This year features performances by musicians whose work speaks to the power of music to build and connect communities across histories and geographies.
“For over nineteen years, Sounds of L.A. has provided a unique opportunity to explore connections between the local and global, old and new. This year, we are pleased to collaborate with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, which produces the venerable Smithsonian Folklife Festival and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings,” says Laurel Kishi performing arts manager for the J. Paul Getty Museum. “The resulting sonic diversity featured this year reflects a shared commitment to cultural exchange and engagement, as well as to artistic excellence.
Sounds of L.A. 2017 launches on February 18 and 19 with a concert by Iraqi-American oud virtuoso Rahim AlHaj. His forthcoming album, Letters from Iraq, features eight original compositions inspired by a collection of letters by Iraqi women and children. Joining him for the project’s California debut are David Felberg, James Holland, Jean-Luc Matton, Shanti Randall, Ruxandra Marquardt, and Issa Malluf.
March 18 and 19 brings Rising Star Fife and Drum featuring Shardé Thomas. As early as the 17th century, fife and drum music arrived in America’s deep south with military marching bands and was quickly woven into the music traditions of enslaved Africans. Today, this extraordinary music lives on in the work of Shardé Thomas, who began playing fife alongside her grandfather, the great Otha Turner. Rising Star is one of the last links to a sound that everyone from Alan Lomax to Robert Plant to Martin Scorsese has praised for its unpretentious vitality.
Sounds of L.A. closes April 8 and 9 with Entre Mujeres: Women Making Music Across Borders. Founded by musicians Martha Gonzales (Grammy Award-winning band Quetzal) and Laura Marina Rebolloso (Son De Madera), this collaborative project features original compositions by musicians from Los Angeles and Veracruz. Its goal is to create community and make visible through the song the voices, ideas, and translocal dialogue between women from both sides of the US-Mexico border. Featuring some of this city’s finest singers, Entre Mujeres cleverly blends traditional sounds of fandango with influences from rock, jazz, blues, hip-hop, and African and Odissi rhythms.
Sounds of L.A. Schedule
The series is free; a separate reservation is required for each concert. This season of Sounds of L.A. is presented in collaboration with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. All performances take place in the Harold M. Williams Auditorium at the Getty Center.
Sounds of L.A.: Rahim AlHaj
Saturday, February 18, 2017, at 7pm
Sunday, February 19, 2017, at 4pm
Sounds of L.A.: Rising Star Fife and Drum featuring Shardé Thomas
Saturday, March 18, 2017, at 7pm
Sunday, March 19, 2017, at 4pm
Sounds of L.A.: Entre Mujeres: Women Making Music Across Borders
Saturday, April 8, 2017, at 7pm
Sunday, April 9, 2017, at 4pm