Dear Poets and Poetry Lovers–we’re pleased to announce that Arlington spoken-word artist Martin Graff will be our featured poet at the next Del Ray Poetry Reading on Friday, November 1 from 7-9 p.m. at St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub, 2300 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia. Following Marty’s performance, we will hold an open mic reading for all. The event is free and open to the public. Our theme for the evening is “HOPE!” We look forward to seeing you there.
Get tickets for the Bloombars show HERE.
The Delaplaine and Frederick Arts Association present illustrator, author, and composer-pianist Martin Graff in a solo multimedia performance of spoken word vignettes with matching art on every topic from the stigma of liking scrapple to the meaning of life. Piano punctuates the material to heighten the experience. Graff’s affecting commentary, original humor, whimsical drawings, and absorbing music offer a uniquely engaging experience certain to entertain and set your mind in motion…
$5 entry; free for FAA members
Facebook event link: https://fb.me/e/78hLgg0Rq
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18th I will perform Trips for Piano in its entirety in the beautiful auditorium of the FRANKLIN PARK ARTS CENTER in Purcellville, Virginia.
Please join me for a uniquely touching instrumental experience to move your soul and light your imagination. $15 admission with merch for sale before and after the concert:
I cannot wait to be the feature performer on WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23rd at BUSBOYS & POETS 450K! This set will focus on my original piano pieces set to trip D.C.’s imagination. Tickets available online for $5 the day of the show at: https://www.busboysandpoets.com/events/th-evt-29140914/
(There will be a “buy tickets” button on that day. Super-talented D.C. artist Dwayne B hosts the event, so don’t be confused if his picture pops up on the link.)
There will be a limited number of $8 tickets at the door, and this event often sells out, so plan to get a ticket online.
Open Mic starts at 8:00 p.m. I’ll be on by 9:30. Plan to arrive by 8:30, as the venue may give your seat to someone else later than that if it’s a packed house.
I will be one of four featured authors, performing pieces from my series The Face Zone, answering panel questions, and signing copies of my books (limited copies available following the presentation). Enjoy some free hors d’oeuvres along the way.
Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/authors-and-appetizers-tickets-641694464417
On May 27, 2023, Martin Graff was the featured artist on Quintessential Listening Poetry Online Radio. Host Dr. Michael Anthony Ingram interviewed Marty about his multimedia spoken-word project The Face Zone as well as his thoughts on poetry, music, and the creative process. Marty performed material from his book series and shared music from his album Trips for Piano. LISTEN HERE.
Join composer-pianist Martin Graff (Trips for Piano) and singer-songwriter Taisha Estrada (Nostalgia Ajena) for a luminescent evening of original music made to move your soul and light your imagination…
$10
Advance tickets: https://www.nvfaa.org/events/solo-lights
Facebook event link: https://fb.me/e/BmB4ZUpX
MARTIN GRAFF – TRIPS FOR PIANO
Martin Graff is an Arlington, Virginia composer-pianist and finalist for Best Classical Artist in the 2022 DC Wammie Awards. At four, his family inherited an old, anonymous piano, and Marty surged with an uncontainable energy to climb onto the bench and dig his hands into those eight-eight bits of clay, instinctually molding them into little, aural landscapes. Crude and square at first; at last, faceted gems after a lifetime of practice, polish, and love.
Trips for Piano is the resulting collection of evocative pieces made to move the soul and light the imagination with soaring melodies, affecting harmonies, and impassioned playing that conjures rainbows from keys of black and white. In Graff’s words, “Making this music is the opposite of death, like the centrifugal force around the sharpest bend of the greatest roller coaster. A reharmonizing of my most tumultuous internal cacophonies and maybe yours. So, listen up as I bang on this gong from the Gods! As the resonance of these radiant compositions fill your ear and make their way to your heart.”
Trips for Piano: this music will take you places…
For more: https://tripsforpiano.com/
TAISHA ESTRADA – NOSTALGIA AJEN
Rooted in the traditions of Latin and American jazz, with an innovative, contemporary, multi-genre sound, Puerto Rican born Taisha Estrada is a compelling songwriter and storyteller. Taisha engages audiences through her lyrics and dynamic stage performance. Her musical projects have been featured in the Washington Post and NPR’s Tiny Desk show, and she has performed at such venues as Blues Alley, Strathmore, Songbyrd and Union Stage.
Taisha is releasing her debut album of original songs, Nostalgia Ajena (Foreign Nostalgia) in April 2023, reflecting her roots in Latin and Caribbean jazz. The songs are influenced by her upbringing with grandparents who felt a strong devotion to la patria, their homeland and the sounds of bomba and plena which coursed through Estrada’s veins from a young age. Inspired by her own experiences and the stories of the women she grew up around, Estrada’s tone, though tinged with melancholy, evokes hope and strength. Having developed a deep appreciation for nature and the sensory experience of the Caribbean, Estrada’s music and lyrics are colored with imagery of the islands. Her work strives to explore life, love and the beautiful yet mystifying relationship between humanity and the earth.
For more: https://www.taishaestrada.com/
YouTube livestream TUESDAY, MAY 2 at 8:00PM (EST)! Check out my featured-guest appearance on Krystal Glenn’s INTRODUCING podcast! I’ll be answering (surprise) interview questions, as well as sharing original spoken word and piano. Tune in to trip your imagination… LISTEN TO THE RECORDED EPISODE HERE.
Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/2Djl9hbBM
Venue (directions, parking, and more): FHV Community Center
If you missed us in 2022, this is a second chance to experience what the hype is all about!
PROGRAM FIRST HALF
The Face Zone: Surreal Daydreams to Trip Your Imagination…
Martin Graff performs his solo, multimedia spoken-word act of poetic-prose vignettes with matching artwork about every topic from the stigma of liking scrapple to the meaning of life. What connects the pieces is that they each start with a projected image of a face—human, animal, alien, abstract—to prompt reaction and thought, and to act as a catalyst for the material that follows. The show is punctuated by original piano compositions from his album Trips for Piano to further deepen the experience. Graff’s imaginative humor, insightful commentary, unconventional artwork, and compelling music offer a uniquely engaging respite that cuts through the noise of our information-age lives with concise, essential truths certain to entertain and inspire lasting reflection.
PROGRAM SECOND HALF
Get Me Home: A Travel Opera in Three Acts
Music and libretto by Neal Learner
Maxine T. Heart lives overseas but needs to get back to America immediately. Her beloved father is hovering between life and death after being hit on the head by a falling tree branch while riding his bike. Maxine has bought her ticket and is ready to jump on the plane. There’s only one problem: in her shock at the family news, she gave the foreign travel agent her nickname, rather than full name, and failed to clearly enunciate her “ts” and “ds.” On her passport, she’s “Maxine T. Heart.” But on her ticket, she’s “Max D. Heard.” Problems ensue.
Director: Ruben Vellekoop
Cast: Neal Learner, Cathy McCoskey, Marissa Papatola, and Eric Yeh
Accompanist: Paige Rammelkamp
For more: www.learnermusic.com
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW HERE. Martin Graff was live on Takoma Park Radio WOWD LP 94.3 FM for Musical Remedies with the Night Nurse, hosted by Madona Tyler LeBlanc. During the interview, Marty discussed the origins of Trips for Piano, its connection to his illustrated spoken-word project The Face Zone, and shared pieces from his 2021 piano album.
Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/2VASg5Olm
Venue (directions, parking, and more): https://www.nvfaa.org/contact
PROGRAM FIRST HALF
The Face Zone: Surreal Daydreams to Trip Your Imagination…
Martin Graff performs his solo, multimedia spoken-word act of poetic-prose vignettes with matching artwork about every topic from the stigma of liking scrapple to the meaning of life. What connects the pieces is that they each start with a projected image of a face—human, animal, alien, abstract—to prompt reaction and thought, and to act as a catalyst for the material that follows. The show is punctuated by original piano compositions from his album Trips for Piano to further deepen the experience. Graff’s imaginative humor, insightful commentary, unconventional artwork, and compelling music offer a uniquely engaging respite that cuts through the noise of our information-age lives with concise, essential truths certain to entertain and inspire lasting reflection.
PROGRAM SECOND HALF
Get Me Home: A Travel Opera in Three Acts
Music and libretto by Neal Learner
Maxine T. Heart lives overseas but needs to get back to America immediately. Her beloved father is hovering between life and death after being hit on the head by a falling tree branch while riding his bike. Maxine has bought her ticket and is ready to jump on the plane. There’s only one problem: in her shock at the family news, she gave the foreign travel agent her nickname, rather than full name, and failed to clearly enunciate her “ts” and “ds.” On her passport, she’s “Maxine T. Heart.” But on her ticket, she’s “Max D. Heard.” Problems ensue.
Director: Ruben Vellekoop
Cast: Neal Learner, Cathy McCoskey, Marissa Papatola, and Eric Yeh
Accompanist: Paige Rammelkamp
For more: www.learnermusic.com
Free-ticket registration: https://www.woollymammoth.net/event/spit-dat/
On Monday, May 2nd, Martin Graff (The Face Zone / Trips for Piano) will be the feature performer at Busboys & Poets, following an open mic of a diverse chorus of local rookie and professional voices. Expect to be moved, expect a packed house, and expect the unexpected. Hosted by KaNikki Jakarta, First African American Poet Laureate of Alexandria, Virginia and author of Alabama Girl, Virginia Woman (2019).
Tickets: https://www.busboysandpoets.com/events/th-evt-21585015/
RSVP (limited seating): https://www.nvfaa.org/events/restless-lights/form
Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/1JI7u3g1P
Venue (directions, parking, and more): https://www.nvfaa.org/contact