Catalog
The Vjola Suite
The Vjola Suite (2005-2008)
|
The Vjola Suite is a collection of five short musical compositions in contrasting musical styles, heavily influenced by folk music from Eastern Europe, Cuba, Mali, and the Middle East. It is is a collection of lively dances, for which the steps have not yet been choreographed, and represent my attempt to fuse the rhythms of world music with the beautiful colors of a classical ensemble, to create a new kind of dance – elegant, entertaining, and somewhat asymmetrical. While none of the rhythms are genuinely traditional, they aspire to create a new sense of balance, enjoyment, and flight. All but one (Budget Bulgar) were released on my debut recording, Vjola: World on Four Strings as multi-track viola sketches, and then re-imagined for various combinations. The individual movements can be (and often are) performed and purchased separately. To find out more, hear previews, and purchase individual movements, please click on the titles, below. The rest of this page will address the Suite, the sheet music for which is offered at a substantial savings. |
|
|
AUDIO EXCERPTS: |
|
| More info about the individual pieces in detail: |
2. Plume 3. Ori's Fearful Symmetry 4. Crosstown 5. Budget Bulgar |
| CATEGORY | Chamber music, multi-track viola music |
| INSTRUMENTATION |
-- string trio (violin / viola / cello) -- string quartet (2 violins / viola / cello) + optional bass (For musical reasons, Crosstown is only available in the quartet version.) Individual movements may be available in additional instrumental combinations -- see their pages for more info. |
| DURATION | 18-20 minutes |
Budget Bulgar
Budget Bulgar (2005)
take a listen - hear an audio preview:
| Budget Bulgar, a fiery klezmer tune, was sketched between playing dance sets at a Russian wedding in western New Jersey, and is dedicated to Pete Sokolow, for many years the king of Jewish weddings in New York, a great klez-stride pianist, and an incredible personality. I propped my cellphone on the hood of a car in the parking lot, and left myself a voicemail with the melody, which I transcribed (and altered) at home. | |||||||
| CATEGORY | Chamber music, band music, tunes | ||||||
| INSTRUMENTATION |
Arrangements available: -- string quartet (plus bass) -- string trio -- 1 or 2 clarinets, 3 violins, 1 viola, 2 cellos -- 2 recorders, viola, cello, piano Also available as a jazz "lead sheet". Arrangements for other combinations may be commissioned upon request. |
||||||
| DURATION | 2 minutes 40 seconds | ||||||
| WORLD PREMIERE | Om Factory Yoga, New York; June 16 2006 | ||||||
| WORLD PREMIERE PERFORMERS | Ljova & the Kontraband: Ljova, viola; Patrick Farrell, accordion; Mike Savino, bass; Mathias Kunzli, percussion | ||||||
| OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES | Brooklyn Rider, at Joe's Pub [see video]; Ljova and the Kontraband at Joe's Pub [see video]. | ||||||
| RECORDING | Forthcoming release on the debut CD by Ljova and the Kontraband; Recorded by Brooklyn Rider for future release [sign up for updates]. | ||||||
| SCORE AVAILABILITY | All arrangements are available for sale via PDF or mail delivery; lead sheet & bass part available; arrangements for combinations not listed above may be commissioned on request. [contact for more info]
|
||||||
Hear Ljova's original sketch for Budget Bulgar, recorded on his cellphone, at someone's wedding in New Jersey: |
|||||||
Ori's Fearful Symmetry
Ori's Fearful Symmetry (2005)
take a listen - hear an audio preview:
| Ori's Fearful Symmetry was originally intended to be a sort of an unofficial anthem for Israeli youth. I sketched it while hiking in the canyons of Ithaca, New York, where director Zohar Lavi was shooting the short film Chronicle of a Jump, starring our friend Ori. I was hoping this music would become the theme, an inspiring courageous dance in an unusual grouping of 9/8 (3+2+2+2). Alas, it was decided that the film worked better in silence, and the music found an audience of its own. | |||||||
| CATEGORY | Chamber music, multi-track viola music | ||||||
| INSTRUMENTATION | Original instrumentation: multitrack violas. Arrangements available: -- string quartet -- string trio -- lead viola / 2 violins, cello, bass, mandolin, banjo -- 1 or 2 clarinets, 3 violins, viola, 2 cellos Also available as a jazz "lead sheet", which includes a separate sheet for the bass line. Arrangements for other combinations may be commissioned upon request. |
||||||
| DURATION | 4 minutes 35 seconds | ||||||
| WORLD PREMIERE | Om Factory Yoga, New York; June 16 2006 | ||||||
| WORLD PREMIERE PERFORMERS | Ljova & the Kontraband: Ljova, viola; Patrick Farrell, accordion; Mike Savino, bass; Mathias Kunzli, percussion | ||||||
| OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES | Enso String Quartet at venues throughout the US; Brooklyn Rider with Kinan Azmeh at the Angel Orensanz Foundation; | ||||||
| RECORDING | Recorded on Ljova's debut CD - Vjola: World on Four Strings[album details]; Recorded by Brooklyn Rider for future release. | ||||||
| SCORE AVAILABILITY | All arrangements are available for sale via PDF or mail delivery; lead sheet & bass part available; arrangements for combinations not listed above may be commissioned on request. [contact for more info]
|
||||||
Plume
Plume (2005)
take a listen - hear an audio preview:
| I sketched "Plume" while my then-girlfriend (and now-wife) was studying at Oxford, and I was listening to the magical voice of Rokia Traore. I tried to create a sensuous music for belly dancing, without actually being very familiar with the genre at the time. | |||||||
| CATEGORY | Chamber music, multi-track viola music | ||||||
| INSTRUMENTATION | Original instrumentation: multitrack violas. Arrangements available: -- string quartet (plus bass) -- string trio -- three violas and bass -- string quartet, bass, two mandolins Also available as a jazz "lead sheet". Arrangements for other combinations may be commissioned upon request. |
||||||
| DURATION | 4 minutes 25 seconds | ||||||
| WORLD PREMIERE | Om Factory Yoga, New York; June 16 2006 | ||||||
| WORLD PREMIERE PERFORMERS | Ljova & the Kontraband: Ljova, viola; Patrick Farrell, accordion; Mike Savino, bass; Mathias Kunzli, percussion | ||||||
| OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES | "Plume" was one of the principal themes for the BBC Documentary "The Team" [more info / trailer]; Brooklyn Rider at Joe's Pub [see video] | ||||||
| RECORDING | Recorded on Ljova's debut CD - Vjola: World on Four Strings[album details]; Recorded by Brooklyn Rider for future release. | ||||||
| SCORE AVAILABILITY | All arrangements are available for sale via PDF or mail delivery; arrangements for combinations not listed above may be commissioned on request. [contact for more info]
|
||||||
Bagel on the Malecon
Bagel on the Malecon (2005)
take a listen - hear an audio preview:
My favorite paradox of Cuban music is that the bass is never "on the beat", while everything else feels groovy and relaxed. In "Bagel on the Malecon", I tried to lift the Cuban "son" grooves from their solid grounding, beyond dancing steps, to a place where the melody and the bass take flight - and memorably, at that. The title is a flight in itself - a utopian fantasy that one day soon, I will be able to enjoy a Bagel - a favorite New York bread creation - on the Malecon, the main boardwalk in Havana, Cuba. |
|||||||
| CATEGORY | Chamber music, multi-track viola music | ||||||
| INSTRUMENTATION | Original instrumentation: multitrack violas. Arrangements available: -- string quartet (plus bass) -- string trio -- three violas and bass -- four cellos. Also available as a jazz "lead sheet", which includes a separate sheet for the bass line. Arrangements for other combinations may be commissioned upon request. |
||||||
| DURATION | 2 minutes 25 seconds | ||||||
| WORLD PREMIERE | Om Factory Yoga, New York; June 16 2006 | ||||||
| WORLD PREMIERE PERFORMERS | Ljova & the Kontraband: Ljova, viola; Patrick Farrell, accordion; Mike Savino, bass; Mathias Kunzli, percussion | ||||||
| OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES | Enso String Quartet, at the Library of Congress, and at venues throughout the US. [see video]; Ljova and the Kontraband at Joe's Pub [see video] | ||||||
| RECORDING | Recorded on Ljova's debut CD - Vjola: World on Four Strings[album details], forthcoming release on the debut CD by Ljova and the Kontraband [sign up for updates] | ||||||
| SCORE AVAILABILITY | All arrangements are available for sale via PDF or mail delivery; lead sheet & bass part available; arrangements for combinations not listed above may be commissioned on request. [contact for more info]
|
||||||
hear Ljova's very first demo sketch of what later became Bagel on the Malecon, with a less developed middle section: |
|||||||
Less - an unfinished film score by Ljova
Something new -- a thus-far unfinished soundtrack to a silent short film. The co-directors have asked me to revise it yet again, but I really like this version best.
Thus, I share it with you. The film should be hopefully making the festival rounds soon.
LESS
Best,
Ljova
Ljova's debut CD -- VJOLA: WORLD ON FOUR STRINGS -- RELEASED!
THREE WAYS TO ORDER:
![]() $14.99 |
![]() $9.99 (instant download) |
![]() $16.49 |
New Yorkers can also pick up a copy at Other Music and Downtown Music Gallery.
...or call 1-800-BUY-MY-CD to order by phone!
THIS IS IT! FIVE YEARS IN THE MAKING! The long-awaited debut release of maverick composer, arranger, and violist Ljova (Lev Zhurbin) draws on a multitude of cross-cultural influences, and is performed almost exclusively on multi-tracked viola. In addition to a busy career as a performer and film composer, Ljova is a frequent collaborator with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project, the Kronos Quartet, Osvaldo Golijov, as well as many independent artists. From blues to Bjork, to Latin and Gypsy dances, to a nostalgic Russian street-waltz (featuring Michael Ward-Bergeman on accordion), Ljova transcends the boundaries of his instrument. Using inventive improvisation and arranging techniques, his compositions dazzle with intricate textures, odd rhythms and lilting melodies, creating music that is both fresh and timeless.
==>Listen to a podcast about VJOLA: WORLD ON FOUR STRINGS from NPR's "Weekend America" and host Anastasia Tsioulcas!
PREVIEW and TRACK LISTING:
1. Central Park in the Dark
2. Bagel on the Malecon
3. O'er
4. Plume
5. Ori's Fearful Symmetry
6. Coffee + Rum
7. Middle Village
8. Army of Me
9. Garmoshka (featuring Michael Ward-Bergeman on accordion)
10. Crosstown
11. Seltzer, Do I Drink Too Much?
12. Four
13. Collage
14. Breadbasket Blues
15. Spring Valley Sunset
REVIEWS:
====>See complete reviews here
This self-released debut recording from 27-year-old Russian-born Lev Zhurbin (aka Ljova), one of New York's fastest-rising composers and instrumentalists, is something special... Ljova continually delights
---Anastasia Tsioulcas, Billboard (July 22, '06)
[Ljova] is an cclectic with an ear for texture...Throaty melodies supported by pizzicato rhythms, lush choral figures and counterpoint.
---Allan Kozinn, NEW YORK TIMES Arts & Leisure, August 13, 2006 (Review of VJOLA)
Best of June 2006 New Releases
---John Schaefer, host of WNYC's New Sounds and Soundcheck
Rustic dances and evocative soundscapes, all crafted from ... the gorgeously grainy purr of his fiddle.
---Steve Smith, Time Out New York (July 6-12, '06)
Extraordinarily talented and versatile musician
---Yo-Yo Ma, cellist
Proves that an integration between seemingly different cultures is possible, inevitable, and fruitable
---Osvaldo Golijov, composer
Ljova answers questions on "Vjola: World on Four Strings"
average music listener?
--------------------------------
Q: What was your main inspiration for the album?
A: The album came together over a period of about five years, and each track has its own story... But primarily the idea was to try more things with my instrument, the viola, to push it to places it hasn’t been, push myself to places I haven’t been.
Q: What does this album say to the listener?
A: I think this album announces possibilities of achieving many different musical colors with strings - and particularly with the viola. Unlike the violin, which has well travelled in jazz and folk circles, the viola has -- with the major exception of John Cale's work in the Velvet Underground -- largely remained a "classical" instrument. As a student, I was frustrated by the scope of the repertoire, and sought to expand it on my own terms.
Q:How did the sound you capture on this album develop?
A: The multi-viola concept developed out of a musical accident. During my senior year at Juilliard, I was involved in several collaborations with artists whom I met on the internet site mp3.com. (A very different mp3.com exists today.) One of these projects resulted in me recording improvised viola lines to a synthesized version of Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain" by an artist curiously named Lorin Swelk. I recorded one take, then recorded another one just to have more options for editing. Just for fun, I decided to play the two tracks together - and out came the greatest riot I ever recorded. (You can still find it online, on Garageband.com)
I can propose a fairly sophisticated account of my efforts, but in truth -- I never really knew what I was doing. Nor did I want to - I was just going after new sounds.
Q: What’s your approach to composing and arranging these pieces?
A: Most of these pieces were recorded as directly as possibly after a vague sketch. Nothing more than a lead sheet was ever written out. I tried to stick to basics. I record an idea, and build on top of it - 3,4,5,6 tracks. I’m driven to rhythms that are on the verge of boiling over – they don’t necessarily groove, but keep changing. Like “Bagel” or “Crosstown” - those pieces keep switching, sometimes in 13 and 14.
Q:How did you know you were done with a track?
A: When it felt right...What’s interesting is that none of these pieces were ever played live. Generally, you take a band, play with it, rehearse them, finesse them, see audience reaction, and only THEN you go to the studio and record. None of these pieces had the benefit of that. At best, Collage had the benefit of 1.5 live performances, but the end result is a combination of two performances that were mixed and remixed into a shorter piece.
Q:How different would the pieces be if you had to write them out first?
A: I would miss a lot of possibilities, I would miss being careless, spontaneous. When I’m recording and not looking at sheet music, I’m always like a kid at controls, thinking, ‘what does this button do?” while arranging the piece.
Q:What would you gain from perhaps more deliberate composing?
A: When I’m arranging for the Kronos Quartet and Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project, I have to write everything out more or less because that’s their preference. You'd think the arrangements get more refined, but even in this situation, I try to bring a lot of my improvising skills – sometimes when I have to write out a solo for Yo-Yo, I try it out on the viola first, see if it fits my hand.
Q: If you could pick a Grammy category to nominate your recording, which would it be?
A: Best instrumental inspirational empowerment album, folk or classical --? Essentially, it’s a folk album, folk/classical. Not really jazz, more or less inspired by folk music with the exception of 2-3 pieces in the back of the album. "Collage", "Four", and "O’er" are more minimalist, classical/new music. . Best Good Music album?
Q: Who inspires you the most?
A: I listen to everything – it’s my job to listen to everything, to assimilate styles into my own vocabulary. I'm inspired by people who crave to learn and try new things, in music and elsewhere. My parents are beacons of this, in their own way. I’m drawn to folk music, I feel there’s a certain rawness and lack of polish that makes it wholesome and beautiful.
But for that matter, I’m also a fan of a lot of pop music producers – Guy Sigsworth whom I had the chance to collaborate with, Ryuichi Sakamoto, A.R. Rahman, Björk. My mentor, Osvaldo Golijov, has often said that "the laptop is the folk instrument of the 21st century" - and he uses it prominently in his latest works. And it's true – you can polish things but you also don’t have to. Laptop is an instrument that’s globally available, kids use it, programs like Garageband get you going and you can do a lot more. My parents gave me a violin and said “practice”, these days you give a kid a laptop and say “do your homework and have fun” and 10 min later they have a symphony.
Q:What do you want people to do while listening to your album?
A: I want them to sit in a nail salon and get a foot massage. I want them not to be crossing the street while listening to it. But seriously, I’ve given it a car test – it works in cars, and that accounts for most of the western world. It might work on bikes, too.
Q:How do you maintain the freshness of the arrangements when you perform the pieces on the album?
A: For live performances, we’ll have to go back to raw sketches, feelings, ideas. For example, when performing "Crosstown," we’ll have to go back to 4 bar sketch and 2 phrases. With "Bagel" there’s more of an elaborate form. The live performances will be quite different from the album. It’ll be good to do with musicians that don’t necessarily read music or play my way. At one point, I swore myself that I’d never want to write down my own improvisations – but I'll cave in, if only to create arrangements, primary for the use of students who want to get together, a departure point for standard repertoire for strings. But personally, I hope to always keep the interpretations as fresh and dynamic as they were when I first recorded them.
Q:If you had to teach your approach someone, how would you go about it?
A: My method happened by accident, and the opportunity to have that accident with your instrument/SW is more important than any lessons I have learned. The multi-viola approach might be fun for an album or two, but it’s really just a tool to sketch as fast as possible… record bass first, melody second, but that might not get you anywhere. The primary thing you can learn is how to use your software and play your instrument.
Q: If you had to tag the album, what would be your tags?
A: viola folk music latin gypsy assymetrical rhythms indie crossover classical minimalist strings European cinematic... violas on parade
Q: How important is it to make music that's "listenable" for an average music listener?
A: I think of listenability when I work with films, but when I make my "stand-alone" music it’s not really a concern. Everything is listenable, some things just require more time and attention. I’ve always tried to do both – write music that interests me intellectually and captivates me spiritually. Sometimes that happens in the same piece, sometimes it doesn’t.
Q:You're releasing this record independently, on your own label, Kapustnik Records. Did you ever try to shop it around for a record deal?
A: Not at all - didn't shop it around in the least. I may have fantasized about a major record label deal 10 years ago, but the more I learned and thought about it, the less I wanted one. These days, many of my friends are major-label exiles, and many of those who stayed are next-to-miserable.
I had offers from smaller (indie) labels. But in the end, I didn't want to be bound to a release schedule, to a certain label mold, or to a certain strategy - musical or otherwise. My music is fairly untested and my performance history is far too sparse to offer any kind of comfort to a bond company.
Most of all, I just wanted to release the album *NOW* - and not a year from now. I want to maintain fairly close contact with my fanbase, and hopefully get to work on my next album project shortly.
©2006
Request a demo CD
To receive a free demo CD of Ljova's Film and TV-related music,
or to be granted access to the online demo area, interested directors, producers, editors and/or music supervisors should kindly fill out the form below:
Lead Sheets
(music for unspecified instrumentation)
ANYWAY
AMBER'S THEME
BIG BOSSA SKIPS A BEAT
BLUE'S WALTZ
BREADBASKET BLUES
CALL ME ANYTIME
COFFEE + RUM
CROSSTOWN
END THEME (Homage a George Shearing)
FRESH EVERY MORNING
GARMOSHKA
I DON'T KNOW (CHA-CHA-CHA)
LONELY WALTZ
LONG BEACH STANDARD
LOVE POTION, EXPIRED
MASHKA
MEXICANA
MIDDLE VILLAGE
MOODY SAX ENTRACTE
NEW HAIRCUT
NA KOSTRE (BY THE BLAZE)
O'ER
THE OLD LAUTAR
ONWARDS
OKUDZHAVA
THE OPEN SONG
ORI'S FEARFUL SYMMETRY
PLUME
A PAOLO CONTE
RUSSIAN WINTERLAND
SOFIA'S THEME A
SOFIA'S THEME B
SON CUBANO
STOMACH
SWELTERING, SIMMERING...
TANZEN
TRAIN SONG
UNION SQUARE
WOODY ALLEN COFFEE MUSIC
WINDOW CLEANER
Music for Solo Instruments
Note: This list is quite incomplete, and the whole sheet-music catalog will be updated soon. Please feel free to contact us with any requests.
SAWNG (2003)
for flute
Duration: 4 minutes
for Jessica Feldman on her birthday
view and print the sheetmusic
THREE OUTLOOKS (2002)
for flute
Duration: 8 minutes
commissioned by Mary Fukushima
view and print the sheetmusic
SICILIENNE(2002)
for piano
Duration: 4 minutes
(arrangement of Sicilienne for violin and piano, 2001)
commissioned by Soheil Nasseri
view and print the sheetmusic
RED WAGON RAG (2002)
for piano
Duration: 3 minutes
from the soundtrack to Alison Marek's short film RED WAGON
view and print the sheetmusic
WAITING... (2002)
for piano
Duration: 2 minutes
view and print the sheetmusic
SEVEN FUGUES IN C MAJOR (1999)
for keyboard
Duration: 10 minutes
more info can be found here
THREE NOCTURNES (1998/1996)
for piano
Duration: 5 minutes
THREE PIECES (1997)
for viola
Duration: 6 minutes
THREE MINIATURES (1996)
for clarinet
Duration: 5 minutes
KLEINE FANTASIE (Preludia VI) (1996)
for viola
Duration: 3 minutes
STURM (Preludia V) (1995)
for one cellist
Duration: 7 minutes
PRELUDIA III (1995)
for violin
Duration: 3 minutes
PRELUDIA IIb (1995)
for violin
Duration: 3 minutes
THREE PIECES (1995)
for piano
Duration: 5 minutes
Commissioned by Nina Svetlanova
1st Prize Winner - Delius Composition Competition (Young Composers Division),
1995
PRELUDIA II (1994)
for viola
Duration: 6 minutes
PRELUDIA I (1994)
for flute
Duration: 3 minutes
Music for Chamber Ensembles
Note: This list is quite incomplete, and the whole sheet-music catalog will be updated soon. Please feel free to contact us with any requests.
N. MALADIE (2005)
for viola and piano
Duration: 3 minutes
view and purchase the sheet music
FANFARE (2004)
for string quartet
Duration: 6 minutes
Commissioned by the Puffin Foundation for The Sutton Ensemble
FOUR (2004)
for four violas
Duration: 6 minutes
POTPOURELAINE (2003)
for three violins
Duration: 6 minutes
for Elaine Sutin and The Sutton Ensemble
view and purchase the sheet music
INTERMEZZO SENTIMENTALE (2003)
for one (or two) violins and viola
Duration: 4 minutes
view and purchase the sheet music
25 (2003)
for viola and piano
Duration: 5 minutes
STILL GOOD, AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! (2002)
for cello and piano
Duration: 4 minutes
NO SATISFYING ENDING (2002)
for viola and piano
Duration: 17 minutes
for Thomas Hoppe
SENSATION (2002)
for medium voice and piano
text by Arthur Rimbaud
Duration: 4 minutes
commissioned by Ying Zhu
view and purchase the sheet music
RED WAGON RAG (2002)
for viola piano
Duration: 3 minutes
from the soundtrack to Alison Marek's short film RED WAGON
view and purchase the sheet music
RED WAGON WALTZ (2002)
for viola piano
Duration: 3 minutes
from the soundtrack to Alison Marek's short film RED WAGON
WOODY ALLEN COFFEE MUSIC (2001)
for string quartet
Duration: 3 minutes
view and purchase the sheet music
WINDOW CLEANER (2001)
for string quartet
Duration: 4 minutes
view and purchase the sheet music
WALTZ: "MY HERITAGE" (2001)
for string quartet
Duration: 4 minutes
Dedicated to my family
view and purchase the sheet music
WALTZ: "KREISLERISCH" (2001)
for string quartet
Duration: 4 minutes
Dedicated to Lev Veksler
view and purchase the sheet music
ROMANCE FUNEBRE (2000)
for two violas, or violin and viola
Duration: 6 minutes
Dedicated to Sarah Darling
view and purchase the sheet music
SICILIENNE (2000)
for violin and piano
Duration: 4 minutes
view and purchase the sheet music
c. 1911 (1999)
for oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn
Duration: 5 minutes
view and purchase the sheet music
TeChNo! (1995-1997)
for two grand pianos
Duration: 9 minutes
WALTZ: "AGNIESZKA" (1997)
for string quartet
Duration: 5 minutes
Dedicated to Agnès Maison
WALTZ (1997)
for string quartet
Duration: 5 minutes
CONCERTO FOR A YOUNG PIANIST (1996)
for piano and strings (can be played with string quartet)
Duration: 10 minutes
ELEGIA (1995)
for cello (or viola) and piano
Duration: 3 minutes
NIGHT AND DAY (STRING QUARTET #0.1) (1993-1994)
for string quartet
Duration: 7 minutes
SONATA (1995)
for tuba and piano
Duration: 10 minutes
Commissioned by Benjamin Z. Massin
DUET (1995)
for violin and viola
Duration: 9 minutes
1st Prize Winner of
the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts Composers Competition, 1995
MORGENMUSIK (1994/1995)
for string quartet
Duration: 4 minutes
STRING QUARTET #0, "MADHOUSE" (1994)
for string quartet
Duration: 6 minutes
Honorable Mention -
National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts Composition Competition, 1994


My favorite paradox of Cuban music is that the bass is never "on the beat", while everything else feels groovy and relaxed. In "Bagel on the Malecon", I tried to lift the Cuban "son" grooves from their solid grounding, beyond dancing steps, to a place where the melody and the bass take flight - and memorably, at that. The title is a flight in itself - a utopian fantasy that one day soon, I will be able to enjoy a Bagel - a favorite New York bread creation - on the Malecon, the main boardwalk in Havana, Cuba.










