Catalog

This exquisitely produced album embodies the beautiful art whose creation has been enabled by the newly opened cultural exchange between the United States and Cuba. Through a collection of intriguing compositions by American and American-based composers, INTERSECTIONS showcases the talents of Cuban musicians in a variety of large ensemble and chamber settings. Moreover, the pieces in the album’s contents are replete with symbols that touch on the promise of this new beginning in American-Cuban relations, and suggest some of the darkness that preceded it.

Ansonica Records presents a fantastic collection of traditional Cuban music authentically performed by the Havana based all-female octet, Ellasón. The dynamic group is comprised of vocals, baby bass, chorus, guitar, congas, bongos, cowbells, two clarinets, violin, and a voice leader. Ellasón focuses on traditional Cuban and Latin-American music with inspiration from the Cuban musical genre, La Trova.

Continuing in the series of Cuban recorded Ansonica Records projects comes CORO DEL MUNDO – choir of the world. With tracks ranging from sacred to secular, and from delicate to aggressive, the surprising cohesiveness of the composers’ work is astonishingly beautiful and impassioned. Schola Cantorum Coralina and Vocal Luna contribute exquisite vocals to the proceedings.

The quartet of musicians who comprise Hevreh Ensemble – Judith Dansker, Laurie Friedman, Adam Morrison, and Jeff Adler – are making their Ansonica debut with A PATH OF LIGHT. Hevreh Ensemble is internationally acclaimed for its live performances, which feature a wide array of instruments from Cherokee Native American flute, English horn, and shofar to world percussion including djembe, dumbek, balafon, rain stick, and tabla. The Ensemble is also joined on A PATH OF LIGHT by some extraordinary guests, including the genre-defying string quartet ETHEL, cross-cultural percussionist Shane Shanahan, George Rush on double bass, and Naren Budhkar on tabla.

Formed from long standing friendships and mutual musical interests, whose distinctive sound has been embraced internationally, the Hevreh Ensemble returns with MESEROLE STREET, a collection of works from composer and ensemble member Jeff Adler. With music inspired by friends and family, nostalgia, and several compositions influenced by the 2020 pandemic, the ensemble employs a variety of instruments both common and unique, namely the Native American flute and the shofar horn. From the cold feelings of isolation in Alone to the resounding emotions of hope in Freedom Day and more in between, the Hevreh Ensemble’s close-knit relationship and signature sound once again proves their notion: “good friendship makes for good music, and great stories.”