.
- Sunday, April 4, 10 pm, Dean Suzuki interviews Mariah Parker on KPFA 94.1 FM, streaming live online at www.kpfa.org, 1929 Martin Luther King Way, Berkeley, CA 94704.
- Friday, April 9, 1 pm, Avotcja interviews Mariah Parker on La Verdad Musical, KPOO-FM 89.5, streaming live online at www.kpoo.com, San Francisco, CA 94115.
- Saturday, April 10, TBA between 10 am & noon, Hala Fauzi interviews Mariah Parker, KKUP, 91.5 FM, Santa Clara, CA 95050. Live on the air. No webcast.
Free MP3's for the California Democracy Act
Ancient Future Supports Initiative Signature Gathering Effort with Free MP3s Through April 5
Ancient Future is among California musicians helping raise awareness about the campaign to put the California Democracy Act on the ballot. From now until the signature gathering deadline of April 5th, tracks by Ancient Future, Mariah Parker, Matthew Montfort, Paraguayan harpist Carlos Reyes and his Electric Symphony, an historic collaboration between sarod master Ali Akbar Khan and Bollywood superstar Ashe Bhosle, didjeridu master Stephen Kent with his groups Baraka Moon and Australian Bebop Ragas, and many others are available as free downloads through a website supporting the California Democracy Act. We donated our music because we think that once you learn how the two-thirds budget rule has been destroying infrastructure, education, and the arts in California, you'll want to help support this straightforward measure consisting of fourteen words “All legislative actions on revenue and budget must be determined by a majority vote.”
Ancient Future has first hand experience with the effects of the two-thirds budget rule. For years, Ancient Future was on the roster of the California Arts Council Touring Program, which partially subsidized some of our concert tours in California. The funds for the program were allocated yearly by legislators, with yearly budget cuts typical even in times of economic expansion. The program was finally eliminated altogether in the first Schwarzenegger administration budget, which drastically cut state arts funding, giving California the dubious title of lowest per capita arts funding of any state in the union. Now with the current state fiscal crisis, concert and workshop programs at universities and parks have been eliminated as well. The California Democracy Act is important because it could make it easier to pass future state budgets that support needed programs.
In these times without state support for the arts, Ancient Future's world fusion music movement very much needs your help. If you have the means, please support Ancient Future directly by buying CDs and music books from our catalog, supporting new recordings through the Archive of Future Ancient Recordings subscription series, attending music classes and concerts, and making donations to cover touring expenses not covered by ticket sales. If you live in California, please download and sign the petition and encourage others to do so. Petition forms for the California Democracy Act will also be available at the March 27th Ancient Future concert in at the Village Homes Community Center in Davis.
