This week in world beats brings the LUCIA COMNES COMBO & TAMARIND to San Geronimo, just 10 minutes northwest of San Rafael. The Lucia Comnes Combo is a musical melting pot of Irish melodies, Turkish rhythms, Indian tabla, Bulgarian vocals, Motown and jazz grooves that create a great, big, sweet and spicy euro-roots stew. Formerly of the Bulgarian vocal ensemble Kitka, Marin-raised Comnes holds a B.A. in ethnomusicology from Long Island University, and will be releasing her album On the Way at the event.
– Samantha Campos, The Pacific Sun, San Rafael, California
October 10, 2008
http://www.pacificsun.com/story.php?story_id=2473
Paul Liberatore: World music, Marin style
Lucia Comnes and Tamarind Jones. The names have a nice ring when you say them together, a rhythm, an alliteration, as if they were meant to be linked in some way – not as a law firm or comedy team, but as two young Marin musicians (Comnes is 25, Jones 32) exploring new territory in world music. Read the rest of this entry »
HOT PICK: Lucia Comnes Combo CD Release Concert at Spirit Garden
September 25-October 1, 2008 – p 42
Saturday: Diversity is the critical ingredient in the works of classically trained violinist Lucia Comnes. Enchanted by Europe and its diverse musical sounds, the San Francisco native has traveled to and studied the music of Ireland, Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria Read the rest of this entry »
“Solas and other musical groups have done the traditional Irish folk song “Calling Home the Calves” (Aililiu Na Gamhna), but Lucia Comnes has taken it to a higher level, using her singular voice and two instruments from the Indian subcontinent – bansuri flute and shruti box – to create a goose-bumpy tableau of nature and memory. “Calling Home the Calves” is one of numerous delights on Comnes’ new album, “On the Way,” which takes songs from across borders – including from Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria – and interprets them anew while retaining the original language. The result: a cascade of tunes (plus a jazzy Comnes original) that are otherworldly and embedded with soul and spirit. On many songs, violin merges with accordion, electric bass and other instruments, then is capped by Comnes’ vocalizations, which cross musical chasms. Comnes lives in the Bay Area, but her home is really the world at large.”
Datebook, San Francisco Chronicle, September 14, 2008
