LJOVA AND THE VJOLA CONTRABAND at the Philadelphia Art Museum!

    
(Photos ©Tali Bogen / Lifeinshuffle.com)

LJOVA AND THE VJOLA CONTRABAND

Friday, July 6, 2007
TWO sets: 5:45-6:45pm and 7:15-8:15pm
PHILADELPHIA ART MUSEUM - Art After 5 series
26th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA
Museum entrance fee: $12 (adults), $9 (seniors), $8 (students).
FREE for members of the Museum. (No addition fee for performance.)

LJOVA AND THE VJOLA CONTRABAND -- making its Philadelphia-area debut -- is chamber-jam music for the "remix generation". As if by alchemy, Eastern-European and Gypsy melodies, Latin rhythms, Jazz-inspired improvisations, and deeply rooted Classical forms are given new meanings. Founded by the maverick film composer, arranger, and violist Lev 'LJOVA' Zhurbin --- hailed by Billboard magazine as "one of New York's fastest rising composers and instrumentalists" -- the ensemble also features his close collaborators on vocals, accordion, bass and percussion. Inspired by his collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Osvaldo Golijov, the Kronos Quartet, the rapper Jay-Z and others, Ljova's compositions dazzle with intricate textures, odd rhythms and lilting melodies, creating music that is both fresh and timeless.

Ljova, viola
Patrick Farrell, accordion
Mike Savino, bass
Mathias Kunzli, percussion

Watch videos of Ljova and the Vjola Contraband on YouTube!
Ljova and the Vjola Contraband reviewed by Justin Davidson in NEWSDAY