14/08/2024
Witness the fusion of talent from Zanzibar and Tanzania's musical gems, and watch this year's special world-renowned jazz guest Neil Leonard all the way from the United States as the Jahazi ambassador, sure to set the stage on fire. Spread the word, and let's groove together! Sunday August 18th from 6PM to 11Pm a melody of music from Artists Of Zanzibar and many other special guests sure to be a fun-filled night of music
About this year's special guest:
Neil Leonard is a composer, saxophonist, and transdisciplinary artist. Leonard's work includes concerts for ensembles with live electronics, audio/visual installation, and multimedia performance. He maintains active collaborations in Canada, Cuba, China, Brazil, Burundi, Italy, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, and across the US. Leonard works with artists from film, video, installation, dance, and theater to create and perform music, often using immersive multichannel audio configurations.
His compositions were featured by Carnegie Hall, documenta (Germany), Musicacustica (China), the International Computer Music Convention (Canada), the Tel Aviv Biennial for New Music (Israel), Moscow Autumn (Russia), Museo Reina Sofia (Spain), the Jazz Plaza International Festival (Cuba), and in NYC at Roulette, Experimental Intermedia Foundation, Issue Project Room, and Knitting Factory.
Leonard's sound installations have been featured by Mass MoCA, Williams College Museum of Art, Peabody Essex Museum, Media Lab at MIT, Havana Bienal (Cuba), Bienal de Bahia (Brazil). Large-scale installations and performances with Magdalena Campos, Fujiko Nakaya, Phill Niblock, and Tony Oursler were featured by MoMA, Tate Modern, documenta, Venice Biennale, Whitney Biennale. Leonard's ensemble featured Joanne Brackeen, Terence Blanchard, and Robin Eubanks. Leonard performed and recorded with Juan Blanco, Alvin Curran, Richard Devine, Vijay Iyer, Phill Niblock, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Robin Rimbaud (Scanner), Stephen Vitiello, Hal Wilner, and Amnon Wolman.
Leonard was a Sacatar Institute Fellow (2023), Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Artist-in-Residence (2016); Fulbright Specialist Award recipient (2016); M.I.T. Art, Culture, and Technology Research Affiliate. He is a Professor at the Berklee College of Music and the founding Artistic Director of the Berklee Interdisciplinary Arts Institute.
