From the 2024 New York Guitar Festival: Marc Ribot and Leyla McCalla

07/22/24 • 42 min

The duo of Marc Ribot, the New York guitarist, and Leyla McCalla, the New Orleans cellist and banjo player, may seem unlikely at first. Ribot is known for his work with Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, his own avant-noise trio Ceramic Dog, and much more; McCalla writes songs that draw on the African-American string band tradition, Cajun music, and her own Haitian heritage. But Ribot was also a student of the Haitian classical guitarist/composer Frantz Casseus, and the two musicians share a strong genre-agnostic streak. Together they play a set at the 25th Annual New York Guitar Festival, recorded in June of 2024 at Kaufman Music Center and co-presented by the World Music Institute.

Set list: Kamen Sa Ou Fe (trad Haitian); Petro (Frantz Casseus); City Called Heaven (trad American); Lavi Vye Neg (Gesner Henry); Sun Without The Heat (Leyla McCalla); Non Fon Bwa (Casseus); Peze Café (trad Haitian); Tree (Leyla McCalla)

Marc Ribot has released over two dozen records on his own, ranging from Cuban dance music to free jazz, Haitian classical guitar to political avant-folk. His playing – elegant, edgy, and sometimes, somehow, both at once – has made him the go-to guitarist for artists like Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Tom Waits, Laurie Anderson, McCoy Tyner, and so many others. He has been a regular part of the New York Guitar Festival over the years.

Leyla McCalla was the cellist in the Grammy-winning string band Carolina Chocolate Drops, before moving on to writing her own songs. She is a member of Our Native Daughters, a quartet of Black women who all play the banjo (and other instruments), and has recorded four albums on which she also plays guitar. Her new record, Sun Without The Heat, came out in April.

Previous Episode

Pulsing, Percussive, Layered Minimalism By Akusmi, In-Studio

Akusmi is the name of the recent project by the French-born London-based producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Pascal Bideau. His work blends the churning rhythms of minimalism with the sounds of jazz and, occasionally, the gamelan music of Indonesia. Mostly he plays sax and piano, but in a pinch he’ll play bass guitar, flute, synthesizer or percussion too. Some Akusmi songs can be ethereal and atmospheric, but more often they’re pulsating and almost danceable. In live performance, Akusmi becomes a band, in this case a trio with violinist/composer Christopher Tignor and trombonist Rick Parker. They play in-studio.

Set list: 1. Divine Moments of Truth 2. Oblique 3. Concrescence

Next Episode

The Musical Ambition and Sharp Wit of Songwriter John Grant

Although he’s based in Iceland, singer/songwriter John Grant is American, and his experience growing up gay in a conservative religious family in Colorado has colored his music since he began releasing solo records in 2010. A former member of the Denver-based alternative rock band The Czars, he’s recorded with the Texan folk rock group Midlake, collaborated with countless others, and is also a festival curator, noted polyglot, author, and translator. Grant’s own songs range from bangers to ballads, usually shot through with sharp streaks of mordant wit. That’s the case with his latest record The Art of the Lie which also features lots of electronics and some processing of the voice. John tells stories and performs unplugged versions of his tunes, in-studio.

Set list: 1. Grey Tickles Black Pressure 2. Touch and Go 3. Zeitgeist