Discover what it takes to turn a passion for storytelling into a career in food and culture journalism with Priya Krishna, acclaimed food reporter for The New York Times and author of Indian-ish and Cooking at Home.
In conversation with Tamara Cunningham, UC San Diego’s Assistant Vice Chancellor for Global Initiatives, Priya will share her journey—from growing up surrounded by bold flavors to reporting on how food connects people, places, and identity. Attendees will gain insights into her creative process, career path, and what it means to write about culture through the lens of food.
The evening concludes with an audience Q&A and book signing, with Priya’s titles available for purchase from the UC San Diego Bookstore.
Makaya McCraven is a prolific drummer, composer and producer.
His newest album, In These Times, is the triumphant finale of a project 7+ years in the making. It’s a preeminent addition to his already-acclaimed and extensive discography, and it’s the album he’s been trying to make since he started making records.
McCraven believes that the word “jazz” is “insufficient, at best, to describe the phenomenon we’re dealing with.” The artist, who has been aptly called a “cultural synthesizer”, has a unique gift for collapsing space, destroying borders and blending past, present, and future into poly-textural arrangements of post-genre, jazz-rooted 21st century folk music. Profiled in Vice, Rolling Stone, the Guardian, and NPR, among other publications, he and the music he makes today are at the very vanguard of that phenomenon. According to the New York Times, “McCraven has quietly become one of the best arguments for jazz’s vitality”. The artist explained to NPR in 2019, “I don’t think what I’m doing is necessarily that far off of the legacy of jazz that I grew up in … I think one of the things that gives it strength is that people want to argue over it. That’s a good sign. That means there’s life here.”
The Cesária Évora Orchestra brings together the cream of Cape-Verdean musicianship and vocalists to honor the late and legendary Cesária Évora. This tribute to the “Barefoot Diva” features some of Cape Verde’s greatest voices, including Elida Almeida, Teófilo Chantre, Lucibela, and Ceuzany, alongside band members from Évora’s band.
Born in New York City to Haitian emigrants and activists, Leyla McCalla finds inspiration from her past and present—her music vibrates with three centuries of history and influences from around the globe. McCalla possesses a stunning mastery of the cello, tenor banjo and guitar and, as a multilingual singer and songwriter, has risen to produce a distinctive sound that reflects the union of her roots and experience. In addition to her solo work, McCalla is a founding member of Our Native Daughters (with Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah and Allison Russell) and alumna of Grammy award-winning Black string band The Carolina Chocolate Drops.
McCalla returns to ArtPower with acoustic fingerstyle guitarist and film composer Yasmin Williams. She has an unorthodox, modern style of guitar playing and utilizes various techniques including alternate tunings, percussive hits, and lap tapping in her music to great effect. Her “radiant sound and adventitious origins have made her a key figure in a diverse dawn for the solo guitar” (The New York Times). Williams’s music has been described as rich, harmonious, and “in a lot of ways, the joy and possibility she brings to the guitar reminds me more of Eddie Van Halen than any of the other fingerstyle guitarists to whom she’s compared” (NPR Music).
Celebrate Mardi Gras with Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra as they stretch the boundaries of what is expected from big bands, offering up an extraordinary sense of joy and fun that could only come from New Orleans. The acclaimed trombonist, composer, and producer, Delfeayo Marsalis leads the vibrant Uptown Jazz Orchestra in a performance that crystalizes the stories, sounds, and rhythms of NOLA.
“BCUC bring punk-rock energy and hypnotic rhythms to social activism.”—New York Times
Music for the people, by the people, with the people.
Rebellious, spiritual, and exhilarating, BCUC’s live shows are transcendent rites of explosive sound. Following in the pulses of their ancestors, they awaken crowds to the power of a shared, fairer future. With their high-energy performances they have become one of South Africa’s most successful musical exports. Tapping into the pulses of their ancestors, they awaken crowds to the power of a shared, more just future.
“a brass-wielding force of nature”—Los Angeles Times
Celebrated jazz trumpeter and film composer Terence Blanchard pays homage to legendary saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter, the inspiration that has influenced Blanchard’s music and storytelling. Featuring the acclaimed trumpeter with The E-Collective and the Turtle Island Quartet, they will present pieces written by Shorter as well as original compositions by Blanchard and members of his band—resulting in “a lush and dramatic soundscape that calls to mind Blanchard’s career as a successful film composer” (New Yorker).
“I’m proud to have a chance to visit some of the music that has shaped my musical identity,” says Blanchard. “Pairing Wayne Shorter’s music with original works from The E-Collective along with the sonic colors of The Turtle Island Quartet has been an amazing experience. Wayne has said before ‘Jazz means I Dare You,’ so why not dare to be creative and pay homage at the same time,” said Blanchard.
Lebanese indie stalwart Zeid Hamdan and celestially voiced Syrian singer Lynn Adib are Bedouin Burger, a rising duo from the Middle East. Their music marries traditional Arab sounds of magam, religious songs of ancient Syria, jazz, and slick pop hooks—all delivered with a sultry, insouciant flare. Performing as a trio, Bedouin Burger is accompanied by bassist Miles Jay.
The Haden Triplets —Petra, Tanya, and Rachel—are three sisters “in love with the art of singing,” describes NPR Music, with a “traditional tone and effortless voices that only siblings can produce.” The daughters of world renowned bassist Charlie Haden, the Triplets share a common love for American country and traditional songs. Their self-titled 2014 album was produced by Ry Cooder (Jack White’s Third Man Records), and they’ve performed as the Fates on Anais Mitchell’s Hadestown. They have also performed or recorded with The Foo Fighters, Todd Rundgren, Beck, and Weezer. On their own, Petra is a member of Bill Frisell’s band, and can be heard on her a cappella album Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out, as well as Megan Mullally’s band, Nancy And Beth. Tanya is a multidisciplinary artist, and Rachel has performed with The Rentals and will have new music out with her band That Dog. The Triplets’ new album will be out in 2020.
From funk-laced beats and bass-heavy sousaphone blasts to the gritty warmth of singer J’Wan Boudreaux’s voice, New Orleans brass band-meets-Mardi Gras Indian outfit Cha Wa radiates the energy of the Crescent City’s street culture.
Enchanted by the music and traditions of the Mardi Gras Indians, Cha Wa’s Grammy-nominated album Spyboy (a nod to frontman J’Wan Boudreaux’s role in the Golden Eagles) is a modern mix of fiery, toe-tapping sounds and highlights the musicians’ personal ties to the street music of their hometown. “We wanted to take the roots of what we love about New Orleans brass band music and Mardi Gras Indian music and then voice it in our own way,” says the group’s drummer and founder, Joe Gelini.
