Artis the Spoonman Performs with World Music Ensemble
Avant-garde percussionist has played with Frank Zappa, Aerosmith and others
The Meadows World Music Ensemble will be joined by four special guests on Sunday, November 24 at the Bob Hope Theatre in SMU’s Owen Arts Center, including living legend and progressive percussionist Artis the Spoonman. Since 1972, Artis has showcased his unique skills with cutlery across the globe – from the sidewalks and bars of Seattle, San Francisco, Manhattan, Sidney, London, Dublin, Munich and Singapore to the theatres of Broadway, from the stages of national and international television to the recording studios of Frank Zappa and Soundgarden.
Artis’s spellbinding spoon playing has been a passionate rhythm enhancement for rock, fusion, folk, jazz, bluegrass, classical and uncategorizable music. Folk icon Pete Seeger called him “the best spoon player in the whole damn universe”; Americana and country legend Lacy J. Dalton said of his explosive style, “What did he eat for breakfast, gunpowder?”
Artis will join the talented members of the World Music Ensemble, under the direction of Jamal Mohamed, and other special musical guests for an evening exploring music from cultures and continents across the globe. Additional guests include Vittal Ramamurthy, virtuoso violinist in the Carnatic music tradition of South India. Ramamurthy is an All India Radio top-ranking artist and has performed on national radio and television in addition to live concerts worldwide. Grammy-nominated Poovalur Sriji, also recognized as a top artist by All India Radio, is a percussionist and prolific composer and performer, in addition to being a faculty member at University of North Texas. Also joining the performance is Alia Mohamed on theremin, an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer.
The performance is Sunday, November 24, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. in the SMU Meadows Owen Arts Center’s Bob Hope Theatre, 6101 Bishop Boulevard on the SMU campus, Dallas 75205. The event is free and open to the public. For information, call the SMU Meadows Box Office at 214-768-2787. Click here for more information.