Music group Masanga Marimba opened the Brand Library Plaza Series Friday night, with additional performances by various musical artists slated throughout the summer.
Masanga Marimba plays traditional and popular music from Africa and Latin America. The instruments used in the ensemble consist of Zimbabwean marimbas of various sizes along with vocals, drums, percussion, saxophone and trumpet.
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Masanga Marimba kicks off the a summer concert series at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale on Friday, June 3, 2016. The band plays traditional and popular music from Africa and Latin America using instruments like Zimbabwean marimbas of various sizes along with vocals, drums, percussion, saxophone and trumpet. The summer concert series will be Fridays, starting at 7:00, through August 26. Ric Aliviso, an African music, dance and world music professor at Cal State Northridge University, with students from his class, perform in the band.
(Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 2/11
Masanga Marimba claps to encourage audience participation at a summer concert series at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale on Friday, June 3, 2016. The band plays traditional and popular music from Africa and Latin America using instruments like Zimbabwean marimbas of various sizes along with vocals, drums, percussion, saxophone and trumpet. The summer concert series will be Fridays, starting at 7:00, through August 26. Ric Aliviso, an African music, dance and world music professor at Cal State Northridge University, with students from his class, perform in the band.
(Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 3/11
A single audience member claps with the band Masanga Marimba as they kick off the a summer concert series at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale on Friday, June 3, 2016. The band plays traditional and popular music from Africa and Latin America using instruments like Zimbabwean marimbas of various sizes along with vocals, drums, percussion, saxophone and trumpet. The summer concert series will be Fridays, starting at 7:00, through August 26. Ric Aliviso, an African music, dance and world music professor at Cal State Northridge University, with students from his class, perform in the band.
(Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 4/11
Masanga Marimba kicks off the a summer concert series at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale on Friday, June 3, 2016. The band plays traditional and popular music from Africa and Latin America using instruments like Zimbabwean marimbas of various sizes along with vocals, drums, percussion, saxophone and trumpet. The summer concert series will be Fridays, starting at 7:00, through August 26. Ric Aliviso, an African music, dance and world music professor at Cal State Northridge University, with students from his class, perform in the band.
(Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 5/11
The lead singer with Masanga Marimba Ric Alviso performs with the band to kick off the a summer concert series at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale on Friday, June 3, 2016. The band plays traditional and popular music from Africa and Latin America using instruments like Zimbabwean marimbas of various sizes along with vocals, drums, percussion, saxophone and trumpet. The summer concert series will be Fridays, starting at 7:00, through August 26. Ric Aliviso, an African music, dance and world music professor at Cal State Northridge University, with students from his class, perform in the band.
(Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 6/11
One of the musicians with Masanga Marimba, the band that kicks off the a summer concert series at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale on Friday, June 3, 2016. The band plays traditional and popular music from Africa and Latin America using instruments like Zimbabwean marimbas of various sizes along with vocals, drums, percussion, saxophone and trumpet. The summer concert series will be Fridays, starting at 7:00, through August 26. Ric Aliviso, an African music, dance and world music professor at Cal State Northridge University, with students from his class, perform in the band.
(Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 7/11
Masanga Marimba claps to encourage audience participation at a summer concert series at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale on Friday, June 3, 2016. The band plays traditional and popular music from Africa and Latin America using instruments like Zimbabwean marimbas of various sizes along with vocals, drums, percussion, saxophone and trumpet. The summer concert series will be Fridays, starting at 7:00, through August 26. Ric Aliviso, an African music, dance and world music professor at Cal State Northridge University, with students from his class, perform in the band.
(Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 8/11
Masanga Marimba kicks off the a summer concert series at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale on Friday, June 3, 2016. The band plays traditional and popular music from Africa and Latin America using instruments like Zimbabwean marimbas of various sizes along with vocals, drums, percussion, saxophone and trumpet. The summer concert series will be Fridays, starting at 7:00, through August 26. Ric Aliviso, an African music, dance and world music professor at Cal State Northridge University, with students from his class, perform in the band.
(Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 9/11
Masanga Marimba kicks off the a summer concert series at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale on Friday, June 3, 2016. The band plays traditional and popular music from Africa and Latin America using instruments like Zimbabwean marimbas of various sizes along with vocals, drums, percussion, saxophone and trumpet. The summer concert series will be Fridays, starting at 7:00, through August 26. Ric Aliviso, an African music, dance and world music professor at Cal State Northridge University, with students from his class, perform in the band.
(Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 10/11
Masanga Marimba kicks off the a summer concert series at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale on Friday, June 3, 2016. The band plays traditional and popular music from Africa and Latin America using instruments like Zimbabwean marimbas of various sizes along with vocals, drums, percussion, saxophone and trumpet. The summer concert series will be Fridays, starting at 7:00, through August 26. Ric Aliviso, an African music, dance and world music professor at Cal State Northridge University, with students from his class, perform in the band.
(Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 11/11
Masanga Marimba kicks off the a summer concert series at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale on Friday, June 3, 2016. The band plays traditional and popular music from Africa and Latin America using instruments like Zimbabwean marimbas of various sizes along with vocals, drums, percussion, saxophone and trumpet. The summer concert series will be Fridays, starting at 7:00, through August 26. Ric Aliviso, an African music, dance and world music professor at Cal State Northridge University, with students from his class, perform in the band.
(Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) The following performances are scheduled at the venue:
June 10 — John Reynolds plays tunes from the birth of American swing. Inspired by greats like Django Reinhardt and Eddie Lang, Reynolds’ band is made up of Katie Cavera and Nate Ketner, musicians often seen at jazz festivals all over the world.
June 17 — Vardan Ovsepian is an Armenia-born pianist/composer whose studies include Yerevan State Conservatory, Estonian Music Academy, Helsinki Jazz Conservatory and Berklee College of Music. He will be performing with a quintet.
June 24 — Homemade JAM performs popular music from the 1920s and 1930s, including jug-band favorites, traditional acoustic country blues and Tin Pan Alley hits.
July 1 — Groove Sauce features soulful harmonies with music by artists such as James Brown and Tower of Power as well as newer bands such as Lettuce and Snarky Puppy.
July 8 — The Los Angeles Cello Quartet is a project of the Positive Motions Foundation initiated by Ruslan Biryukov, founder of the Glendale Philharmonic Orchestra.
July 15 — Blending Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz, Latin jazz, pop and R&B influences, Louie Cruz Beltran is an entertainer who is a vocalist and a conguero and timbalero.
July 22 — The Mighty Cash Cats is a tribute show honoring the music of the late country rocker Johnny Cash. Fronted by guitarist/vocalist Michael J, the group covers Johnny Cash’s career from his early hits to his final album “American Recordings.” The show includes duets Cash sang with June Carter.
July 29 — Celtic Consort consists of award-winning concert and studio musicians Christina Linhardt (vocals), Susan Craig Winsberg (flutes) and Carolyn Sykes (Celtic harp).
Aug. 5 — Soul Sauce will perform Latin jazz classics from legendary artists such as Cal Tjader, Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaria. Soul Sauce plays the Latin dance rhythms popularized in the 1960s, such as cha-cha-cha, mambo, bolero and bossa nova.
Aug. 12 — Members of Quarteto Nuevo play instruments from different parts of the world. Their instrumentation — with cello, guitar, soprano saxophone and percussion— is featured in a repertoire, including Erik Satie’s “Pieces Froides” and Chick Corea’s “Tales of the Black Forest,” as well as original works, such as “Hector, Desmond and Titus,” “Rain Song” and “Dizer O Que.”
Aug. 19 — SangomaBeat weaves West African rhythms with ethnic vocal arrangements and harmonic guitar riffs.
Aug. 26 — Malynda Hale, a Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur and activist will perform.
Brand Library & Art Center is located at 1601 W. Mountain St. For more information, call (818) 548-2051.
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Mark Kellam, mark.kellam@latimes.com
Twitter: @LAMarkKellam
