GO AS IF PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS:
ASTRAL PROGRESSIONS WITH JOSEF S U N D A Y ,
LEIMBERG + FRIENDS
S E P T E M B E R
W W W . G O A S I F. C O M
1 7 , 2 0 1 7
@GOASIFPRODUCER
WELCOME You are in Hollywood. You love Los Angeles with all its glaring contradictions. You are friendly. You smile at people. You go to concerts. You make friends everywhere musicians, artists, photographers. This is the 90s, and there is no Google Maps. You are lost. A lot. From Bjork in a giant paper skirt and Meshell on bass at the Glam Slam in Downtown to listening in awe of Dwight Trible at The World Stage in Leimert Park to De La Soul at The Viper Room in Hollywood – a certain kind of Los Angeles music scene shaped my formative years. And nothing has changed. I am still an avid fan of soulful, eclectic music in intimate venues that get you up close and personal. I vividly recall my first concert at the Ford Theatres in 2000. As I listened to powerful live music from Quetzal and Lila Downs, gazing at the trees in the canyon, something within me opened up.
Photo by Jiro Schneider. Artwork by Tokio Aoyama.
There is a point where one moves from observer to active participant. And that is where I find myself today. I listen to stories on NPR about lack of diversity in the entertainment industry. I see beautiful posts documenting #blackgirlmagic. My heart aches when I contemplate the reality of mass incarceration and listen to coverage of the #blacklivesmatter movement. And I feel lost. A lot. And so, I work. To build community, to create intersections of culture, to champion representation, to foster appreciation for the arts. Seventeen years later, I return to the Ford Theatres as the Producer of Astral Progressions, a night of cosmic jazz and soul music. Sonic solace in these times we’re living in. May you be opened up, changed and set on course. With love,
Andrea Miller Principal, Go As If
ABOUT GO AS IF : Go As If is a production company developing content, producing media and all-ages events in partnership with an extended network of creative professionals and diverse venues.
ASTRAL PROGRESSIONS WITH JOSEF
LEIMBERG + FRIENDS
A
C O S M I C
N I G H T
O F
J A Z Z + S O U L
THE ASTRAL PROGRESSIONS ENSEMBLE: JOSEF LEIMBERG – TRUMPET DANTE PASCUZZO – GUITAR ANAND BENNET - BASS MATT “HONEYBEE” LITTLE – KEYS TRACY WANNOMAE – SAXOPHONE MIC HOLDEN – PERCUSSION WILLIAM LOGAN - DRUMS
SPECIAL GUESTS: BILAL JIMETTA ROSE JERMAINE HOLMES THE TEAM Andrea Miller, Producer & Director Alberto Lopez, Production Supervisor Matt “Honeybee” Little, Musical Director Simon Knowles, Stage Manager
Brian Longhofer, Lighting Designer Shelby Powell-Hicks, Press Outreach Brandon Bernstein, Youth Musical Director Ayanna Henderson-Baldry, Co-conspirator
THANK YOU Tokio Aoyama Lynne Berry Ben Caldwell Kobie Dozier
Dorsay Dujon Charyn Harris Yu Maeda Jaimie Milner
Monique Mitchell Eric Potma Selah Potma Gina Ramirez
+ the myriad of helpful people along the way.
ABOUT JOSEF LEIMBERG Josef Leimberg, a Los Angeles-based musician and producer, started playing the trumpet at 5 years old. His introduction to the trumpet led him to a deep passion for music and an obsession with Hip Hop that was nurtured at Hamilton High School. He freestyled and beat-knocked on tables at lunch and joined Jazz Band daily rehearsals. He also belonged to the Chamber Music Ensemble and found a love for keyboards while attending school. After graduating from high school, Josef was accepted at Cal Arts in Valencia, California, where his love for music was enhanced and his love for Jazz took over. Josef would later graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Cal Arts. Josef’s father, who also played the trumpet, saw something in his son. When Josef began his journey into producing, his father felt he needed a space for his creative process to flourish. Ironworx Creative Recordings Studio was born. Josef has recorded with a vast variety of artists and musicians including Erykah Badu, Om’mas Keith, Bilal, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, SZA, George Clinton, Iman Omari and Madlib. After touring for over 10 years consecutively with artists like Snoop Dogg and Robin Thicke, Josef began to totally commit to his production and making genuine, soul enhancing music
In 2012, Josef’s beloved mother passed away. She was a major influence in his life and pushed him to make an album of his own. As Josef puts it, “When your mama tells you to do something, you take it seriously.” The album his mother encouraged him to make became his first solo project, entitled Astral Progressions. While creating Astral Progressions, an old friend and fellow musician, Terrace Martin, re a c h e d o u t t o J o s e f i n re g a rd s t o collaborating on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly. Josef and Terrace had been friends since the 90s and both toured with Snoop throughout the years. They decided to create an alias, LoveDragon, which produced President Barack Obama’s favorite song of 2015, ‘How Much A Dollar Cost.’
Astral Progressions is a superb blend of jazz, soul, hip hop and funk that features an array of innovators and game changers in modern progressive music. Kamasi Washington, Bilal, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Kurupt, Terrace Martin and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson are just a small list of the brilliant minds that make the album special. Thank you for joining us at the historic Ford Theatres to hear this blend of cosmic jazz, soul and hip hop instrumentalism come to life with Josef Leimberg and friends.
AST R AL P RO G RE SSI O N S
WITH JOSEF LEIMBERG + FRIENDS
Join us under the stars for a fusion odyssey that blends cosmic jazz with soul, R&B and hip hop.
FordTheatres.org
Sept 17, 2017 | 7:30PM
SPONSORS + PARTNERS
FREEHAND LA Housed in the historic Commercial Exchange building, this hotel in downtown Los Angeles is truly one-of-a-kind. freehandla.com
KAENA WINE A boutique winery with a passion for making truly handcrafted wines. kaenawine.com
#HAPPYPERIOD A social movement of girlfriends coming together to provide menstrual hygiene kits to homeless populations. hashtaghappyperiod.org
KIND SNACKS Healthy snacks with ingredients you can see & pronounce. kindsnacks.com
Special thanks to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for their continuing support of the John Anson Ford Theatres. The Ford Theatres are owned by the County of Los Angeles and operated in partnership with the Ford Theatre Foundation and the Department of Parks and Recreation.