Fri 7/24 @ 7PM
The Suma Sessions, hosted at Suma Recording in Painesville, give music fans the opportunity to get an insider’s look at the recording process and a first listen to music being recorded by one of their favorite local artists.
The next such session features one of the area’s most distinctive ensembles, Alla Boara, founded during the pandemic by local jazz percussionist Anthony Taddeo. Inspired by Alan Lomax’s 1954 Smithsonian Folkways field recordings of nearly extinct regional Italian folk and his own Italian heritage, he came up with the idea of using those tunes as a starting point and giving the music a contemporary twist, drawing on jazz, rock and world music. He enlisted other, mostly jazz, musicians from his circle to form the band. The ensemble, which also includes vocalist Amanda Powell, guitarist Daniel Bruce, trumpet player Tommy Lehman, bassist Ian Kinnaman and accordionist Mark Micchelli, has released three albums to date, founded an educational nonprofit and expanded the range of its touring.
It’s calling what it will be doing at Suma this weekend “Christmas in July,” laying the groundwork for their next album which we suspect will come out around the holidays. They’ll be combining well-known holiday tunes with obscure Italian folk traditions, and giving them jazzy arrangements to reinvent them into something fresh.
“While North American Christmas traditions typically draw from northern European origins, Alla Boara showcases Italy’s vibrant holiday musical heritage,” they say. “Our performance bridges cultural divides through authentic folk songs presented with fresh, accessible arrangements that honor their roots while engaging modern audiences.”
Tickets include attendance at the recording session a digital download of the completed recording, a post-session dessert reception to meet the artists and studio staff and a tour of the studio. Get them HERE.