The American Patchwork Quartetsews together echoes of traditional folk music dating back to Colonial America with the contemporary voices of its members’ ancestral roots to create a multicultural, folk music tapestry. The Quartet made its Wisconsin debut on Nov. 17 at the Wisconsin Union Theater’s Play Circle. Featuring a program of blended new and old folk music traditions, the group works to shine a light on what the quartet’s musicians call the immigrant soul of American root music as well as to combat prejudice against race & immigration. The Quartet [errr Quintet for the evening] has said that it’s on a mission to reclaim the immigrant soul of American roots music. Leading in this mission are GRAMMY-winning vocalist and Indian American and friend to the proGram, Falu Shah; GRAMMY-winning guitarist, vocalist & South Carolina-born Clay Ross; 3-time GRAMMY-winning drummer & Detroit native Clarence Penn; and Jazz Life Album of the Year winner & Tokyo-born bassist Yasushi Nakamura. Joining this lively folk quartet for this evening was special guest Harini Raghavan (Rini), a composer, producer & violinist who is known to blend her training in Indian Carnatic traditions w/electronica & rock. Rini has performed/recorded with Grammy-winning artists such as A.R. Rahman and composed music for the trending Indian Netflix show ‘The Fame Game.” Together, these musicians master the art of showcasing culture through reimagined American root music. In APQ, these musicians bring together their many musical influences, education & experiences, and part of that effort, they say, means helping audience members acknowledge people’s commonalities and differences to strengthen America’s patchwork. On this evening, the success of this mission was easily felt by the audience members and the musicians. You could feel the smiles.
