Previous events

George Lernis’s quintet will perform the music from his latest album “Between Two Worlds". The name of his album was inspired by the 15th century Turkish mystic Hacı Bayram Veli’s poem “Between Two Worlds'' and depicts George’s journey as an immigrant originally from Nicosia, Cyprus who eventually moved to the U.S. The music showcases George’s bi-musicality, blending Jazz and Middle Eastern music in a tasteful and respectful manner to both of these rich musical traditions. Lernis’s quintet features a stellar group of musicians including the wonderful Turkish vocalist, Heiraza AKA Burcu Gülec, Swedish born bassist Bruno Råberg, American trumpeter Emiel De Jaegher, and Turkish piano, oud, and ney player Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol.

This concert will be preceded by a free workshop in the afternoon: a seminar that will take its audience on a journey through the sounds and rhythms of the percussion instruments used in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean regions. World recognized percussionist George Lernis will go over the origins, styles and techniques of those instruments by demonstrating and performing: riq (Arabic tambourine), darbuka (goblet shape drum), daire (frame drum with zills) and bendir (frame drum). George is a Cooperman endorser and will be presenting this workshop on Cooperman made drums. Participants are encouraged to bring their own drums, or use one of the drums provided by Cooperman for the duration of the workshop.

Funded in part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.

A seminar that will take its audience on a journey through the sounds and rhythms of the percussion instruments used in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean regions. World-recognized percussionist George Lernis will go over the origins, styles and techniques of those instruments by demonstrating and performing: riq (Arabic tambourine), darbuka (goblet shape drum), daire (frame drum with zills) and bendir (frame drum). George is a Cooperman endorser and will be presenting this workshop on Cooperman made drums. Participants are encouraged to bring their own drums, or use one of the drums provided by Cooperman for the duration of the workshop.

This workshop will be followed by a Jazz performance in the evening at the Next Stage theater. George Lernis’s quintet will perform the music from his latest album “Between Two Worlds". The name of his album was inspired by the 15th century Turkish mystic Hacı Bayram Veli’s poem “Between Two Worlds'' and depicts George’s journey as an immigrant originally from Nicosia, Cyprus who eventually moved to the U.S. The music showcases George’s bi-musicality, blending Jazz and Middle Eastern music in a tasteful and respectful manner to both of these rich musical traditions. Lernis’s quintet features a stellar group of musicians including the wonderful Turkish vocalist, Heiraza AKA Burcu Gülec, Swedish born bassist Bruno Råberg, American trumpeter Emiel De Jaegher, and Turkish piano, oud, and ney player Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol.

The workshop and concert are co-presented with Cooperman Frame Drum Shop.

The Anatoliama Ensemble: Vasilis Kostas (laouto), George Lernis (percussion) and Panos Aivas (kanun) - invite master clarinetist from Greece Manos Achalinotopoulos and vocalist Aimilia Chalkia to present the concert “Musical Pathways from Asia Minor to the Mainland Greece”. Together on this journey of exploring the rich and various cultures within Greek traditional music are thirty more musicians-members of the St. Romanos the Melodist Byzantine Choir, directed by FrRomanos Karanos as well as the new members of the New England Greek Orchestra, a new educational program by the Anatoliama INC that allows American students based around the New England area to study systematically Greek traditional music in depth. This program is directed by George Lernis and Vasilis Kostas.

This initiative is sponsored by the Boston Byzantine Music Festival, a program of The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture, the Mass Cultural Council, the Maliotis Cultural Center of Hellenic College Holy Cross and the Behrakis Foundation.

Tickets available on eventbrite at musicalpathways.eventbrite.com We hope to see you all there!

This Saturday! Don’t miss the Berklee Global Jazz Institute Faculty & Alumni 15 Year Concert Celebration at REGATTABAR Jazz club. (Oct 21 - 7:30pm) Featuring: Nadia Washington - vocals (US) Farayi Malek -vocals (US) Jireh Calo - vocals (Philippine) Angela Varo - violin (Spain) Jon Shillingford- tpt (US) Lihi Haruvi - sax (Israel) Patricia Zarate - sax (Chile) Samuel Batista- sax (Panama) Sebastian Fuentes- guitar (Chile) Jacob Means - Mandolin (US) Chase Morrin - piano (US) Witness Matlou - piano (South Africa) Jose Soto - piano (Costa Rica) Ian Ashby -bass (US) Greg Loughman - bass (US) Andre Sudol - drums (US) Lee Fish - drums (US) Jerry Leake - percussion (US) George Lernis - percussion (Cyprus) and specials guests! ***This concert is part of JazzBoston "Jazz All Ways" series

George Lernis is a world recognized drummer, world percussionist, composer and educator originally from Nicosia, Cyprus and now making his home in the U.S.. George’s latest project, Between Two Worlds, is part of an initiative and recording he has released, that was inspired by the ongoing stereotyping of immigrants based on their origins, religions, and skin color. Being an immigrant himself, this is a social issue he is deeply passionate about.

During this event, George will give a short spoken introduction about the project and will then perform music from his latest album with a stellar group of musicians including the wonderful Turkish vocalist, Burcu Gülec, Swedish born bassist Bruno Råberg, American trumpeter Emiel De Jaegher, and a very special surprise guest

Danilo Perez and the Global Messengers

Danilo Perez's Global Messengers Live at the Manchester Craftsmen Guild Pittsburgh, PA

Honored to be playing with the greats: Danilo Perez and John Patitucci at the Symphony Center (Chicago) for a double performance featuring sets with Children of the Light and the Global Messengers. More info and tickets available here: bit.ly/DaniloCSO

The Anatoliama Ensemble, in collaboration with Holy Cross St. Romanos the Melodist Byzantine Choir, presents a concert featuring the musical traditions of Asia Minor. The concert is dedicated to the memory of the victims and refugees of the 1922 destruction of Smyrna and the subsequent population exchange. Performing with the Anatoliama Ensemble are special guests: Aimilia Chalkia from Greece and world-renowned Palestinian cellist Naseem Alatrash. This concert is sponsored by the Boston Byzantine Music Festival, a program of the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture.

World recognized drummer, percussionist and composer George Lernis will celebrate the release of his new album “Between Two Worlds” with a concert and brief reflections on June 18th, 2022 at the beautiful St Paul’s church in Malden MA. His new album was inspired by a desire to offer an alternative to the ongoing stereotyping of immigrants based on their origins, religions and skin color. Being an immigrant himself, this is a social issue that he deeply cares about.

Joining George for his new album concert release: GRAMMY®-nominated Turkish pianist Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol; vocalist Burcu Güleç; trumpeter Emiel de Jaegher; and Professor Bruno Råberg on upright and electric bass.

Grammy-nominated composer Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol presents “An Elegant Ritual.” Structured after the Turkish (whirling dervish) Sufi rituals and John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme,” Sanlıkol's innovative jazz trio music is steeped in Middle Eastern cadences that draw from Turkish musical elements but also reaches as far as Indonesia to incorporate gongs heavily influenced by Javanese Gamelan.

Boiler House Jazz Concert ONLINE: Anastassiya Petrova (keyboards) & George Lernis (percussion) Streaming LIVE on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xVrSDeW2vTM This concert will feature an artist interview conducted by Kevin Lowenthal Donate with PayPal bit.ly/palAPGL SUGGESTED DONATION: $15 All donations are shared equally by the ARTISTS and the MUSEUM The Boiler House Jazz Series is made possible by your voluntary financial support. Please give what you can. Any amount will be appreciated. Anastassiya Petrova https://www.facebook.com/AnastassiyaPetrovaMusic/ Anastassiya Petrova is a jazz pianist/organist from Kazakhstan and a participant in many international festivals (Italy, Bulgaria, Russia, and United States). Her influences include contemporary jazz pianists Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Brad Mehldau, and jazz organists such as Larry Goldings, Jack McDuff, and Joey DeFrancesco. Since graduating from Berklee School of Music, Anastassiya is now working as a graduate assistant with the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. Anastassiya has had the opportunity to perform with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Luciana Souza, George Garzone, Terri Lyne Carrington, Danilo Pérez, and Dave Liebman, to name just a few. In addition to fronting her own trio, Anastassiya has also fronted her own organ quartet. More recently, she has performed in ensembles with Allan Chase and Noah Preminger. She also performed two very moving tributes on-line early this year to Chick Corea, someone who greatly influenced her decision to study and become a jazz musician. George Lernis https://georgelernismusic.com/home George Lernis is a world class percussionist, drummer, and educator based in the Boston area who has played with countess musicians in the global music realm as well as in jazz circes. Born and raised in Nicosia, Cyprus, George has performed and collaborated with prominent figures such as Antonio Sanchez, Dave Liebman, Anat Cohen, Tiger Okoshi, A Far Cry, Mehmet Sanikol's Whatsnext?, and the Pharos Ensemble to name a few. He just returned from Athens, Greece where he recorded with an exciting new project called the Anatoliama Ensemble. George is considered to be bi-musical, having studied equally the traditions of the Middle East and Jazz music. In addition to the drum set, he specializes in a number of percussion instruments such as the darbuka, bendir, and riq. Kevin Lowenthal is a Boston-based freelance writer, musician, and wine consultant. As a Boston Globe correspondent for 17 years, he has written about jazz, world, and classical music. He has also written about music, film, and comics for other publications The Boiler House Jazz Series is underwritten in part by KeyedUp.org, a project of JazzGeneration Sponsored by Fairbank & Perry Goldsmiths See Less

Grammy-nominated composer Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol presents ground-breaking jazz orchestra and trio music steeped in Middle Eastern cadences that draw from Turkish, mystical Sufi rituals, Sephardic Jewish musical elements, and more. In this double album release event, first Sanlıkol and his trio will perform “An Elegant Ritual” followed by “The Rise Up,” an extended epic composition for jazz orchestra commissioned by NEA Jazz Master saxophonist Dave Liebman. While “An Elegant Ritual” is structured after the Turkish (whirling dervish) Sufi rituals and John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme,” “The Rise Up” features jazz icon Dave Liebman along with traditional Turkish instruments and Greek Orthodox cantors. The 25-piece orchestra will be conducted by Ken Schaphorst, chair of the Jazz department at New England Conservatory.

A seminar that will take its audience on a journey through the sounds and rhythms of the percussion instruments used in the Middle East and the Mediterranean regions. During this workshop George Lernis will go over the origin, styles and techniques of those instruments by demonstrating and performing: Darbuka (Doumbek), Riq (Arabic tambourine), Bendir (frame drum), Daire (frame drum with cymbals), Kashiks (wooden spoons), Zills (finger cymbals) and more.

This workshop runs for two hours.

Please note: The Passim School of Music is located at 26 Church St. Cambridge, MA. Classrooms are located on the third floor and, unfortunately, we do not have an elevator.