LOVELL — Dave Kobrenski, Jed Wilson, and Craig Bryan’s collaboration brings together traditional West African and contemporary American styles, creating a vibrant and eclectic musical ecosystem.
Kobrenski will perform on traditional African flutes and string instruments, accompanied by
Wilson on piano, and Bryan on drums Thursday, June 27, at Lovell’s Brick Church for the
Performing Arts.
Woven into the evening are demonstrations of many of the instruments Kobrenski learned to
play while living in West Africa, including the Fulani flute, kamale ngoni (a 10-string Mande
harp), djembe, and more.
Artist, musician, and author Dave Kobrenski’s presentations combine music, storytelling, visual
art, and photography into an entertaining and informative cultural experience. Based on his
extensive travels in West Africa, where he studied traditional music in the Niger River valley in
Guinea over a 10-year period, Kobrenski tells lively stories from his adventures, talks about
social and cultural issues, and makes an argument for why cultural diversity may be one of the
most important human assets we have on the planet.
Jed has been an active performer since his teenage years in Portland, Oregon. He received a
bachelor’s degree in jazz performance from the New England Conservatory, where he formed a
long-standing musical partnership with jazz vocalist Dominique Eade. The two have toured
widely, and in 2006 released a critically acclaimed CD that appeared on many of the year’s top-
ten album lists. More recently, Jed has performed extensively with singer/songwriter Heather
Masse. The association with Masse has resulted in a host of appearances across North America,
including multiple appearances on NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion.”
Percussionist Craig Bryan Jr. has been performing in New England since 2011. A transplant
from New Jersey, he has finally found a home in Maine. His early career consisted of hard rock
and the Central Jersey Symphony Orchestra while still in high school. This early musical
dichotomy was just the beginning of a very diverse career spanning all the genres of rock, jazz,
pop, classical, reggae, steel band, and a three-year stint with Cuban percussionist and singer
Roberto Olivero while living in Arizona. Currently Craig performs with multiple rock and jazz
groups in the Mount Washington area and teaches band and chorus at The Molly Ockett School
in Fryeburg.
The concert will be held Thursday, June 27, at 7 p.m. at the Lovell Brick Church for the
Performing Arts on Christian Hill Road in Lovell, Maine. The Brick Church is now air
conditioned. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children. Tickets may be purchased at the
door. For more information call 925-1500 or go to the BCPA Facebook page or website at
www.lovellbrickchurch.org.
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