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Estamos Ensemble - jimpani kustakwa ka jankwariteecherï
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Estamos Ensemble
jimpani kustakwa ka jankwariteecherï
EDT4114
2-CD $15


Led by the founder and artistic director Thollem McDonas, Estamos Ensemble is composed of musicians from Mexico and the U.S. The intention of Estamos Ensemble is to foster more communication and collaboration between musicians of our two bordering countries as well as a better understanding of and appreciation for the citizens of our countries in general.
The verb estamos in Spanish means 'we are' in the non-permanent sense. This is intrinsic to the nature of Estamos Ensemble. Each performance will be fresh in the hands of great improvisers and some of the most accomplished composers from both sides of the border. This concept is in the spirit of the project: always changing and open to new and different kinds of involvement.
“jimpani kustakwa ka jankwariteecherï” is a direct translation of 'compositions and improvisations' in the P'urhépecha language mostly spoken in rural communities in the highlands of Michoacán, Mexico. The border between Mexico and the United States was not conceived of until the mid 1800s after thousands of years of people living throughout these lands. Before that 4.5 billion years of the planetary history had passed without the concept of controlled modern human land borders.

Premieres of compositions written specifically for the ensemble by: Ana Lara (MX); Nels Cline (US); Juan Felipe Waller (MX); Pauline Oliveros (US); Joan Jeanrenaud (US); Vinny Golia (US); Jorge Torres Sáenz (MX); William Parker (US); Thollem McDonas (US)

PERFORMING ARTISTS Theresa Wong - Cello, Voice (US); Emilio Tamez - Percussion (MX); Marko Novachcoff - Various Winds (US); Alexander Bruck - Viola (MX); Ava Mendoza - Guitar (US); Julián Martínez Vázquez - Violin (MX); Vinny Golia - Various Winds (US); Carmina Escobar - Voice, Electronics (MX); Kjell Nordeson - Vibraphone (US/Sweden); Thollem McDonas - Piano, Artistic Director (US)

GUEST ARTISTS
Glenn Weyant (US); Arrington deDionyso (US)




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"Finding a collection of acoustic situations from such a diverse range of instrumentalists that keeps its consistency throughout a double album is rare...Jimpani Kustakwa Ka Jankwariteecherï stands as an authentication of serious commitment to a significant issue."
- Massimo Ricci, Touching Extremes

"The challenge enunciated in Jimpani Kustakwa Ka Jankwariteecherï - with their winding conceptual complexities and deep aesthetic aspirations can be difficult, demand of the listener extreme an auditory commitment or represent a degree of difficulty almost so unapproachable and demanding as the existing border conflict between Mexico and the United States. Nevertheless, while the reality of that conflict says to us that we are before an impasse, the proposal of the Estamos Ensemble seems to encourage to hopes, showing to us a possible way."
- Sergio Piccirilli, el-inturs