The Afro-Semitic Experience

The Afro-Semitic Experience presents a workshop performance of a new project: Letters from the Affair

We’d like to let you know about the first ever performance of a new work that we have been developing. The piece is called Letters from the Affair. Letters from the Affair is a hybrid work—there’s a little jazz, a little opera, some Klezmer, some musical theater and maybe even an art history lecture. This multi-media jazz song cycle is based upon a series of letters written by the Impressionist painters Camille Pissarro and Edgar Degas.

The letters trace their artistic friendship and its eventual deterioration as a result of the anti-Semitism caused by the Dreyfus affair. Images from the era and paintings and prints by the artists will provide further context. This work presents an impression of the personal ramifications of a national political event and is an illustration of how bigotry can destroy a friendship.

A talk back with the band will directly follow the performance.

This preview/workshop performance will be on Thursday, August 16 at 7:00 p.m., at Best Video Film and Cultural Center, 1842 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, Connecticut.

To our Friends and Fans,

We have sad news. Our friend and brother in music, Stacy Phillips, a man who was many, many things, including a Grammy award winner, a Bluegrass legend and a founding member of the Afro-Semitic Experience, died, Tuesday, June 5 around 9:30. He was 74 years old. He experienced a massive heart attack on Sunday and from then on it was just a matter of time. He was surrounded by his family, his sister and his niece and nephew. Stacy was his own person and that was reflected in the life he led as a musician. We traveled the world with him. We traveled the United States with him. We shared meals together and bandstands together. We heard the same jokes from him over and over and we laughed every time. It is hard to believe he is dead. We would say more about Stacy, but others have already said it better. There is a great obituary about Stacy in the New Haven Independent.

On Sunday, June 10, we participated in a musical memorial for Stacy at Café 9 in New Haven. We were joined by so many other musicians, bands, students, and fans who all paid tribute to him. There’s a great article about that event in the New Haven Independent.

Zichronoh l’vrachah May his memory be a blessing

Welcome

With our highly accessible ethnic world music mix and our ability to get an audience on its feet, The Afro-Semitic Experience is redefining the jazz concert and making a difference with our message of Unity in the Community.

Our friendship ignites our passion and purpose: we merge our musical roots, Jewish and Afro-diasporic melodies and grooves, combining the core concepts of àse and shalom - power, action, unity, and peace.

As legendary jazz critic, Nat Hentoff wrote “. . . never before have I heard this lyrically powerful a fusion of Jewish and jazz souls on fire. . .” The Afro-Semitic Experience's music is described by critic Carlos Ramos as "a whoopin', hollerin', testifyin' celebration of multicultural soul music. Imagine Charles Mingus sitting in with a Klezmer band, playing Gospel music set to the polyrhythmic pace of congas and bongos."

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Upcoming Events

The Afro-Semitic Experience presents a workshop performance of a new project: Letters from the Affair

Thursday, August 16 @ 7:00PMThu, Aug 16 @ 7:00PM

Best Video Film and Cultural Center, 1842 Whitney Avenue, Hamden

We’d like to let you know about the first ever performance of a new work that we have been developing. The piece is called Letters from the Affair. Letters from the Affair is a hybrid work—there’s a little jazz, a little opera, some Klezmer, some musical theater and maybe even an art history lecture. This multi-media jazz song cycle is based upon a series of letters written by the Impressionist painters Camille Pissarro and Edgar Degas.

The letters trace their artistic friendship and its eventual deterioration as a result of the anti-Semitism caused by the Dreyfus affair. Images from the era and paintings and prints by the artists will provide further context. This work presents an impression of the personal ramifications of a national political event and is an illustration of how bigotry can destroy a friendship.

A talk back with the band will directly follow the performance.

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View previous events

Live at the URJ Biennial 2017

Here’s a link to something we think is also of importance and value, Reverend William J. Barber’s speech that followed our performance at the URJ Biennial. His words that evening were a call to action and a powerful reminder that there is still much to do in our nation to achieve equality and equity for all our citizens. We hope you will take some time to watch or at least listen to what Reverend Barber said that evening.

Check out Jazz Souls on Fire: our latest album

"a recording in which every track is a winner. . . This band makes losing oneself in music easy—and a pleasure.” JazzTimes Magazine

Ahoy!!! Afro-Semitic Experience drummers Abu Carter and Alvin Carter, Jr. recently gave a drumming workshop at sea aboard the Schooner Amistad off the shore of Westbrook, Connecticut.