By Rebecca Marx
Serendipity can bring you anywhere if you follow its lead, and on a recent Sunday evening it led me to an unassuming spot near Harriet Brewing and Patrick’s Cabaret, to the studio of Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre. The company has been performing the national dance of Spain, and showcasing its’ beautiful partnership with music and song since the early 1980’s. Artistic Director Susana di Palma has devoted herself to the mission to: “enrich our community by drawing people close to the beauty and energy of the Flamenco tradition and, by expanding on that tradition, create an innovative art form that explores the issues of contemporary life.”
I found Susana di Palma to be an exemplary hostess in the intimate space that was both beautifully lit and acoustically satisfying. Di Palma introduced the trio of Ben Abrahamson, Park Evans and Thomas Nordlund, and the first of several jazz/flamenco infused numbers began. The trio performed songs that ranged from a lush cover of Blue in Green by Miles Davis, to the original The McLaughlin Report, a rapid fire tribute to John McLaughlin. The stand out of the evening was John McLaughlin’s La Estiba, the mystical piece was awash in Moorish rhythms, punctuated by heady flamenco fingerings. The air castanets were flying! The trio left me feeling artistically uplifted after witnessing their combined talents.
Ben Abrahamson studied flamenco guitar with Michael Hauser (MN), Pedro Cortes Jr. (NY), and Juan Ramón (Barcelona, Spain) and has collaborated with veteran flamenco dancers Susana di Palma and La Conja. Abrahamson plays a baritone 12-string and a flamenco guitar with the trio. In 2014, the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet commissioned him to write a 3-movement flamenco inspired piece. In 2016, Abrahamson will lead audience discussions of the Quartet’s performances. He’ll be performing with Persian vocalist Maryam Yusefzadeh at Public Kitchen on 11/6 (tonight) and 11/27.
Park Evans played a Paul Reed Smith SE Angelus made of mahogany and rosewood, a thing of real beauty. Growing up in Upstate New York, Evans played classical guitar, but delved deeply into jazz and reggae after relocating to Minneapolis. Evans can be seen playing in five different jazz projects right now besides the trio: Fire Bell, Battle Cat, Enormous Quartet, President Flow, the Byron Johnson Blanchard Trio and the Scruffians (Jamaican Ska group).
Thomas Nordlund performed on an electric baritone guitar. Nordlund studied under the Rogers Brotherhood, Jaime Guiscafre and Tim Sparks, he has a B.A. in guitar performance from U of MN-Morris, as well as a certificate in Jazz Studies from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Nordlund just celebrated his CD release at Sweet 317 for his debut release Divide Avenue, an expressive piece that was inspired by his travels across the vast vistas of Baja, Mexico. Nordlund performs in the trio with Abrahamson and Evans, as sideman to Sarah Morris and in the Jana Nyberg Group.
One of my favorite things about the music scene in the Twin Cities, is that I can satiate my desire for the up close and personal music experience. Never one to feel comfortable in a stadium, the smaller the venue the better. I have a desire to see the artist’s face, to feel their foot taps, to read their body language and see the subtleties of their art. Add the Sunday Series to your short list if you too share the hunger for an intimate musical encounter.
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