January 22nd 2012, 11am Teatro Manzoni- Milan: Michael Blake Kingdom of Champa
Saxophonist and composer  Michael Blake presents his concert and talks about the birth of Kingdom of Champa, his debut album released in 1997.
The idea for Kingdom Of Champa came to Blake while he was travelling from Ho Chi Minh City to Hue (listening to Miles Davis's Sketches Of Spain). The emotions engendered by that journey, the music, the people, the food, the smells of Vietnam, as well as the music of his own life in the United States, all blend together on Champa to create an exciting compositional hybrid. The album is named after the Cham people, who despite their small numbers are an important part of Vietnamese history. All the compositions are Blake's, with the exception of Folksong, a traditional Vietnamese song Blake heard being played by a blind guitarist in Ho Chi Minh City, for which he did the arrangements.

The fascinating melodies of a very ancient tradition are reinterpreted and reinvented for this concert by Michael Blake and a group of extraordinary musicians among them: Hamid Drake at percussion,  Bryan Carrott at vibraphone,  Nicole Mitchell- flutes, Steven Bernstein trumpet,  David Tronzo at slide guitar.
Enjoy!!!

more on aperitivoinconcerto.com

video by Marco Ferullo & Michael Blake
musicpress comunicazione