November’s Last Friday – Anjela Abelian & Andrea Rinciari

Anjela Abelian & Andrea Rinciari

Stripped-back jazz with a unique blend of jazz vocal and guitar drawing inspiration from the timeless collaboration of Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass. During this special evening Anjela Abelian, Camden’s very own jazz/contemporary singer and songwriter, collaborates with the virtuoso jazz guitarist Andrea Rinciari, they perform a carefully curated mix of jazz standards and originals. Anjela will be also introducing her recent single – “It’s So Much Fun”.

Anjela Abelian – Camden based jazz/contemporary singer and songwriter. Deeply rooted in jazz tradition, she loves the purity of the song form in every musical style and seamlessly fuses her musical journey with contemporary nuances. She mastered vocals with Speech Level Singing school, and under the guidance of such voice gurus as Anita Wardell and Dr. Voice.Anjela started refining her songwriting craft during the pandemic, when she found solace in an international online community of songwriters, and one of her songs, “Strawberries”, went to the semi-final of the International Songwriting Competition. The track “Strawberries” was later released and gained international acclaim with widespread radio plays across Europe and the US.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5a6XSEFwJs Website: www.anjelaabelian.com Instagram @anjelaabelian

Andrea Rinciari, a dedicated full-time jazz guitarist, had the privilege of learning from the legendary Barry Harris, greatly influencing his playing. With two successful album releases, Andrea’s guitar style is uniquely shaped around the influences of piano players, making pianistic choices on the guitar. His inspiration comes from jazz icons such as Bud Powell, Tadd Dameron, Elmo Hope, Freddie Redd, and Barry Harris, as well as non-pianist greats like Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, Fats Navarro, and Clifford Brown, resulting in a distinctive approach to bebop-straight ahead jazz.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fDRV7-Hf2c

New! – Tantra Hatha Yoga at the Library

Tantra Hatha Yoga is a sacred, embodied practice that cultivates energetic awareness and transformation (i.e., the chakra system) through asana (physical postures), pranayama (breathing techniques), and meditation practices.

In this practice, you will be invited to slow down and guided on an internalised meditative journey, strengthening your physical body, purifying and balancing your energetic body, and liberating your mind.

In Jade’s classes you can expect a heart-centred, trauma informed and re-empowerment approach, cultivated through many years of supporting women who are living with trauma to heal and re-claim their lives. Jade’s yoga teaching is a creative expression, interwoven with yogic philosophy, reflexive poetry, and embodied practices and wisdom.

Jade’s aim is to support you to be in yoga and experience your true nature, loving stillness.

Suitable for everyone, all experience levels welcome! Head over to our Events page to book.

October’s Last Friday is Jessop Duo

This month we’re delighted to be joined by Emily Suzanne Shapiro on clarinet, and Danielle Rogan on flute, collectively known as The Jessop Duo.

Northern Irish flutist Danielle Rogan is a freelance orchestral, chamber and solo musician based in London. She has worked with London Concert Orchestra, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, Mozart Symphony Orchestra and Wexford Festival Opera. She has played on commercial recordings and on RTÉ Lyric FM, and performed in prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Berlin Konzerthaus, Cadogan Hall, Hammersmith Apollo and the National Concert Hall Dublin. Danielle has appeared in several recital series including ‘Making an Entrance’ at Castletown House Kildare, Live@St. Mark’s Hamilton Terrace and St Saviour’s Church Pimlico. She performed at the 2022 Euro Knowledge Awards in the House of Lords, and around the world on Fred Olsen Cruise Lines. Danielle was a member of Euterpe Wind Quintet, Galway Music Residency ‘Apprentice Ensemble of the Year 2018’, and is currently a member of the World Harmony Orchestra. Danielle graduated with a Masters in Performance with distinction from the Royal Irish Academy of Music, where her teachers were William Dowdall and Patricia Morris. She previously studied with Elizabeth Bennett during her Bachelor degree at Queen’s University and Richard Davis at the Royal Northern College of Music. She also had memorable masterclass experiences with James Galway, William Bennett, Michael Cox, Lorna McGhee and Paul Edmund Davies, and completed orchestral training with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. Danielle is grateful for the support of the Arts Council NI, who awarded her the ‘Musical Instruments for Individuals’ grant in 2020. In 2008 she was awarded the ‘Sam Mahood’ bursary by Banbridge District Arts Council.

Emily Suzanne Shapiro is a bass clarinetist and clarinetist dedicated to exploring and creating new music. Originally from Canada, Emily pursued her studies at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Academy of Music, Concordia University and the Domaine Forget academy. Emily has a special love for the sound and scope of bass instruments and constantly pushes the limits of what she can do on bass clarinet.
Alongside performing contemporary music on bass clarinet, Emily is involved in many other musical endeavours. Composing and improvising are central to her career, and she has been an active performer of Balinese gamelan for 10 years and has also explored jazz, klezmer, rock and electroacoustics. She is always seeking out new artistic experiences to enrich and motivate her work.
She has performed all over London, including l’iklectik, Café Oto, Hundred Years Gallery, LSO St Luke’s, the Vaults festival, the Barbican and many more.

Get your tickets here.

Cricklereaders Juniors is Back!

Happy to announce we’re restarting Cricklereaders Juniors, our FREE term time book group for 7-11 year olds.

Our talented and fun volunteers choose amazing books for your kids to get to know and love, and each week brings different activities to help bring the books to life and kindle a life-long love of books and reading. What better way to start the weekend than by coming along to Cricklereaders Juniors? Every term time Friday between 4 and 5pm.

Register your interest on our super-quick form.