Jazz lovers winced this week upon seeing that N.C. Central’s celebrated jazz program had landed on a list of degrees to be cut from the UNC system. It seemed to many that it would simply be discarded like a low-selling title. The Daily Tar Heel first reported on the May 21 UNC Board of Governors […]
Sylvia Pfeiffenberger
Bio: Sylvia Pfeiffenberger lives in Durham and hosts a weekly Latin music show on WXDU.
Posted inMusic
Live: Lila Downs’ multicultural Mexican translations
Lila Downs Carolina Theatre, Durham Friday, May 2, 2015Lila Downs swept onto the Carolina Theatre stage in a hot pink mermaid skirt, her black top emblazoned with matching roses. Black braids hung from her head; a clutch of flowers, just starting to wilt, hung from her microphone stand. Behind her and her cantina-ready band, visual […]
Posted inCulture
Full Frame: We recap last night’s Opening Night Party at the Durham Armory
Through on-and-off downpours, filmmakers, festival staff, press and priority pass holders made it across the street from the Carolina Theatre to the Durham Armory last night for one of Full Frame’s most coveted tickets: the Opening Night Party. This is the festival’s prime opportunity for visiting documentarians, in town to present their films, to meet […]
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Area musicians explore the classical core of Cuba’s musical heritage
DANZÓN Sunday, March 22, 7:30 p.m. $5–$25 Motorco, 723 Rigsbee Ave., Durham 919-901-0875 http://www.MallarmeMusic.org Eric Hirsh grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, more than 1,000 miles from the then-off-limits streets of Havana. But his eventual immersion in Cuba’s music didn’t come by complete accident. In fact, it came to define much of his life. Hirsh […]
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Good vibes: A vibraphone invasion for local Latin jazz
Vibraphone has often been a rare specialty on the local jazz scene, but two vibes-based bands have recently appeared: Onda, an up-and-coming Brazilian quartet, did three sets at Brasa, while Juan Alamo Quintet gave a formidable Cal Tjader tribute as part of the Carolina Jazz Festival. Onda, coming up on one year as a band […]
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Durham’s Eric Oberstein wins two Grammys for his work with Arturo O’Farrill
Durham’s Eric Oberstein has had an eventful few months: Sure, he took home a Grammy on Sunday night for his work as the producer on an album by longtime friend and collaborator Arturo O’Farrill. But he’s just returned from a trip to Cuba to record his next album with O’Farrill, too—all while holding down his […]
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Live: Branford Marsalis and his MF’s take on Duke’s Baldwin Auditorium
Branford Marsalis Quartet Duke’s Baldwin Auditorium, Durham Friday, Jan. 30, 2015 Injecting fresh blood into an established group like the Branford Marsalis Quartet carries inherent risk. But done with the proper care, it can be invigorating, as I heard in late January during the group’s first concert of a two-night-stand at Duke’s Baldwin Auditorium. With […]
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Live: Diego El Cigala makes a successful Durham debut
Diego El Cigala The Carolina Theatre, Durham Thursday, Nov. 20Diego Jiménez Salazar made history last Thursday night with his first ever appearance in North Carolina, something the star acknowledged in his brief comments from stage at the Carolina Theatre. Better known by his flamenco name Diego “El Cigala” (a shrimp-sized crustacean, similar to a crawfish) […]
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An international jazz advocate brings his gospel to Duke
In December 2010, the jazz pianist and composer Arturo O’Farrill and Duke University arts administrator Eric Oberstein went home together. They both lived in New York, but they arrived in the Cuban farming town of San José de las Lajas in Havana Province. Oberstein and eight generations of the O’Farrill family traced their roots there. […]
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Meet the Latin music revitalizers of New York
Pedrito Martinez Group Saturday, April 12 8 p.m., $5–$32 N.C. State’s Talley Ballroom The Cuban-born conguero Pedrito Martinez has long been known as a charismatic sideman, a drummer with flair and history in his toolkit. But since the release of his Pedrito Martinez Group album late last year, he has turned into a recognizable New […]