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Marc Ribot (pronounced REE-bow) was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1954. As a teen, he played guitar in various garage bands while studying with his mentor, Haitian classical guitarist and composer Frantz Casseus. After moving to New York City in 1978, Ribot was a member of the soul/punk Realtones, and from 1984 – 1989, of John Lurie’s Lounge Lizards. Between 1979 and 1985, Ribot also worked as a side musician with Brother Jack McDuff, Wilson Pickett, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Chuck Berry, and many others.

Rolling Stone points out that “Guitarist Marc Ribot helped Tom Waits refine a new, weird Americana on 1985’s “Rain Dogs”, and since then he’s become the go-to guitar guy for all kinds of roots-music adventurers: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello, John Mellencamp.” Additional recording credits include Soloman Burke, Neko Case, Diana Krall, Beth Orton, Marianne Faithful, Arto Lindsay, Caetano Veloso, Laurie Anderson, Susana Baca, McCoy Tyner, The Jazz Passengers, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Cibo Matto, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, James Carter, Vinicio Capposella (Italy), Auktyon (Russia), Vinicius Cantuaria, Sierra Maestra (Cuba), Alain Bashung (France), Marisa Monte, Allen Ginsburg, Madeleine Peyroux, Sam Phillips, and more recently Joe Henry, Allen Toussaint, Norah Jones, Akiko Yano, The Black Keys, Jeff Bridges, Jolie Holland, Elton John/Leon Russell and many others. Ribot frequently collaborates with producer T Bone Burnett, most notably on Alison Krauss and Robert Plant’s Grammy Award winning “Raising Sand” and regularly works with composer John Zorn.

Marc has released over 20 albums under his own name over a 35-year career, exploring everything from the pioneering jazz of Albert Ayler with his group “Spiritual Unity” (Pi Recordings), to the Cuban son of Arsenio Rodríguez with two critically acclaimed releases on Atlantic Records under “Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos”. His avant power trio/post-rock band, Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog (Pi Recordings), continues the lineage of his earlier experimental no-wave/punk/noise groups Rootless Cosmopolitans (Island Antilles) and Shrek (Tzadik). Marc’s solo recordings include “Marc Ribot Plays The Complete Works of Frantz Casseus” (Les Disques Du Crepuscule), “John Zorn’s The Book of Heads” (Tzadik), “Don’t Blame Me” (DIW), “Saints” (Atlantic), “Exercises in Futility” (Tzadik), and his latest “Silent Movies” released in 2010 on Pi Recordings was described as a “down-in-mouth-near master piece” by the Village Voice and has landed on several Best of 2010 lists including the LA Times and critical praise across the board.  2013 saw the release of “Your Turn” (Northern Spy), the sophomore effort from Ribot’s post-rock/noise trio Ceramic Dog, and 2014 saw the monumental release: “Marc Ribot Trio Live at the Village Vanguard” (Pi Recordings), documenting Marc’s first headline and the return of Henry Grimes at the historical venue in 2012 already included on Best of 2014 lists including Downbeat Magazine and NPR’s 50 Favorites.

Marc has performed on scores such as “The Kids Are All Right,” “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Walk The Line (Mangold),” “Everything is Illuminated,” and “The Departed” (Scorcese).” Marc has also composed original scores including the French film Gare du Nord (Simon), the PBS documentary “Revolucion: Cinco Miradas,” the film “Drunkboat,” starring John Malkovich and John Goodman, a documentary film by Greg Feldman titled “Joe Schmoe,” a feature film by director Joe Brewster titled “The Killing Zone”, and dance pieces “In as Much as Life is Borrowed”, by famed Belgian choreographer, Wim Vandekeybus, and Yoshiko Chuma’s “Altogether Different”. Marc is also currently touring his live solo guitar score to Charlie Chaplin’s“The Kid”, which was commissioned by the NY Guitar Festival and premiered Jan 2010 at Merkin Hall, as well as a program of new arrangements of classic Film Noir scores commissioned by the New School Noir Arts Festival 2011.

In 2009, Marc was named curator and musical director for the year’s Century of Song Festival, part of the Ruhr Triennale in Germany. The concert series sparked new collaborations with Iggy Pop, Marianne Faithfull, David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, master cajón player Juan Medrano Cotito, Carla Bozulich and Tine Kindermann.

Marc’s talents have also been showcased with a full symphony orchestra. Composer Stewart Wallace wrote a guitar concerto with orchestra specifically for Marc. The piece was premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC in July of 2004 and also appeared at The Cabrillo Festival in Santa Cruz, CA in August of 2005.

Marc is currently touring with several projects including the Marc Ribot Trio, a free jazz group featuring legendary bassist Henry Grimes and Chad Taylor on drums, his power trio Ceramic Dog with bassist Shahzad Ismaily and drummer Ches Smith, the Philly soul meets the harmolodics of Ornette Coleman’s The Young Philadelphians with Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Calvin Weston, and with Caged Funk, a project of funk arrangements of John Cage’s music featuring Bernie Worrell of Parliament Funkadelic fame.

Ani Cordero, notable for her contributions to World Music, Latin Folk, and Indie Rock, launches her most pointed and urgent work to date, Querido Mundo, (Dear World), a record of all-original protest songs and love songs aimed at the global political crisis. The album is set for release on February 24, 2017. An album release concert on February 26 at Rockwood in New York City and tour follow.

Ani describes her process for this new album:
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“I made this record as a reaction to recent political events. Music is my main form of activism and it’s my hope that these songs will encourage political participation and much needed conversations. I wrote these songs to work in a crowded situation, such as a protest or march, so I started with the rhythms first, and built the arrangements around the rhythmic movement. I chose to write in Spanish, my first language, because for me it is the language of intimacy and love, the most personal expression I have.”
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Ani’s record is being released in a dangerous political climate. In the United States, the government has fallen to the control of men who encourage misogyny, white supremacy, and discrimination. This new leadership threatens to change the legal fabric of the country, and has no reservations about reducing the civil rights of its citizens. Both in the U.S. and abroad there seems to be a rising tide of nationalism and increasing violence against immigrant communities.
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Ani Cordero’s new album comes on the heels of her last project, Recordar, which re-imagined many of the famous political protest and folk songs from Latin American History, building on her long-time collaboration with Sergio Dias from Brazil’s Os Mutantes. The critically-acclaimed album received accolades from NPR, Billboard, USA Today, PRI’s The World, Brooklyn Vegan, BUST, Remezcla, and more!

Ani Cordero will be touring in support of Querido Mundo beginning in February 2017. Her touring band features long-time collaborators Erich Hubner (Man or Astro-man?) and Eileen Willis (Pistolera) along with new touring member Scott Kettner (Nation Beat)
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Ani was born to Puerto Rican parents from San Juan and the town of Camuy. She grew up in both the states and on the island, surrounded by music. In her teens in Atlanta, Georgia, Ani found a friend and mentor in Dr. Juan Allende, nephew of Chilean President, Salvador Allende, who was overthrown in a military coup d’état in 1973. She was inspired by the “Nueva Cancion” artists who were exiled or killed because of their music’s message of democracy and social justice, such as Victor Jara (1932-1973), and Violeta Parra (1917-1967). Ani has toured extensively and appeared on many stages as singer and drummer, from Radio City Music Hall to Montreal Jazz Festival, and in Europe.
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Ani Cordero’s new CD Querido Mundo (Dear World) will be released on February 24, 2017

M.A.K.U. Soundsystem official site | M.A.K.U. Soundsystem on Facebook
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M.A.K.U Soundsystem is an immigrant band from New York City. With most of its members hailing from Colombia, M.A.K.U embodies an active quest for identity through sound and bodies in motion, and puts on a party for everyday people. Born in 2010 the band has independently released two full-length albums, one EP, and toured across the U.S. with their fiery grooves.

M.A.K.U’s distinctive sound is enriched with a variety of musical backgrounds brought to the table by each of its members. Although not inherently discernible there are hints of Colombian Folklore, Psychedelic-rock and Caribbean grooves. It all comes together through a D.I.Y. attitude of getting things done, from composing to releasing independent records; M.A.K.U is as much about the music as it is about a way of life.

On stage MA.K.U juxtaposes traditional Colombian percussion, drum-set, synthesizers, electric base, guitar and sizzling horns, creating an explosive performance filled with unshakable grooves. Lyrically M.A.K.U talks about the realities of everyday people, encompassing love, hardships, culture, and the immigrant experience, but with a positive, spiritual and sometimes humorous spin.

M.A.K.U released their first album at Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors’ La Casita in the summer of 2010. Vamos Bien is an experimental record made as the band explored different musical landscapes and collaborators. This album served as a stepping-stone for the formation of the band.

By 2011 the band consolidated its members and further developed its sound leading to the recording of their second record MAKUMBALA. This time the album was recorded directly to tape and with all musicians playing together, choosing the best out of three takes. MAKUMBALA was released at S.O.B’s as a limited 7-inch vinyl single, and a full-length digital download. The album art on this record was the result of collaboration with Brazilian street-artist Eder Muñiz, who took the ideas and concept developed by the band and turned them into a breathtaking mural. Photographs of the mural were adapted to fit the cover, providing the final touch to the band’s second musical work.

M.A.K.U’s third album M.N.D. (Music Never Dies) was released as a 12-inch vinyl EP at New York City’s Joe’s Pub in November of 2012. Through it the band illustrates its discovery and development of a shared musical language they like to refer to as “Immigrantbeat.” Recorded at Brooklyn’s The Bunker Studio in collaboration with Strange Weather, M.N.D. came together by choosing the best out of a few takes of the full band playing virtually in the same room, in an effort to capture the rambunctious energy of their live performances, and once again recording directly onto tape. The album art was developed in collaboration with members of a local New York band called The Peeps, and illustrates a combination of scenes described through the album’s lyrics with splashes of vibrant color and lively characters. This art was featured on Remezcla (an online Latin culture magazine) as one of the best 12 album covers of 2012.

In August of 2013 M.A.K.U released the official music video for the song El Jugo from M.N.D. In a raw and simple way the video aims to illustrate the struggle found in following artistic dreams while working extra to make a living in the hustle of New York City. Directed and edited by Max Ocampo, this message quickly reached a wide audience thanks to multiple shares through social media and a variety of music blogs and online outlets both local and internationally.

M.A.K.U is currently tightening new grooves and sharpening their moves for the completely independent recording of their fourth album to date, to be released in 2014.

M.A.K.U has been the recipient of the globalFEST Touring Fund in 2012 and was nominated and selected as one of nine artist to join the 2014-15 New York State Presenters Network Touring Roster. They have been featured in such prominent media outlets as Afropop, WNYC, NY Daily News, Village Voice, TimeOut NY, Remezcla (NY, Los Angeles and Chicago), Periscope, Sounds and Colours.

M.A.K.U has performed at universities, festivals and venues across the east and west coast including: SXSW (Austin, TX), GlobalFest (New York, NY), Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival (Lincoln Center, New York, NY), S.O.B’s (New York, NY), Joe’s Pub, (New York, NY), Le Poisson Rouge (New York, NY), BAMcafé Live, (Brooklyn, NY), Music Hall of Williamsburg (Brooklyn, NY), Brooklyn Bowl (Brooklyn, NY), Millennium Park (Chicago, IL), Old Town School of Folk Music (Chicago, IL), World Music Festival (Chicago, IL) Real Art Ways (Hartford, CT), Global Roots Festival, The Cedar, (Minneapolis, MN)
Echale Festival (San Antonio, TX) Levitt Pavilion (Pasadena, CA), Los Globos (Los Angeles, CA, Global Union(Milwaukee, WI), Concert of Colors (Detroit, MI), Musikfest (Bethlehem, PA), Small World Music Festival (Toronto, Canada) Swarthmore College, Princeton University, Darmouth College to name but a few.