Mo Boma

MO BOMA, the entity named after a pygmy girl's lullaby, is a transatlantic collaboration bringing together three talented musicians. Carsten Tiedemann, from Germany, claiming to be one of the tallest pygmies, has lived in many countries, all the while listening to and absorbing the music of these distant lands. Skuli Sverrisson, originally from Iceland and now living in New York, is already renowned in the jazz field for his musicianship, having been in FULL CIRCLE and now with the Allan Holdsworth Band. Synthesist Jamshied Sharifi is already credited with many international projects, of note with Michael Gibbs, and is currently based in New York. The group started in 1989 when Tiedemann and Sverrisson discovered their instinctive interplay in non-stylised improvisation. Sharifi joined in 1990 and brought new ideas with the same clear vision. MO BOMA's continuing instrumental work and development has broadened the orchestrations and added new textures and voices while retaining the intimacy and group sound which made ""Jijimuge"" a landmark in contemporary lucid dreaming. In addition to this, "Myths of the Near Future" seeks to bring respect and awareness to the music and people that are a catalyst for the eclectic, worldly vision of MO BOMA. Skúli Sverrisson, originally from Iceland and now living in New York, has been touring the world with the Allan Holdsworth Band and is a founding member of MO BOMA. Sverrisson's mastery of six string, fretless and baritone basses, with carefully applied electronics, often shapes the lead voice and treble registers, while his low end provides warmth, punch and creative musicianship, further emphasised by his cathedral-like chord work. Synthesist Jamshied Sharifi, also currently based in New York, has continued his contribution to the group as master player and sound designer with subtle and astute additions to the soundscape. There is a seamless quality to the music of MO BOMA, trance like but earthen and at times irresistibly funky. "Myths of the Near Future", part one, recorded in Africa, Germany and New York, shows the unique voice of a group developing beyond "Jijimuge" without departing their musical identity. Trans-cultural and trans-technological, instinctively improvised archetypes beyond known forms, MO BOMA creates music that is both futuristic and organic. ---- Members: CARSTEN TIEDEMANN Composer, multi-instrumentalist from Germany. Attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, U.S.A., completing a B.A. in composition. Studies included classical compositional structures and assimilation of the musical cultures of Central and West Africa, Java/Bali, Karnatic (South Indian) Music and North Indian tala (rhythmic structure); and performance and composition in contemporary music (rock, funk, fusion, bebop etc.). Improvisational skills developed on various instruments; drum set, mallet instruments and keyboard, North Indian percussion, Hadgini clay drum, guitar and mbira. Further work in the use of digital sound sources and various signal processing techniques and experimentation with MIDI systems. AWARDS: Richard Levy Award in recognition of outstanding musicianship, 1988 - composition for the Horn Sextet of the Boston Opera. Berklee College Award for Composition - "Monzoli", based on a pygmy vocal line. RECORDINGS: U.S. Steel Cello Ensemble, "1939" 1988-1989; bow chimes and amplified bayan/tabla. Robert Rutman, "Big Waves" 1993; bow chimes. SKÚLI SVERRISSON Bassist from Iceland recorded his first album with his group PAX VOBIS in 1984, followed by years of extensive work, appearing on over 30 albums. Working with composer/trumpeter Leo Smith opened up new ideas in improvisation and inspired Sverrisson to go abroad and study composition and improvised music. In 1987 Sverrisson attended Berklee College of Music in Boston where he received his B.M. degree. During that time he quickly became a first-call bassist in the music scene performing with several notable artists such as Bob Moses, Danilo Perez, Wolfgang Muthspiel and Mino Cinelu and started his ongoing collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Carsten Tiedemann. In 1989 he joined Sony recording artists FULL CIRCLE and recorded with them the critically acclaimed album "Secret Stories", voted best jazz album at the Boston Music Awards, and has toured with them in both Europe and U.S.A. For the last four years Sverrisson has been living in New York, where he has been active in the New Music Scene performing with Arto Lindsay, Nana Vasconselos, John Lurie and recording with acclaimed producer Peter Scherer. In 1991 Sverrisson joined the Allan Holdsworth band and has since toured Europe, U.S.A., South America, Japan and Australia. Sverrisson also appears on the release, "Hard Hat Area", with the Allan Holdsworth Band. JAMSHIED SHARIFI Synthesizer - (Kansas City, Missouri) Recently teacher in the Music Synthesis Department at Berklee and conducts the Festival Jazz Ensemble at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has studied with Charles Banacos, Donald Brown and Lyle Mays. He has toured the Caribbean(1987) and France(1991) with NIGHT DIVE, Italy(1989,1990) with PILI PILI, Japan(1987-1990) with NEW SOUND WORKSHOP, and Norway(1991) with THE MATHISEN/SHARIFI THANG. He has performed and/or recorded with Herb Pomeroy, Bob Moses, Omar Hakim, Darryl Jones, Mike Stern, Hiram Bullock, Mino Cinelu, John Lurie, Phyllis Hyman, Michael Gibbs, Abraham Laboriel, Tiger Okoshi, Steve Logan, and currently co-leads OYIE with Benjamin Wittman and THE MATHISEN/SHARIFI THANG with Ole Mathisen. AWARDS: Outstanding Performance Award, Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival, 1983(as pianist) and 1991(as Music Director) with MIT Jazz Ensemble. Count Basie Award, Berklee College of Music, 1985 Outstanding Performance Award, Boston U. Jazz Festival, 1988-1990, 1992 (w/MIT) Layla and Jerome B. Wiesner Award, MIT, 1991 (w/MIT) RECORDINGS: Toshihiko Kankawa, "Kankawa", 1992; producer, synthesizer, sequencing, composer Arida Conta, "Arida Conta", Muse, 1992; producer, synthesizer, sequencing Bruno Raberg, "Bruno Raberg Group", Boston Skyline, 1992; piano, synthesizer MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble, "Go On", Jamit, 1992; producer, music director, composer Nando Lauria, Narada, 1992; synthesizer Michael Gibbs, "Iron and Silk", Mute, 1991; synthesizer, sequencing MIT FJE, "MIT FJE", Jamit, 1990; producer, music director, composer New Sound Workshop, "Close Together", M.MC.Bee, 1989; synthesizer, producer, composer Full Circle, "Full Circle" & "Myth America", CBS, 1986 & 1988; synthesizer programming FILM/TELEVISION: "Iron and Silk", Sun Productions, w/Michael Gibbs; synthesizer, sequencing "First Love, Second Chance", Little Italy Productions, w/M. Gibbs; synthesizer, sequencing "Hard-Boiled", Milestone Productions, w/M.Gibbs; synthesizer, co-arranger, sequencing Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.