Bklyn Sounds 11/1/2023 - 11/7/2023

Shows: Antibalas / "Tropical Past and Future" / Kaethe Hostetter / "Love to Love You: Donna Summer" / Darryn Jones / Erica Dawn Lyle + Devin Hoff + Devin Brahja Waldman / Illustrious Blacks / and more

Welcome to Bklyn Sounds for the week of November 1st through 7th, 2023.

I hope you all had a great costumed holiday, that the end of Daylight Savings time (this weekend for Americans) finds you and your loved ones safe, and praying this will be the case for everyone, from Gaza to Maine, and beyond. Call your representatives and demand a cease-fire and gun-control now.

This weekend, there are locally presented Bklyn Sounds from all around the world, with special shout-out to friends and old musicking colleagues involved in Afrobeat and Latinx beats, as well as a rare NYC visit by a Chicago selector in one of my favorit dancing environments in the borough.

Thanks for reading.

This Week’s Show:

Brooklyn Maqam is a five-year-old organization dedicated to “fostering community engagement with maqam-based music, presenting and promoting music from the Middle Eastern (especially Arabic) musical traditions.” (A multi-purpose word, maqam means not only Arabic melodies and melodic modes, but also the traditional way to improvise on those modes.) Tonight at The Sultan Room, Brooklyn Maqam is presenting a benefit concert for Palestine. It unites a few locally based young musicians with Arabic roots: the Iraqi-born vocalist Zahra AlZubaidi (performing with Orchestra Farha), the Syrian-American singer-pianist Nano Raies, and the Tunisian singer-songwriter Nour Harkati. All proceeds go to Gaza relief efforts. (Wed 11/1, 7:30p @ Sultan Room, Bushwick - $25)

Solo improvisation sets by three musicians especially suited to my favorite anarchist-punk bookstore and cultural center. Erica Dawn Lyle works in amplified guitar and punk noise (she was guitarist on the recent Bikini Kill tour) but also has a long history of DIY publishing. Bassist/producer Devin Hoff has lotsa downtown improviser and indie credits to their name (and their new album with Ava Mendoza is fire). Saxophonist Devin Brahja Waldman also knows his way around the downtown throughline of amplification, improvisation and solo sound sculpting. (Thurs 11/2, 8p @ Property Is Theft, Williamsburg - $10)

The occasional “Tropical Past and Future” party is organized by three excellent New York musickers deeply involved in presenting contemporary Latinx audio-visual culture. Prince of Queens (Felipe Quieroz), one of whose pieces lends the party its name, is the bassist/synth player in the mighty Combo Chimbita; Adrian Is Hungry (Adrian Patiño) is an excellent graphic artist and member of the arts-minded Barrio Collective; and Little Dynasty (Eric Banta) helps run the exceptional NYC Trust (Names You Can Trust) label which releases 7”s by contemporary Latin American bands playing psychedelic dance music. Each one knows their way around records, from cumbia to Latin house. (Thurs 11/2, 10p @ Jupiter Disco, Bushwick - FREE)