16 March 2005

■ Canadian Gypsy
The literary club Czuły Barbarzyńca and Świat Literacki publishers regularly hold an event called Hrabal’s Birthday. This year’s edition will be graced by a performance by Lhasa de Sela, an artist who combines many genres. Her songs, sung in Spanish, feature sounds of Gypsy music, elements of blues and dynamic South American rhythms.

The concert at the Bajka Cinema/Theater is part of a European tour to promote The Living Road, an album enriched with new musical variations. This time, Lhasa will also showcase her expressiveness in French and English. The album received the prestigious BBC award in the world music/ethno/folk category.

Lhasa—The Living Road
Bajka Cinema/Theater, 138 Marszałkowska St., tel. 826-69-66.
The concert starts at 8:30 p.m. Tickets cost zl.100 and are available at the box offices of Bajka and Czuły Barbarzyńca (31 Dobra St.).


■ Soul Serenade
The Brand New Heavies of Great Britain will perform at Warsaw’s Kongresowa Hall March 22.

Formed 20 years ago, the group has been a permanent star on the acid, jazz, funk and soul music scene. Their accomplishments include five albums and many singles, which have earned international fame and critical acclaim.

In Warsaw, the group will present their newest record Allabouthefunk as well as older hits like “Dream on Dreamer,” “Midnight at the Oasis” and “You Are the Universe.”

Its members are Jan Kincaid (percussion), Simon Bartholomew (guitar), Andrew “Love” Levy (bass and programming) and Nicole Russo, a dynamic singer who gave the Heavies an entirely new image.

Brand New Heavies, March 22
Kongresowa Hall, Palace of Culture and Science (PKiN), 1 Defilad Sq., 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: zl.90-190
PKiN box office, EMPiK, Biletique Traffic Club, www.shortcut.pl


■ Musica Sacra
The International Festival of Sacral Music, organized by the Musica Sacra association in Warsaw, is starting at the Warsaw-Praga Cathedral.

The festival will be inaugurated by a Lenten concert March 20, featuring the music project Stabat Mater Mystery Play by jazz composer Włodzimierz Pawlik. The play, well-known from other sacral music festivals, is built around Gregorian chants and music impressionism.

St. Florian’s Cathedral in Warsaw, 3 Floriańska St.
Concerts of the 2005 festival:
March 20—Lenten concert, 7:30 p.m.
April 10—Masterpieces of choral music
May 15—Special concert: Música Sacra del siglo XX (Sacral Music of the 20th Century)
June 12—Organ-chamber concert
Oct. 23—Organ concert
Nov. 26—Concert by laureates of the International Musica Sacra Competition for Composers
Dec. 11—Oratorio concert featuring the National Philharmonic Choir and the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra


■ The Passion of the Music
The Warsaw Chamber Opera (WOK) presents work featuring events from the passion in European music as part of the European festival Ode to Europe.

During Holy Week, WOK will perform four concerts, including the passion according to Giovanni Paisiello, performed at the Royal Castle.

Stefan Sutkowski, director of WOK, says “the festival presented by the WOK Soloists Ensemble will be an excellent element to celebrate Poland’s return to a united Europe.”

March 20—Palm Sunday—8 p.m.
March 21—Monday—8 p.m.
J.S. Bach Passion According to St. Mark Seminary, Post-Carmelite Church, 52/54 Krakowskie Przedmieście St.
March 23—Wednesday—8 p.m.
Estonian Contemplative Passion Pärta Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi Seminary, Post-Carmelite Church
March 24—Maundy Thursday—7 p.m.
Giovanni Paisiello La Passione di Nostro Signore Royal Castle
Tickets cost zl.52 and are available at www.ticketonline.pl and WOK, 76b Solidarności Ave., ticket office open 9 a.m.-7 p.m., tel. 831-22-40.


■ Zen Sounds
After the warmly applauded set by Dj Mohan and an electrifying show by Finnish saxophonist Jimi Tenor, it’s time for Ravin. Ravin will perform in Warsaw March 19 at 9 p.m. at Iguana Lounge, 11 Zajączkowska St. The musician is the resident of the fashionable Buddha Bar in Paris. The other founders of this Paris club are Claude Challe and Dj Visan. Ravin was born in Mauritius, where was raised according to Hindu traditions. As a teen he started working in Paris with a recording studio and soon felt at home in the specific atmosphere of Paris clubbing. He has collaborated with artists from various musical circles such as Baul Dimension, Bliss, Gaudi and groups Banzai Republic and Cirque du Soleil. Thanks to these collaborations his compositions combine elements of many cultures. Tickets at zl.50.


■ Hot Foot
Andres Peña, an excellent flamenco dancer of the young generation, will finish his tour of Poland with two performances in Warsaw March 21 and 22. Pena won first prize at the prestigious Flamenco Biennial festival in Seville in 2000. In Warsaw, he will perform with Arte Flamenco, an international ensemble of singers and musicians with the great dancer Marta Robles. On those two March evenings, the artists will take audiences from cold Warsaw to sunny Andalusia, where the flamenco art was born among the Gypsies.

March 21, Polski Theater, 7 p.m.
March 22, Komedia Theater, 7 p.m.


■ Storm Front
Agnostic Front, a legend on the New York City hard-core punk scene, will perform again in Warsaw March 20 at the Proxima club, as part of the Unity Tour 2005 series.

The band was formed in the early 1980s. Their regular performances at the well-known N.Y.C. club CBGB’s confirmed their innovative style. Over the years, the lineup has changed a few times, but since 1997 Agnostic Front has recorded with its original lineup: vocalist Roger Miret, guitarists Vinnie Stigma and Lenny DiSclafani, bassist Mike Gallo and drummer Steve Gallo.

The concert at Proxima will promote Agnostic Front’s latest album titled Another Voice. Fans of this kind of music can certainly expect powerful, non-compromising music.

The Unity Tour 2005 will also feature performances by two newer hard-core bands: Terror from New Jersey and Die Cast from Boston.

Unity Tour 2005: Agnostic Front, Terror, Die Cast
Proxima, 99a Żwirki i Wigury St., March 20, 7 p.m. Tickets cost zl.50 (through March 19) and zl.55 (on the day of the concert).
See also: www.shortcut.pl, www.bileteria.com

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