April Centrone

Music:

Sheikh Abdul Baset Abdul Samed

Bio

April Centrone is one of the leading classical Arabic percussionists in America. Centrone plays riq (Arabic tambourine), frame drum, darbuka, oud and violin, and is also a proficient jazz drummer. Centrone has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Town Hall; lectured at numerous universities, museums and cultural centers around the country; directed and composed the music for plays; and has toured throughout Italy, Spain, Greece, America and New Zealand. She has performed with artists such as Marcel Khalife with Kristian Jarvi's Absolute Ensemble, Bassam Saba, Najib Shaheen, Simon Shaheen, and Samir Chatterjee. Centrone, as the Lead Teaching Artist for Musicians For Harmony, designs and teaches "Music of the World," a program geared towards the education of innercity high school youths. Holding an MA in Psychology from John Jay College, Centrone is presently constructing an educational and therapeutic music program for a leading children's psychiatric center. Centrone currently teaches percussion and drumset in New York.

About Me

I am interested in many different styles/genres of music. Currently at the forefront of my listening and practice is Arabic music. Secondarily, music from various other areas of the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Italy. Always in my car or radio, I'm listening to my generation of rock music... 90s grunge. :) Nirvana, STP, Smashing Pumpkins, etc. And of course a huge fan of Tool and Led Zeppelin.

I always have rock and jazz in my life (and everything in between, raggae, funk, grunge, R&B etc), overlapping and fusing constantly with my "world" music interests. Many other "world" musicians also listen to and play rock and jazz, as jazz is especially a strong foundation for us. Without a doubt, its rudiments and improvisation techniques accelerated my learning of ancient music forms and their complex rhythmic structures.

Ancient music gave birth to all we know today, yet we still only see it in small pieces, such as sitar in a rock song or a riff of the Hijaz scale behind a rap song. People go wild for it even when they have a taste of it! It is my dream that everyone's lives be enriched by ancient music...by the scales in All their glory - not just in a riff - and it is my belief that everyone would love Arabic music in its full and true presentation. It is everything we know plus what we don't know and wish we did.. the missing piece - the emotion and enrichment and wisdom - that is missing in our culture.

Movies:

American Beauty, Beetlejuice, The Forbidden Zone (Richard Elfman), Devil's Advocate, Miss Congeniality 1 and 2, Twister, The Mask, Edward Scissorhands, most movies with Johnny Depp, Kevin Spacey and Al Pacino.

Television:

Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Ren & Stimpy, Family Guy, Liquid Television.

Books:

I like reading Supreme Court cases. As far as books, not much time for much other than school texts and journal articles. Wouldn't kill brain cells on much of the "light reading" that is out these days anyway.. as good as sticking an iPod in my head and blasting the Top 20 Hits.

Heroes:

My grandmother, Madonna, my musical colleagues, and myself.