BRIAN PRUNKA - NEW QUARTET

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Oud player and composer Brian Prunka’s music has been described as "spellbinding" and “mesmerizing, intricate, anthemic” (NY Music Daily). He began his musical journey playing jazz guitar in New Orleans before falling in love with the Arabic oud over 25 years ago, sparking a lifelong musical journey that has included stops in Ramallah, Jerusalem and Istanbul. Since 2003 he has been deeply involved with New York’s Arabic music scene, performing with Simon Shaheen, Takht al-Nagham, Zikrayat, Marwan Allam, the NY Arabic orchestra, the Bil Afrah Project, and his many original music projects, including his jazz-Arabic band Nashaz and most recently a series of works for oud and string quartet.

Gideon Forbes is a saxophonist, nay player, and composer. A sought-after collaborator, performing with the celebrated qanunist Firas Zreik, the New York Arabic Orchestra, Takht al-Nagham, The Brooklyn Nomads, Habibi Gün, and Sami Abu Shumays. He has shared the stage with many notable musicians including Abeer Nehme, Nibal Malshi, and Karim Nagi; he is also the leader of Orchestra Farha, an acoustic-electric ensemble reviving 1970's Arabic music from Egypt and around the Arab world.

Cellist Eric Allen is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger living in Brooklyn. Allen studied Arabic music with oud and violin master Simon Shaheen and sarangi with the late Ramesh Mishra and was also member of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop. He has performed in venues all over New York City, including Carnegie Hall, Dizzy's Club, National Sawdust, Nederlander Theatre, and Brooks Atkinson Theatre, with such artists as Courtney Love, LCD Soundsystem, and many others.

Percussionist Alber Baseel is from Bethlehem, Palestine, and began his conservatory music education at the Edward Said Conservatory at the age of 14, studying Classical Arabic tradition and learning what would become his principal instruments: Darbuka and Riq. In the U.S., Alber has collaborated with Simon Shaheen, Leo Blanco, and Alain Mallet, and the National Arab Orchestra; internationally, he has shared a stage and studio with renowned musicians Ahmad Al Khatib, Marco Markovic, and Helge Andreas Norbakken, among others.

$20 suggested
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