South By North East is a collaboration between Elsa Nilsson (flutes and electronics), Bam Rodriguez (upright bass) and Rodrigo Recabarren (drums). The band plays improvised cinematic music with a hint of Lava. For this special live streamed performance at Soapbox Gallery the band has transcribed a beautiful reading by Maya Angelou of her poem "On The Pulse Of Morning" at the Clinton presidential inauguration and are creating a improvisatorial suite in conversation with it. Join Rodrigo, Elsa and Bam while they amplify Maya Angelou's voice and create music to foment hope.
In May of 2020 they released their first album “for human beings” to great critical acclaim from Downbeat (https://downbeat.com/reviews/editorspicks/2020-06), Bandcamp (https://daily.bandcamp.com/best-jazz/the-best-jazz-on-bandcamp-may-2020), All About Jazz (https://www.allaboutjazz.com/for-human-beings-sxne-bumblebee-collective) and Jazziz (https://www.jazziz.com/keith-jarrett-ambrose-akinmusire-kurt-rosenwinkel-more-the-week-in-jazz/). The album is available on Bandcamp as “pay what you want” and the band has created coloring pages for you to color while you listen. Print one here; https://www.elsanilssonmusic.com/south-by-north-east-for-human-beings and send a photo to elsanilssonmusic@gmail.com when you are done if you want it featured on their website.
Supporting Musicians: Swedish/American Flutist, composer and activist Elsa Nilsson has been making music in New York City since 2010. Nilsson is the winner of the National Flute Association 2018 Jazz flute competition and has released three albums as a leader. Nilsson has performed with Robert Dick, Jamie Baum, Jonathan Blake, Sebastian Noelle, Dawn Clement, Jovino Santos Neto and more. Notable performances as a band leader include Blue Note Jazz Club, The 55 Bar, Cornelia Street Cafe, Nefertiti Jazz Club and Aarhus Jazz Festival. She is the program coordinator for the women in Jazz organizations mentorship program and works with Sierra club to provide outdoor experiences for veterans.
Bam Bam Rodríguez is an award winning bass player and composer, educator and social activist. Has performed with the likes of Arturo O'Farrill, Chucho Valdés, Paquito de Rivera, Deepak Chopra, to name a few, in stages all over the world, like Carnegie Hall, The Barbican, North Sea Jazz Festival, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Blue Note. Parelelly, Bam is the founder and director of We Are Starting a School, a free educational program that pairs up students from disadvantaged places in the world with teaching artists based in NYC to receive free music lessons.
Born in Santiago de Chile, Rodrigo Recabarren has been in NYC since 2009. He has worked with artists as Guillermo Klein, Brad Shepik, Melissa Aldana, Camila Meza, Claudia Acuña, Rafal Sarnecki and Andre Carvallo among many others. Has performed in Europe, the United States, Asia and Latin-America in prestigious venues like the Blue Note, 55 bar, Smalls and Jazz at Lincoln Center, among many others. He is the founder of Tresillo music School in Santiago de Chile and has produced dozens of albums and tours around the world with this projects.