“Ekery’s ethereal scatting floats above piano tremelo within her impressive compositions, [which] display her natural inclination for inventive compositional moves and popular genres.”
-Kerilie McDowall, Downbeat
Árabe NYC Release at New York Arab Festival
New York Arab Festival Presents Amanda Ekery ARABE Album Release Concert
at Nublu Classic (62 Loisaida Ave) on April 27, 7pm doors
About Amanda Ekery and Árabe:
Syrian-Mexican-American, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and composer Amanda Ekery creates music filled with imagery and strong narratives. Her work has been featured at the Portland Jazz Festival, Panama Jazz Festival, and the Kennedy Center, and spans Off-Broadway theater, film, and multiple studio recordings. Amanda has been awarded the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, the Jazz Journalist Association Jazz Hero Award, the ASCAP Phoebe Jacobs Prize, and the Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer’s Award. Learn more at aekerymusic.com. The fourth full-length release by vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer Amanda Ekery, Árabe invites audiences to explore Syrian and Mexican shared history and culture on the El Paso border - the story of Ekery’s life, lineage, and identity. It features twelve original songs and accompanying essays with the stories and history behind each track, covering everything from food, gambling, and evil eyes, to immigration law, biracial identity, and the fraught relationship between immigrant entrepreneurship and workers’ rights.
About the New York Arab Festival
New York Arab Festival (NYAF) is a multidisciplinary festival spanning all genres of art, culture, design, cuisine, philosophy, and intersecting industries. It programs arts and culture from the Arabic-speaking region and the Arab diaspora and showcases Arab American artists. NYAF was established in 2022 to commemorate Arab American Heritage Month and fight the erasure of Arab and Arab American identities from NYC, a place Arabs have called home for over three centuries. NYAF is organized and run by its founding members: Artistic Director and Curator Adham Hafez, Urbanist and Curator Adam Kucharski, and founding Senior Producer Cindy Sibilsky. NYAF is produced by HaRaKa Platform and powered by Wizara LLC in partnership with many celebrated institutions in NYC and worldwide. Website: www.newyorkarabfestival.com Instagram: @newyorkarabfestivalofficial
8th Annual El Paso Jazz Girls
7th Annual El Paso Jazz Girls cost-free summer program. Sign up and learn more here.
Árabe Oakland Residency
Árabe residency in Oakland with Arab.AMP.
Tuesday 7/8: Songwriting Workshop @81st Avenue Branch Oakland Public Library
Thursday 7/10: Reading + Vinyl Listening Event @Bandung Books, EastSide Arts Alliance
Friday 7/11: Songwriting Workshop @Piedmont Branch Oakland Public Library
Saturday 7/12: Mahrajan Community Gathering @Sumud Mural Project
Árabe at Asia Society Texas
Hear the music and stories of Árabe at Asia Society Texas in Houston.
Árabe at New Orleans Jazz Museum
Solo performance of Árabe at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, presented by the Consulado de Carrera de México en Nueva Orleans. More details coming soon.
Árabe at Yale
Hear the music and stories of Árabe at Morse College Tea at Yale University. Amanda will be joined by Jhoely Garay on guitar and Ross Wightman on bass. Learn more here.
Alone Not Lonely: Amanda Solo
Hear the music and stories of Árabe in a stripped down solo setting with Amanda on piano and vocals. Alone Not Lonely is a solo series curated by Yoon Choi. Learn more here.
Steve Long: New works for organ and ensemble
Amanda is singing in a new large ensemble work by composer/pianist/organist Steven Long. Learn more here.
Andrew + Amanda Duo
Andrew Boudreau + Amanda Ekery return to the Core Memory Music Series, to preview Amanda’s upcoming 2025 album Árabe about Syrian and Mexican shared history and culture featuring improvisatory folk, jazz, and avant pop styles. Learn more here.
Árabe at APAP
Be the first to hear Árabe, the upcoming 2025 album from vocalist/composer Amanda Ekery about Syrian and Mexican shared history and culture featuring improvisatory folk, jazz, and avant pop styles.
Árabe will be featured at Pat Harris’ 2 Great Days of Jazz showcase, representing NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater and Tulani Bridgewater-Kowalski’s Woodshed Network artists. NY Hilton Midtown, Madison Suite, 11 - 11:25am.
Wightman/Ekery/Brown/Howell
Original solo set. Sharing bill with Ross Wightman’s Fiddle Henge, Lawrence Brown III, and Eric Howell. 8 - 10pm Café con Leche
7th Annual El Paso Jazz Girls
7th Annual El Paso Jazz Girls cost-free summer program. Sign up and learn more here.
Andrew + Amanda Duo
Original music, Annette Peacock, and Carla Bley. Andrew + Amanda return to the Core Memory Music Series. Learn more here.
Árabe at Asia Society Texas
Culminating free performance from University of Houston residency playing new original music and selections from Árabe at the Asia Society Texas' public art installation Rafael Domenech and Tomas Vu: Heat Silhouette, co-commissioned by the Mitchell Center.
Residency at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts
Spending a week in residence at the University of Houston’s Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts working with students to write songs and play selections from Amanda’s upcoming album, Árabe. The residency will culminate in a public performance at Asia Society Texas. Learn more here.
Fordham Faculty Concert
Playing and singing some original music as part of the Fordham University Faculty Concert along with some fantastic colleagues. Fordham Lincoln Center campus, 12th Floor Lounge, 7pm.
Perennials at Schnitzer Collection Portland
Chase Elodia’s Perennials Northwest Tour featuring Amanda Ekery (voice), Yvonne Rogers (piano), Paul Pandit (bass) and Chase Elodia (drums + compositions).
Perennials at Willamette University
Chase Elodia’s Perennials Northwest Tour featuring Amanda Ekery (voice), Yvonne Rogers (piano), Paul Pandit (bass) and Chase Elodia (drums + compositions). Learn more here.
New Musical Theatre Writer's Workshop
An evening of never-before-shared musical theatre works from the composers and lyricists of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Writing Workshop! Amanda is presenting a song with her writing partner Cassidy Dermott. Livestream, ticket information and more info here.
Perennials Tour: Jazz Vespers at St. Peter's Church NYC
Chase Elodia’s Perennials Northeast Tour featuring Amanda Ekery (voice), Martha Kato (piano), Paul Pandit (bass) and Chase Elodia (drums + compositions). Learn more here.
El Paso Giving Day
Please help support El Paso Jazz Girls’ mission of providing cost-free education to girls and gender expansive youth in the Sun City! Learn more about El Paso Giving Day here.
Perennials Tour: Framingham State University
Chase Elodia’s Perennials Northeast Tour featuring Amanda Ekery (voice), Martha Kato (piano), Paul Pandit (bass) and Chase Elodia (drums + compositions). Learn more here.
Perennials Tour: Cambridge House Show
Chase Elodia’s Perennials Northeast Tour featuring Amanda Ekery (voice), Martha Kato (piano), Paul Pandit (bass) and Chase Elodia (drums + compositions). Learn more here.
Perennials Tour: Cadenza in Freeport, ME
Chase Elodia’s Perennials Northeast Tour featuring Amanda Ekery (voice), Martha Kato (piano), Paul Pandit (bass) and Chase Elodia (drums + compositions). Learn more here.
Perennials Tour: Bates College
Chase Elodia’s Perennials Northeast Tour featuring Amanda Ekery (voice), Martha Kato (piano), Paul Pandit (bass) and Chase Elodia (drums + compositions). Learn more here.
Perennials Tour: Blue in Portland, ME
Chase Elodia’s Perennials Northeast Tour featuring Amanda Ekery (voice), Martha Kato (piano), Paul Pandit (bass) and Chase Elodia (drums + compositions). Learn more here.
Perennials Tour: Providence College
Chase Elodia’s Perennials Northeast Tour featuring Amanda Ekery (voice), Martha Kato (piano), Paul Pandit (bass) and Chase Elodia (drums + compositions). Learn more here.
JAM3A Music & Arts Festival
Thrilled to be back in Dearborn for the JAM3A Festival! JAM3A, an Arabic word for “gathering,” is a music and arts festival presented by the Arab American National Museum (AANM), celebrating Arab talent, community and identity.
MATA Festival
Performing on Jimena Maldonado’s “Repeat Their Names” as part of the MATA Festival. Full line up and details can be found here.
Hello/At Last: First Encounters and Long Awaited Returns
Playing a solo set of original music for this wonderful series.
Two sets, 30 minutes each.
The first - two brilliant musicians who have never played together before.
The last - that thing your friend did once that you’ve never forgotten, the secret songs, the once-in-a-blue moon band, lightning striking twice. rare treats
The Diamond Off-Broadway
Come see the People’s Theatre Project’s original new play “The Diamond.” Amanda wrote and will perform original music for the play in her off-broadway debut. Learn more here.
NEC Guest Class Talk
Speaking with entrepreneurship students at New England Conservatory about the pathway from music degree to performer/project leader/and beyond.
WBAI 99.5 Interview
Tune to @WBAI 99.5 FM NYC this Sunday at 8:30 AM EST for City Watch WBAI. Amanda and Mino Lora will discuss the Peoples Theatre Project’s world premiere of The Diamond at Pregones Theatre this April.
The Woodshed Network Residency
The Woodshed Network, with NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater, is a program for Women in Jazz, to provide professional support and accelerate careers through mentorship, knowledge sharing and community interaction. Learn more here.