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Enjoy dinner and a concert with Afro-Peruvian Jazz Ensemble Thursday
As DePauw University’s ArtsFest 2017 gets under way this week, the annual festival’s music offerings will include a special “Dinner and a Concert” option. DePauw School of Music’s Green Guest Artist Series is joining with Wasser Brewing Co. for a collaborative dinner prior to the center’s guest artist concert Thursday, Oct. 26.
Inspired by Gabriel Alegria’s Afro-Peruvian Jazz Sextet, Chef John Conrad and Wasser’s culinary team have planned a four-course Peruvian meal to compliment Thursday’s concert.
The special menu — featuring fresh dairy, produce and meats locally sourced from Red Barn Farms, Myer’s Market, and Levi Fisher Farms — will be available from 4:30-7 p.m. Thursday to allow travel time from the restaurant to the Green Center before the beginning of the concert at 7:30 p.m.
Cost of the collaborative dinner is $30 per person with $8 for the additional beer pairings and $7 for the cocktail. Reservations are requested: 1-844-WASSER-1.
Here’s what’s on the menu:
FIRST COURSE: Ceviche Peruano ~ Pisco Sour Cocktail
Classic diced fish, shrimp and tilapia, mixed with hand-juiced lemon, lime and oranges, garlic and cilantro, served over lettuce
SECOND COURSE: Papa a la Huancaina (Huancayo-style Potatoes) ~ 5 oz. Old Gold
Potatoes with queso fresco and traditional Peruvian seasoning
MAIN COURSE: Peruvian Beef Saltado ~ 5 oz. Super 8
Sliced beef with peppers, tomato, red onion, garlic and fresh cilantro, served over coconut rice
DESSERT: Peruvian Caramel Cookies ~ 5 oz. Belgian Stout
A tasty, traditional almond-shortbread favorite, house-made with condensed milk. Folks line up to eat these bakery-fresh in Peru!
About the Artists
Described by Latino Magazine as “the definition of sonic joy,” this high-voltage ensemble’s inventive program of traditional Afro-Peruvian music, transformed by Gabriel Alegría’s personal synthesis of folkloric rhythms and jazz, has led to developing the band’s patented blend of deep scholarship and playfulness into an experience that conveys black music from coastal Perú as a way of life to its audiences.
Amidst the Sextet’s fusion of Afro-Peruvian rhythms and jazz harmonies, lies a very demanding, authentic and honest interpretation. The New York Times writes “the Sextet knows its mission well and has the execution down to a science.” “Peruvian trumpeter Gabriel Alegría champions Afro-Peruvian music,” wrote Downbeat Magazine in a prominent review, “the hip asymmetrical bass line of Alegría’s El Norte is goaded by wonderful hand percussion and stickmanship on cajita from Hugo Alcázar and Freddy “Huevito” Lobatón.”
Support for the band in their native Peru is also significant. Dedicated “Fans & Voluntarios” sign up on each of the band’s tours to work shows, sell merchandise and participate in the band’s social outreach missions. The country’s most important newspaper, El Comercio describes the Afro-Peruvian Sextet as “the catalyst that marks the start of Afro-Peruvian jazz music’s flight to the international stage.”
For the performance at DePauw, in celebration of the ensemble’s latest album “Diablo en Brooklyn,” a company of Afro-Peruvian dancers will join Alegría on Kresge stage.
General admission to hear Alegría at the Green Center is $20. Tickets for seniors, youth and all students are free thanks to season sponsors Judson and Joyce Green. Tickets can be obtained online through the School’s website, music.depauw.edu/events/calendar, or at the GCPA box office M–W–F from noon– 4 p.m. and 90 minutes prior to the performance. So that anyone wanting to the attend the performance is able to do so, a pay-what-you can-option is also available on request.
To learn more about the Gabriel Alegría ensemble, visit www.afroperuviansextet.com.