David Bindman Ensemble at Windsor Terrace Library

The David Bindman Ensemble will perform two concerts in Brooklyn at the Sunset Park and Windsor Terrace libraries on May 18 and 19. Admission to both events is free. These events are sponsored by the Brooklyn Arts Council and Brooklyn Public Library, and are part of the celebration of National Chamber Music Month.

Featuring David Bindman, tenor and soprano saxophones/composer, Wes Brown, bass, royal hartigan, drums, Art Hirahara, piano, Frank London, trumpet and flugelhorn, and Reut Regev, trombone, the ensemble performs songs and extended compositions by Bindman that explore rich layers of rhythmic and harmonic complexity, and highlight the improvisational voices of the group’s members. Elements of the music include multiple melodic themes, rhythmic forms derived from ancient Indian tala (time cycles), and drum calls and responses from West Africa. This spring the ensemble also celebrates the release of their debut double cd Sunset Park Polyphony. The title refers to the “polyphony of multiple languages, children playing, airplanes, traffic, music, and birds singing” in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and to the many influences heard in the group’s music....

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The David Bindman Ensemble will perform two concerts in Brooklyn at the Sunset Park and Windsor Terrace libraries on May 18 and 19. Admission to both events is free. These events are sponsored by the Brooklyn Arts Council and Brooklyn Public Library, and are part of the celebration of National Chamber Music Month.

Featuring David Bindman, tenor and soprano saxophones/composer, Wes Brown, bass, royal hartigan, drums, Art Hirahara, piano, Frank London, trumpet and flugelhorn, and Reut Regev, trombone, the ensemble performs songs and extended compositions by Bindman that explore rich layers of rhythmic and harmonic complexity, and highlight the improvisational voices of the group’s members. Elements of the music include multiple melodic themes, rhythmic forms derived from ancient Indian tala (time cycles), and drum calls and responses from West Africa. This spring the ensemble also celebrates the release of their debut double cd Sunset Park Polyphony. The title refers to the “polyphony of multiple languages, children playing, airplanes, traffic, music, and birds singing” in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and to the many influences heard in the group’s music.

The ensemble builds on enduring collaborations: Bindman, Brown, and hartigan, met at Wesleyan University in the early 1980s. Along with Hirahara they also make up hartigan’s quartet Blood Drum Spirit, performing and giving workshops around the world. All the ensemble members have performed with numerous artists and ensembles: Wes Brown toured the world with Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines; Art Hirahara leads his trio; Frank London leads the Klezmatics; Reut Regev leads her group R*time; royal hartigan is the author of West African Rhythms for Drum Set; David Bindman leads his ensemble and co-founded the Brooklyn Sax Quartet, recording the acclaimed cds The Way of the Saxophone (Innova) and Far Side of Here(Omnitone). Bindman formed his ensemble with its present instrumentation in 2008. Frank London and Reut Regev are the group’s newest members.

With these events, the David Bindman Ensemble will join thousands of musicians and hundreds of concert presenters across the country this May in celebrating National Chamber Music Month. This presentation is part of a nationwide initiative to raise public awareness of the many styles of small ensemble music performed and presented today. The month-long series of performances, residencies, pre- and post-concert discussions, and other chamber music events will showcase ensemble music of all styles, including early, classical, jazz, and world music.

This event is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council, Inc. (BAC) This program is also made possible in part thanks to the generous support of the Brooklyn Delegation to the New York State Assembly. The event is also made possible by support from the Brooklyn Public Library.

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