Musical Direction

The skills of leading, rehearsing, conducting and providing creative direction to bands have come in handy throughout my musical career.

A couple of projects that stand out in this regard:

ANNUAL FELABRATION CONCERTS: From 2016-2019 I’ve been at the helm of four Felabration concerts at Nublu 151, putting together large ensembles to perform some of my favorite Fela Kuti material in celebration of his October 15th birthday. These shows were co-organized with my friends Daniel Yount (of Super Yamba Band) and Mickey Pérez, and were conducted in cooperation with the Lagos, Nigeria-based Felabration organization. I’ve been lucky to draw from the large pool of awesome musicians in NYC who have spent time working in the genre to create one-of-a-kind shows that are a yearly highlight for Afrobeat lovers who appreciate integrity.

HAILU MERGIA & LOW MENTALITY: In 2013 I was asked to work with a true legend of Ethiopian music, the one and only Hailu Mergia, who would be making a return to performing live after nearly two decades away from the stage. I offered an expanded, seven-piece version of my existing Low Mentality band as the hit squad for the occasion. I found myself in the fortunate position of learning about the language of modern Ethiopian music directly from one of its pioneers, and translating the material for my NYC-based crew of musicians. For a year our performances at venues such as Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, the Pop! Montreal festival, the Big Ears festival and Baby’s All Right garnered rave reviews, both from music critics and from regular party people. These days Hailu performs with his trio-- highly recommended!

Live performance on NPR’s World Cafe

New York Times review of our debut show at Baby’s All Right

Washington Post review of our Kennedy Center performance