The Rhythm Foundation is celebrating the start of its 30th Season and we have a full schedule of concerts and events.
RhythmFoundation.com or (305) 672-5202
Ibeyi
October 28, North Beach Bandshell 8pm – $30
Ibeyi consists of 22-year-old French-Cuban twins Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Diaz. From Paris to Cuba and all points in between, the twin sisters created a global sensation with their debut in 2015. Since the release of their critically-acclaimed, self-titled debut album, Ibeyi have been captivating audiences across the globe with their unique blend of modern pop, hip-hop and electronic influenced with the traditional sounds of Yorùbá. The adoration of their debut album revealed itself through requests for the twins to open the Chanel Cruise fashion show in Cuba, to appear in Beyoncé’s video for Lemonade, and inspired Alvin Ailey Dance Company’s choreographer to set a hip-hop ballet to 8 of their songs. Expectations are high on how the sisters will follow up on such groundbreaking start. The new singles, “Away Away” and “Deathless” reveal an upbeat boost to the evocative spirit of their music. Come experience this sensation with us. Opening for Ibeyi will be theMIND, cerebral hip-hop Chicago singer.
Flamenco Legends by Javier Limón: The Paco de Lucía Project
October 29, Olympia Theater. 8pm – $37-$57
Rhythm Foundation presented the legendary late Flamenco virtuoso guitarist Paco de Lucía at sold out concerts three times between 2004 and 2012. Paco de Lucía was widely considered to be the world’s premier flamenco guitarist and by many to be Spain’s greatest musical export. He was a musical revolutionary who simultaneously expanded the hallowed genres’ boundaries and revitalized it as a living form. Javier Limón, Paco de Lucía’s former musical director, carried forth the master’s legacy with his 2016 documentary “La Guitarra Vuela: Soñando a Paco de Lucía (Flight of the Guitar: Dreaming of Paco de Lucía).” He brought Paco’s guitar to nine countries, sharing music and stories with other legends. He then reunited the group of stellar Spanish musicians in Paco’s band for a series of concerts. Now in collaboration with the Olympia Theater, to honor the legacy of the master, we bring you Javier Limón and Paco’s touring band (Pirana – percussion; Antonio Serrano – harmónica; Antonio Sanchez – guitar; Alain Perez – bass; David de Jacoba – vocals; Farru – dance)
iLe
November 2, North Beach Bandshell 8pm – $27.50 – $100
Ileana “iLe” Cabra, aka PG-13, the fierce vocalist of Puerto Rico’s world-renown
alternative/hip-hop/rock band Calle 13, joined the band when she was only 16, but she was already an old soul. Her debut nostalgia-soaked collection of alternative ballads Ilevitable, was inevitable.
iLe, who began her association with Calle 13 by jumping into a verbal sparring match with her brother René (Residente) on the band’s first recording, “La Aguacatona,” has been levitating across stages with the band for over a decade. But with Ilevitable, a 12-song collection of meticulously produced tracks, iLe has created an instant classic that reveals a thoughtful and innovative artistry. Recorded over several months in local Puerto Rican studios, Ilevitable features upwards of 75 musicians, composers, and arrangers including iLe’s brother Eduardo, her sister Milena, her father Joey Cabra, and her partner Ismael Cancel, her co-producer, who is also the Calle 13 drummer.
UM Frost Big Band at Dance Band Night at North Beach Bandshell
November 9
HitWeek: Unexpected Sounds from Italy Ermal Meta and Kalascima
November 17, North Beach Bandshell 7pm – FREE admission
Our 7th annual tribute to Italian American Heritage Month, HitWeek presents a selection of current Italian music to US audiences. The tour features Kalascima and Ermal Meta and is presented in partnership with the Italian Cultural Export Office. Discover modern music from Italy and sample delicious cuisine from Chef Cristiano Di Mario, directly from Italy, soon to open his restaurant “ACQUA & FARINA” in Miami.
ERMAL META – Albanian-Italian songwriter-guitarist-singer, Meta was a member of Italian bands Ameba4 and La Fame di Camilla. After writing songs for several Italian artists, he launched his solo career in 2016 with the release of the album Umano. In 2017, his second album, Vietato morire, quickly hit number one in Italy and was preceded by the single with the same title. The song is about domestic violence against women and has accrued more than 2.5 million hits on YouTube. In
two short years, he has collected 6 platinum and 4 gold records as well as won four prizes at the San Remo Music Festival.
KALASCIMA – psychedelic trance tarantella from Puglia, in Italy’s boot heel, returns to Miami. Tracing its roots back to the 6th century, taranta is hypnotic Italian music that drives dancers into a trance-like state, meant to excise the poison of a tarantula bite. Kalascima’s six members bring the folk music new life with traditional instruments like frame drum and hand percussion, accordion, zampogna (Italian bagpipe), and special flutes, guitars, including a mandolin, and electronic influences.
Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Septet: Eddie at 80
December 9, Olympia Theater 8pm – $37-$57
Known as one of the finest pianists of the past 50 years, Palmieri is a bandleader, arranger and composer of salsa and Latin jazz. His playing skillfully fuses the rhythm of his Puerto Rican heritage with the complexity of his jazz influences. Born in Spanish Harlem to Puerto Rican parents and raised in the Bronx, Eddie Palmieri learned to play the piano at an early age. After joining popular
New York bands during the 1950s, he formed his own band La Perfecta in 1960. The group created an innovative sound that mixed American jazz into Afro-Caribbean rhythms and featured an unconventional front line of trombones rather than the trumpets customary in Latin orchestras.
In addition to the Grammys, Palmieri has received numerous honors, most notably the coveted Jazz Master award – the highest honor for a jazz artist – by the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA).
That year he was also awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.
Eddie Palmieri is celebrating his 80th birthday with a year of touring and we, in partnership with the Olympia Theater, invite you to join the party!
Damian J Project presents The TRAD305 at Dance Band Night at North Beach Bandshell
December 14
GroundUp Music Festival at North Beach Bandshell February 9-11
Three-time GRAMMY Award winner Snarky Puppy – the “barnstorming, groove-centric instrumental act with a rabid fan base” (New York Times) – hosts the second annual GroundUP Music Festival. This artist-curated festival will feature a set from Snarky Puppy each day along with performances from an eclectic list of national and international superstars. It will also feature a variety of interactive workshops, panels, and masterclasses.
Presented by GroundUP Music in partnership with The Rhythm Foundation, and with major support from the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority.
Axis of Love
In 2018, this annual series returns in collaboration with Miami-Dade College. It invites audiences into a meditative space through instrumental, traditional and innovative sounds from the Middle East. With support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Challenge, The Rhythm Foundation creates an opportunity to build a connection with cultures primarily in the public eye for conflict zones. Victoria Rogers, Vice President of Arts for Knight Foundation, said: “Few things can bring people together like the arts. Events like this series are a great prism for exploring our and other cultures, and for finding the threads that unite us all.” In an immersive environment, the audience surrounds performers in an in-the-round stage setup. The evening also features culture-specific, traditional snacks and sweets to engage the audience in a multi-sensory experience.
Axis of Love: Sahba Motallebi duo, co-production with Miami-Dade College January 27
- Axis of Love: Amir ElSaffar: Two Rivers Ensemble, co-production with Miami-Dade College March 3
- Axis of Love: Innov Gnawa, co-production with Miami-Dade College May 5
- Axis of Love: Sahba Motallebi January 27
January 27: Sahba Motallebi
North Beach Bandshell, 8pm, $20 advance / $25 day of concert / $50 Axis of Love series pass
Sahba Motallebi is an award-winning, modern virtuoso of the tar and setar, lute-like stringed instruments central to one of the world’s great musical traditions. She began studying music as a young girl in Sari, Northern Iran. Shortly after graduating from the Tehran Conservatory of Music, she co-founded a groundbreaking women’s music ensemble and later joined the Iranian National Orchestra, beginning her career as an international performer. She left Iran in 2003 to pursue graduate studies, closed to her there because of her faith. Sahba is also recognized as an innovator in the teaching of Persian music; her pioneering efforts putting instructional materials on the internet and teaching students online have inspired something of a renaissance in the transmission of this ancient art form, reflecting her commitment to bringing music to the world.
March 3: Amir el Saffar Two Rivers Ensemble…
North Beach Bandshell
8pm, $20 advance / $25 day of concert / $50 Axis of Love series pass
A master trumpeter “uniquely poised to reconcile jazz and Arabic music without doing either harm”
–the Wire
Iraqi- American musician Amir El Safar has created techniques to play on the trumpet the microtones and ornaments found in Arabic music but not typically heard on brass. As a composer, he uses this to create an innovative approach to harmony and melody, seen in his commissions for jazz ensembles, Chamber Orchestras, and Middle Eastern Ensembles alike.
May 5: Innova Gnawa
North Beach Bandshell
8pm, $20 advance / $25 day of concert / $50 Axis of Love series pass
Innov Gnawa is a young musical collective dedicated to exploring Morocco’s venerable gnawa music tradition in the heart of New York City. Formed in the summer of 2014 by Moroccan expat Samir LanGus, the group draws on the considerable talents and expertise of Hassan Ben Jaafer, a Maâlem, or master gnawa musician, originally from Fes, Morocco.
Gnawa music is the ritual trance music of Morocco’s black communities, originally descended from slaves and soldiers once brought to Morocco from Northern Mali and Mauritania. Often called “The Moroccan Blues”, gnawa music has a raw, hypnotic power that’s fascinated outsiders as diverse as writer/composer Paul Bowles, jazz giant Randy Weston, rock god Jimi Hendrix, and the contemporary artist Bonobo. The music is utterly singular, played on an array of unique instruments — from the lute-like sintir that the Maâlem uses to call the tune, to the metal qarqaba (castinets) with which the kouyos (chorus) keep time and pound out clattering, hypnotic rhythms.
Hailed by Brooklyn Magazine as one of the “5 Bands You Need to Know in Brooklyn’s Arabic Music Scene”, Innov Gnawa make great use of the traditional repertoire by adding their own contemporary spin with African and Latin percussion.
