LOVELL — Dave Kobrenski will perform on traditional African flutes and string instruments, accompanied by Jeff Wilson on piano and Craig Bryan on drums, at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 27, at the Brick Church for the Performing Arts, Christian Hill Road.
The Kobrenski, Wilson and Bryan collaboration brings together traditional West African and contemporary American styles, creating a vibrant and eclectic musical ecosystem.
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) and djembe.
Artist, musician and author, 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 on the planet.
Wilson has been a 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 10 album lists. More recently, Wilson 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 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 Bryan performs with multiple rock and jazz groups in the Mt. Washington area and teaches band and chorus at the Molly Ockett School in Fryeburg.
The Brick Church is now air-conditioned. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children and may be purchased at the door.
For more information, call 207-925-1500 or go to the BCPA Facebook page or website at www.lovellbrickchurch.org.
Dave Kobrenski will perform at the Lovell Brick Church with Jed Wilson and Craig Bryan on June 27. Brian Jenkins photo
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