RAHIM ALHAJ
Two-time Grammy®-nominee, virtuoso oud player and composer Rahim AlHaj, born in Baghdad, Iraq, has found in his ancient instrument (whose written history spans some 5,000 years) a unique voice that speaks passionately to contemporary listeners of every musical background. Deftly combining traditional Iraqi maqamat with contemporary stylings and influences, Rahim seeks to translate into music the suffering, joy, anxiety, and determination that he has experienced and witnessed in his lifelong struggle against injustice—as an Iraqi, a political refugee, and today as an American citizen.
Communicating with a compelling immediacy that bypasses cultural obstacles, his music speaks irresistibly to the heart in a universal language of compassion.
Rahim as garnered many awards since his student days at Institute of Music, Baghdad including a 2009 USA Artist Ford Fellowship. He has released several recordings that have earned high praise, including two Grammy® nominations, most recently in 2010. His compositions embrace a broad spectrum of musical genres, routinely and seamlessly marrying Eastern and Western traditions. In addition to solo recordings and performances, he works with a variety of musical companions, from jazz artists (Bill Frisell) and classical Indian maestros like (Amjad Ali Khan) to string quartets (Kronos Quartet). Rahim has performed around the world at universities and at such prestigious venues as The Kennedy Center, Smithsonian Institute, Symphony Space (New York), The Getty Center (Los Angeles) & The Palace of Fine Arts (San Francisco).

He has played many festivals including World Music Festival Chicago, Luminato Toronto, ¡Globalquerque! (Albuquerque, NM), Lotus Festival (Bloomington, IN), Grand Performances (Los Angeles) and the Cultural Olympiad as part of the 2010 Winter Olympics,Vancouver. His new 2-CD set, Little Earth (UR Music 2010) features, around Rahim’s compositions and oud, collaborations with artists from different cultures and genres including Bill Frisell, Peter Buck (REM), Maria De Barros, Robert Mirabal, Guy Klucevsek and many others. The project also contains the debut recordings from Rahim’s new group Little Earth Orchestra.
www.rahimalhaj.com
http://www.myspace.com/rahimalhaj

JADE LEYVA
Painter, photographer, potter and more, Jade Leyva is rapidly making a name for herself as one of the Southwest's most original artists. Hailing from Mexico City, Jade now calls New Mexico home. Since arriving in the US, she has been ridiculously busy, which is exactly how this wellspring of artistic expression prefers it. Her art is sold around the country and region including galleries in Santa Fe, Tuscon, Jackson Hole and others. She has been tapped to create images for nationally recognized events including ¡Globalquerque! 2009, the national 2010 LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) convention and the 2010 New Mexico Wine Festival. Her work reflects influences ranging from Pre-Colombian to postmodern. It is at times whimsical, celebratory and reflective, yet always thought-proving and expressive. Her newly published book, A Little Bird Told Me, is a retrospective of this talented artists work up to 2010. Jade is available for commissioned work and her artwork is available for gallery showings and art shows.
jadeleyva.com

NATION BEAT
Nation Beat is a NYC-Brazilian collision that parades with an infectious, audacious energy, seamlessly bridging folkloric Brazilian rhythms with classic American roots music in an altogether creative and original manner. NB’s 21st Century fusion is an explosion of thunderous Brazilian maracatu drumming and New Orleans second line rhythms, Appalachian-inspired bluegrass music, funk, rock and country- blues. It is also at the heart of their incendiary live show—which is frequently known to burst into crowd-wide Carnival-style drumming and singing, attracting music fans from a wide demographic: American roots music fans, Brazilian music lovers, outdoor festival-goers and pretty much anyone who loves to dance and loves great music.
The group is fronted by the soaring powerhouse vocalist and rising Brazilian star Liliana Araujo - already garnering comparisons to the great Virginia Rodriguez - and led by artistic director/founder Scott Kettner, a 2006 Latin Jazz Ambassador, who at once is following the path of such Brazilian luminaries as Lenine and Chico Science, and forging new trails in a distinct contemporary interpretation of the traditional 19th century Pernembuco-born maracatu rhythm.

The band is rounded out by a remarkably talented, innovative and fearless group of musicians and has performed at a number of festivals and venues to rave revues from audiences and press alike including Farm Aid, Brazil's Porto Music Festival, Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival, Stern Grove, Taste Of Durham, Madison World Music Festival, ¡Globalquerque!, Hollywood Paladium, Booklyn Academy of Music, S.O.B.'s, Joe's Pub, Elbo Room, Cedar Cultural Center and The Blue Note and have been featured on NPR's All Things Considered and PRI's The World.
www.nationbeat.com

MARIACHI MYSTERY TOUR
“Mariachi Mystery Tour doesn't just make classic songs fresh, the group makes them new. ...makes you wonder what would have happened if John, Paul, George and Ringo had spent some time with Pedro Infante.” - Dan Mayfield, Albuquerque Journal

Mariachi Mystery Tour founder and musical director Lorenzo Martinez is an accomplished composer, arranger, Mariachi and traditional New Mexican folk musician. He is also a tie-dye-in-the-wool fan of four lads from Liverpool who made an unprecedented impact on not only Anglo music and culture, but whose influence was - and is still - felt in every corner of the globe. In 2009, Lorenzo had a wild (far out?) idea. What if he re-imagined the music of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr through the lenses of Mariachi? After arranging the material - and his selection of songs and styles is as wide ranging as the catalogue from which it comes - he recruited his brother Roberto Martinez, Jr. and some of the finest young Mariachis from his native New Mexico (including his son Larry and niece Sheila) to record what would become Mariachi Mystery Tour, a tour-de-force artistic and cultural collision that flows together seamlessly while remaining true to both sides music and unique stylistic contributions.

The CD and their live show - a visual as well as aural adventure - takes a trip up the Mersey and down the Thames, all the while staying close to the banks of the Rio Grande.

"The freshest new sound to hit my ears since I don't remember when. I have fallen in love with the Beatles again through the Mariachi Mystery Tour interpretation of these classic cuts. Thank you. Thank You. THANK YOU!"
- Leigh Ann Hahn, Director of Programming, Grand Performances, Los Angeles !Rodemos¡

(Roll Up!). Mariachi Mystery Tour is coming to take you away!
www.mariachimysterytour.com