Three consecutive evenings of Afro-Caribbean, soul, Afro-Latin, funk, jazz, hip-hop and Afro-Brazilian music will be performed as part of the “Beyond Music” series at Capulet, 3014 Dauphine Street. Performances will be 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Tuesday, November 29 through Thursday, December 1. Performances have no cover and are for all groups.
The series explores the influences of these genres through original works, re-interpretation, improvisation and tributes by locally-based highly-skilled musicians. Tying the series together will be “Big World Breaks” production company founder and director Aaron Walker-Loud (drum set), who has assembled a versatile ensemble featuring Mahmoud Chouki (guitar), Rebecca Crenshaw (violin/viola), Beck Burger (keys) and David Pulphus (bass). Funds from the “Beyond Music” series will go towards Healing Minds NOLA, which atttempts to build a continuum of coordinated psychiatric care for people in mental health crises.
Mahmoud “Mood” Chouki is a Moroccan master guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and educator currently living and working in New Orleans. His art draws together music from around the globe, exploring how music can cross cultural divides. In addition to training and performing with worldwide conservatories, Chouki teaches music at the Lycée Français de la Nouvelle Orléans and is the music curator for monthly programs at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Most recently, he composed the music score for the 2021 Sundance Award-winning film, “Ma Belle, Ma Beauty,” directed by New Orleans-based filmmaker Marion Hill. Also in 2021, Chouki was awarded 2020’s “Best Emerging Artist” by OffBeat Magazine’s annual Best of the Beat. He was also nominated for a Best of The Beat Award in 2022.
A native of St. Louis, MO, Grammy Award-winning bassist David L. Pulphus studied the acoustic and electric bass from a young age. His early musical training in church, combined with years of formal jazz training, has enabled him to perform, tour and and record with many other respected artists, including the Ellis Marsalis Group, Crescent City Symphony, Gulf Coast Orchestra, Terence Blanchard Group, Donald Harrison Jr., Steve Turre and Nicholas Payton, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and more. Mr. Pulphus is currently composing and arranging his debut CD, slated to be released in spring 2023.
New Orleans-based violinist/violist and teacher Rebecca Crenshaw has performed and recorded with artists such as Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Samantha Fish, Judith Owen, Ronnie Spector and more. She is the Executive Director of Birdfoot Festival, New Orleans’ annual experimental, rule-bending chamber music festival.
Keyboardist Beck Burger studied music in New York and moved to New Orleans in 2014. He has performed with Corey Henry and the Treme Funktet, James Martin Band, Michael Watson and the Alchemy, and others.
Aaron Walker-Loud is an artist, band director, composer, producer and educator. As the founder of Seattle-based production company Big World Breaks, he has worked with Grammy-nominated vocalists Wayna and Rocky Dawuni, Sy Smith, Zo!, Jennifer Johns, Dynamq, Xperience, Dr. Julian Priester, Jumaane Smith and more.
For more information about the “Beyond Music” Series, visit their events page.
