MCLA Offering Up Hot Jazz for Cold Berkshires
 Brooklyn's Slavic Soul Party plays all-American jazz through an Eastern European filter. |
Well, if you can't get to the Big Easy you can still sample some New Orleans flavor at the 5th annual MCLA Presents! Blues and Funk Festival this Thursday, Feb. 4, and Friday, Feb. 5. Shows begin both nights at 7:30 in the Venable Hall gymnasium on the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts campus to allow lots of room for dancing.
Kicking off the festival on Thursday will be the Eastern European-flavored Slavic Soul Party (of Brooklyn, N.Y.).
"The nine-piece Slavic Soul Party embraces a wild variety of music as it mixes the messed-up rhythms of the Balkans with gypsy music, funk, soul, rock and jazz for a sound. No matter what they are playing, it is hard to keep your feet still," said Jonathan Secor, director of special programs at MCLA. "Slavic Soul Party takes much of its inspiration from New Orleans party traditions, playing non-stop with a punk-rock energy that has won them fans all across the country."
Opening on Thursday night will be Hawa Umarova, an MCLA sophomore originally from Chechnya, once part of the former Soviet Union, as well as the MCLA Jazz Band under the direction of Jamie Choquette.
The party will continue on Friday night with the return of headliner Big Sam's Funky Nation. The New Orleans band is led by Dirty Dozen Brass Band trombonist Big Sam Williams.
 Big Sam and his funky band return to MCLA for the Blues and Funk Festival. |
Opening for Big Sam will be local favorites and MCLA alumni billy G and the BlueZone with their version of hard-hitting, old-school blues, and MCLA's high-stepping step team Nexxus.
For additional information and a complete listing of the festival and future MCLA Presents! performances, visit www.mcla.edu/presents. General admission for the festival is $12 per evening or $20 for both evenings. Tickets may be reserved by calling 413-662-5204; for information about the artists, call 413-664-8718.
To become a member of MCLA Presents! and receive free tickets to all of the shows, call 413-662-5229. MCLA Presents! is a project of the college's Berkshire Cultural Resource Center.
