New Sandunes Collaboration Featured On Rolling Stone India

2014 Fellow Sanaya Ardeshir (aka Sandunes) has a new collaborative project with acclaimed U.K. jazz drummer and producer Richard Spaven. The trans-continental duo first performed together in Mumbai last month, during an hour-long performance that saw the two artists reinterpreting each other’s work with a combination of structure and improvisation. In a recent feature for Rolling Stone India, Sandunes spoke about collaborating with Spaven, and the experience of creating their live composition in a limited time period- they had four days to write the material: “The way this project has come together has been mind-boggling…Initially we were wondering how to balance the combinational being pure and intentional, and making our workload a bit easier by adhering to mechanisms of performances from the past or previous material.” Read the full Rolling Stone Interview here.

All About Jazz Reviews New Amir ElSaffar Production ‘Luminiscencia’

2012 Fellow Amir ElSaffar recently debuted his new work, ‘Luminiscencia’, at the Flamenco Biennale in Amsterdam. The piece brings together an ensemble of renowned Flamenco performers that include vocalist Gema Caballero, dancer Vanesa Aibar, and percussionist Pablo Martin, along with electronic musician Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch and Dena ElSaffar, who plays traditional Iraqi Fiddle. All About Jazz writer Henning Bolte, who reviewed the performance, wrote: “The expectation aroused by the program brochure and the remarkable line-up was exceeded by an exceptionally captivating performance of subliminal radiation and rare touching beauty.” Read the full review here.