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WMU group plays Brazilian beats at Union Cabaret

March 22, 2007

KALAMAZOO--Tom Knific, professor of music and director of jazz studies at Western Michigan University, and the Brasil Project will perform at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 1, at the Union, a cabaret and restaurant located downtown on the Kalamazoo mall.

All seating is general admission and tickets may be purchased at the door for $10 and $5 for senior citizens. WMU students with a valid student ID card will be admitted free of charge.

The Brasil Project will take the audience on a musical journey through Brazil. Inspired by Knific's concert tours in that country, the evening's repertoire will include samba, bossa nova and batucada music by Ivan Lins, Airto Moreira, Luciana Souza, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sergio Mendes, Edu Lobo and Joao Bosco, among others. This concert follows the group's sold-out performance at the Cleveland jazz venue, Nighttown.

Other members of the Brasil Project include WMU student musicians Ryan Andrews, drums; Alycia Duprey, vocals; Will Harris, percussion; Zach Lane, bass; and Logan Thomas, piano. Cleveland-based Jamey Haddad, who is regarded as one of the greatest percussionists in world music, will join the group on stage as a guest artist. Haddad has been a member of Paul Simon's Band for more than a decade and has appeared in 100 recordings that span numerous genres and countries.

The Brasil Project at the Union is supported by a grant from the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation.

The Union is a cabaret-style bar and grill that offers live entertainment four nights a week, half of which is provided by WMU students, faculty and alumni. Other signs of a partnership with the University are apparent. The restaurant's side entrance, accessible through the adjacent City Center building, is constructed from original floorboards of the Oakland Gym, a WMU landmark. Old and new campus photos are displayed around the restaurant, and original artwork is provided by the University's College of Fine Arts.

Media contact: Tonya Hernandez, (269) 387-8400, tonya.hernandez@wmich.edu

WMU News
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