Riding on the back of the successful Contemporary Music Festival recently, the CKS Cultural Center hopes to score big once again in the coming weeks with its latest musical fiesta, the "Holler Series," which begins at the National Concert Hall (
Highlighting the vocal talents of two ensembles and one individual, the mini-festival features US jazz vocal ensemble, New York Voices, Spanish flamenco songstress Carmen Linares and Aussie a cappella group, The Idea of North, all of whom will be making their Taiwan debuts at the coming Holler Series.
The series kicks off with a performance by the Grammy Award winning jazz ensemble New York Voices. Formed in 1987, the five-piece ensemble made its self-titled vinyl debut two years later.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CKS CULTURAL CENTER
Although geared towards commercial jazz audiences, the album received rave reviews and peaked at number nine in the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Album charts.
In 1996 the group was awarded a Grammy in the "Jazz Large Ensemble" category for its collaboration with the Count Basie Orchestra on Live at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild. Since then the quintet has become a quartet and its members have branched away from performing solely mainstream jazz. Instead, it has dabbled in Brazilian, R & B, classical and even pop. It is now a regular fixture at the North Sea and The Montreal jazz festivals.
Flamenco vocalist, Carmen Linares will be turning up the heat at the Holler Series on March 11, when the sultry Spanish vocalist takes to the stage of the prestigious venue. Taipei audiences are in for an evening of Latin passion when Linares performs her steamy set, featuring a selection of sensuous and searing tunes from her 2002 release, Un Ramito de Locura. This is an album, that, according to the Spanish language music publication, El Mundo can send audiences to the "heights of ecstasy."
Antipodean a cappella quartet, The Idea of North will be closing the festival on March 24, when it brings its unique sound to the stage of the National Concert Hall.
One of Australia's few fully professional a cappella acts, the group's shows are lively and absorbing affairs. It performs a blend of uniquely arranged contemporary classics by artists ranging from Cole Porter to Sting, as well a plenty of interesting and original material of its own -- which includes an eclectic mix of jazz, soul and gospel.
Performance notes:
Holler Series schedule and ticketing information: Tonight, New York Voices. Thursday, March 11, Carmen Linarers. Wednesday, March 24, The Idea of the North. All performances begin at 7:30pm at the National Concert Hall. Tickets for all shows in the series cost from NT$400 to NT$1,800 and are available direct from the CKS Cultural Center booking office or from ERA Ticketing Outlets nationwide.
For further information and online booking log on to the CKS Cultural Center's Web site at www.ntch.edu.tw.
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