Jewish Jazz Man Delivers World of Music
Oran Etkin brings his fusion of experiences from his travels to the Breman for the Molly Blank Concert Series.
We were intrigued when we saw Oran Etkin’s jazz show, part of the Breman Museum’s Molly Blank Concert Series, promoted on the Atlanta Jewish Connector.
His performances on YouTube sounded promising, so we opted to attend this jazzy event.
The Breman auditorium was transformed into an intimate jazz cafe for the concert Sunday, May 6. Foods from around the world and some delicious wines were served at the hour-long reception before the concert, which made for a delightful start to the afternoon.
Etkin’s album “Gathering Light” was inspired by his worldly travels and cultural experiences, which include tours of Indonesia, China, Japan, Israel and Europe. The music interweaves melodies and rhythms from those regions with Etkin’s fresh compositions, emanating an openness to discovery in the world, in himself and within his music.
On “Gathering Light,” Etkin says, he dug deep, taking inspiration from the depths of the jazz tradition that he grew up with, the New Orleans roots that inspired him to play and ancient sources from around the world to create venturesome music that pushes the art form in new directions.
Etkin found himself grooving in good company. In addition to Etkin on bass clarinet, clarinet and tenor saxophone, the band members featured at the Breman were Nir Felder on guitar, Marcos Varela on bass and Alverster Garnett on drums.
Etkin also continues music education through a groundbreaking method of teaching called Timbalooloo, which he used to create an award-winning children’s CD, “Wake Up Clarinet!”
His music has been featured on several compilation CDs, including the Grammy Award-winning “All About Bullies … Big and Small,” which includes two tracks composed and performed by Etkin.
We had a group of six attend the performance and left with mixed reviews among us. We all were grateful to take part in the Breman’s Molly Blank Concert Series — “Celebrating Jewish contributions to music” — which concludes for 2018 with Theatrical Outfit’s tribute to Jewish composers Alan and Marilyn Bergman on Sunday, June 3.
Our next outing is planned for the Candler Park Music & Food Festival on Friday and Saturday, June 1 and 2. This is the neighborhood festival’s 10th year, and it will include a food village, an artist market, adult field games and a cocktail bar. General-admission tickets are $30; VIP tickets are $80 (candlerparkmusicfestival.com/tickets-2018).
The festival takes place at 1500 McLendon Ave. Organizers expect the crowds to be bigger than ever.
Gates open at 4 p.m. June 1 and at noon June 2. The festival is an all-ages event. Children under the age of 12 who are accompanied by an adult ticketholder get in free.
Come out and join us!
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