National Sawdust Presents: Silkroad Up-Close featuring Shane Shanahan Quartet and Edward Pérez Trio with guest Mahya Hamedi
About This Event
Silkroad Up-Close at National Sawdust presents the Shane Shanahan Quartet and the Edward Pérez Trio with guest Mahya Hamedi. The program follows Silkroad’s focus on cross-cultural, ensemble-based exchange, placing small-group contemporary-classical and improvisatory practices in close view. Silkroad’s roster often includes New York–based collaborators such as Kaoru Watanabe and Kinan Azmeh—artists noted for genre-mixing ensemble work and for bridging orchestral and contemporary repertoire.
About the Artists
Silkroad
Silkroad, formerly the Silk Road Project, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization, initiated by the cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, promoting collaboration among artists and institutions, promoting multicultural artistic exchange, and studying the ebb and flow of ideas.
Yacouba Sissoko
Yacouba Sissoko is a Mali kora player, best known for his collaborations with jazz and pop musicians. Born in Mali, he now lives in Harlem in New York City.
Maeve Gilchrist
Maeve Gilchrist is a Scottish harpist and composer currently living in New York City. She is known for combining traditional folk music, jazz, improvisation, and experimentation.
Kaoru Watanabe
Kaoru Watanabe is a rock/pop artist heard on New York City stages including National Sawdust, where he appears in genre-mixing bills and curated programs. His work shows up both as a featured performer and as a bandleader, notably in Kaoru Watanabe’s Bloodlines Interwoven.