Dan Giacobazzi Flute, Nay, Soprano Sax, Baritone Sax, Various percussion
Kathy Roberts Egyptian Tabla, Riq, Cajon
Aziza Poggi Voice (2009)
D. Adam Estner started playing guitar at age 12 and joined a band a year later. After high school, Adam attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where he lived for three years. In August of 2000, Adam attended University of Arizona studying classical guitar and jazz composition. Since his return, Adam has been on the music scene in Grand Rapids, playing in many bands, such as Black Rose and the Disciples of Funk and Insane Theatre. With the Ensemble, he combines his jazz and rock experiences with his studies of Brazilian, Flamenco and Arabic styles.
Our sinuous and compelling flute improvisations, loved by listeners and dancers, originate from flutist and saxophonist Dan Giacobazzi, who started singing in his mother's church choirs as soon as he could walk and talk. He started playing the flute at the age of 8 and eventually followed his sister and brother into the world of professional music careers. While in high school, Dan participated in a Blue Lake Fine Arts European tour. He received a bachelor’s degree in music education at WMU in Kalamazoo, MI and taught music for a couple of years. Dan started playing saxophone in his early 20's. He states, “I can never, it seems, say no to music and have thus played in a huge variety of musical groups and situations: Classical, Jazz, Big Band, Celtic, Appalachian, Japanese, and South American folk music, Country, Tex-Mex/Tejano, Rock, Blues, Pop variety, and numerous recording sessions in California and Michigan.” Dan also spent a year playing Western music in Japan, while studying Japanese traditional and classical music.
The Middle-eastern rhythms that drive the music and inspire the dance are provided by Kathy Roberts, founder of Ensemble Al-Asdeka, who is a chemist by trade. She lived on and off for several years in a Middle-eastern country where this music was part of daily life. In recent years she attended Arabic and Turkish music camps and seminars and continues to study with prominent musicians, Karim Nagi, Nicole Lecorgne, Suleiman Warwar, Seido Salifosky, Adnan Sarhan, Layne Redmond to name a few. She charms the music with her sense of humor and her attention to technique can be appreciated by any professional musician. She shares the business end of the ensemble with Aziza Poggi.
No stranger to the stage, Aziza Poggi uses her acting and musicalal performance experience to weave a compelling persona for this World Fusion endeavor. In the tradition of chanteuses, Glykeria and Natacha Atlas, Aziza inteprets regional folk songs and transmits evocative charm with an edge. A perpetual student of classical voice, her teachers are Melissa Ferlaak, Dale Schriemer and she is pursuing a BA in voice. She shares the business end of this musical venture.
