Rachid Halihal

- Playing at Tagine since 2001

Styles of music which Rachid plays: Andalus Moroccan music, Moroccan Gnawa, Moroccan Sha'abi, Jahjouka music of Northern Morocco.

 Le Bal Des Martine

Le Bal Des Martine plays a vivacious repertoire of French folk comedic verse, hot Cuban melodies, Italian popular and Jewish Moroccan favorites, their line up consists of base, accordion, guitar, ukulele, percussion and fabulous vocals.

 Valerie Dee Naranjo

- Playing at Tagine since 2001

(percussionist, vocalist, composer, clinician) known for her pioneering efforts in West African keyboard percussion music, is originally from Southern Colorado. She moved to New York City after completing studies in vocal and instrumental music education (U. of Oklahoma) and Percussion Performance (Ithaca College). In 1988 her playing of the gyil's traditional repertoire in Ghana's KOBINE FESTIVAL OF TRADITIONAL MUSIC led to the declaration of a chiefly decree in the Dagara nation that women be allowed to play the instrument for the first time.

          Valerie has apprenticed with some of America's and West Africa's strictest master percussionists, including Leigh Howard Stevens, Gordon Stout, Dave Samuels, Godwin Agbelli, and Adama Drame, and continues to spend summers in Ghana to further her gyil study with maestros Kakraba Lobi and Kofi Misiso. She has also researched and studied in Botswana, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Morrocco, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, where, in 1994 with Thuli Dumakude, she opened Johannesburg’s Civic Theatre to its first post-apartheid audiences in the production BUYA AFRICA.

Travis Sullivan

Blending Bjork's visionary techno pop with the harmonic and multi-instrumentalist Travis Sullivan has created a truly unique ensemble that transcends genre and style.

Comprised of New York City's finest jazz musicians, this eighteen-piece ensemble features full horn and rhythm sections as well as talented vocalist Becca Stevens, performing Sullivan's arrangements that span Bjork's entire catalogue.

Individual members of the Bjorkestra have performed and/or toured with the likes of Ray Charles, Clark Terry, Charlie Hunter, Dr. Dre, The Spam Allstars, Jessica Simpson, and the Saturday Night Live Bad.

Since their debut performance in 2004, the Bjorkestra has been featured in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, The Boston Globe, Jazz Times, The New York Post, The Philadelphia City Paper, and All About Jazz.

Billy Newman

 I am a Guitarist/Composer and Educator currently performing and teaching in the New York area. In the last years I've been especially focused on Brazilian music and my original music though I never cease playing Jazz regularly. I'm back to working on my originals that are based on Brazilian genres and odd time jazz, a panorama of different shadings. 

  Maya Solovey

"What I create now is considered world music. They are songs in the acoustic tradition, marrying influences and instruments from all over the world. At the moment I am focused on Brazilian, Indian, African and North and South American styles, all the while carrying fingerprint of my music across them all my voice. I write songs in English, Spanish, Portuguese or sometimes up a new language, but they are all songs that personal statements of an emotional nature, and are vocally translated as such."

 Danny Zanker

 
Danny Zanker spent his youth in England, Israel and Texas. This cultural confusion, coupled with a formal education in jazz, laid the foundation for his musicianship. Moving to New York in May of ’95 helped consolidate all his influences into an unorthodox and highly personalized style. His playing has been praised for its profound sense of melody, its deep rhythm and its restless, searching quality. Danny’s compositions draw from his Middle Eastern, blues and jazz roots, and they reflect his love of dance, lyricism and musical mood painting.
 

Amy Coleman

"Ms Coleman writhes through more then a dozen Lennon and McCartney chestnuts all delivered in a strong smoky blues- pop voice whose range extends from a growling contralto to a piercing high soprano." The New York Times

“Coleman displays an awesome array of vocal technique and superb interpretive finesse, fueled by sheer singing power.” The New York Post