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The very best of Folk infused Blues and World Music comes to the Coast on Saturday, 6 May, with solo performances by renowned Sydney based vocalist and Kora player, Miriam Lieberman and, South African-born singer/songwriter and Central Coast resident, Alexi Kaye.
By Jacquelene Pearson
“We’ve been friends for a good 17 years or so,” Alexi Kaye tells The Point about her connection with Miriam Lieberman.
Kaye has called the Central Coast home since 2019. Prior to the pandemic she was teaching children and adults both singing and piano – two of Alexi Kaye’s great loves.
“For a while now, I’ve wanted to branch out of just doing one on one teaching. I want to bring people together through music in as many ways as possible!” Kaye says. Her first Central Coast project in that direction was to start the Heart and Soul Choir in Kincumber.
“Heart and Soul Choir meets at the Kincumber Neighbourhood Centre every Wednesday evening. We’ve got a core number of about 10 people. A lot of the singers started out as complete beginners, which makes it all the more exciting seeing their progress over the past year or so. Our first self-run performance will be this year in August which we’re super excited about.”
But let’s get back to her connection with Miriam Lieberman, whose singing was described by The Australian newspaper in 2021 as “luscious” and “velvety”.
“Miriam has experienced a lot in life and that certainly comes through her songs. Miriam is such a kind and interesting person, a wonderful friend and an incredibly moving performer. Her voice has such an ease and a depth to it, and her Kora playing is masterful and hypnotising.
“We clicked as soon as we met back at Woodford Folk Festival around 2005 and we’ve been friends ever since. After not seeing each other for a few years (I was in Melbourne and she was in Sydney and Africa raising two children), last year we collaborated on a show with poet Miriam Hechtman (Hechtman is founder of Sydney’s Poetica: https://poeticabondi.com.au/) at the Django Bar in Marrickville – an iconic music venue run by Yaron Hallis who’s just opened a new venue in the Hunter called Qirkz in the Hunter. It was a really special and unique night.”
“This time, at the Kincumber Centre, I’ll be doing my own set of blues/soul and folk type tunes and Miriam will follow with her beautiful set of songs from her many award winning albums. I see this concert as a starting point and a tester in a way for more shows featuring Central Coast musicians and Sydney based musicians in community settings. I’m just so grateful that Miriam is performing for the first one.”
Miriam studied the Kora in West Africa, including learning with Toumani Diabate and his family. Toumani Diabate is an internationally recognised Malian Kora player who has fostered cross-cultural collaboration including the traditions of Flamenco, blues and jazz. The Diabate family have been Kora players and teachers for many generations. Miriam returns regularly to Africa to boost her knowledge and to connect with friends and loved ones.
On the morning of May 6, the same day as the concert, Lieberman will be conducting a ‘Music of the World’ vocal workshop from 10am to 11.30am at Kincumber Neighbourhood Centre.
“Miriam likes to run workshops when she travels to do gigs outside of Sydney. It’s a great way for musicians to connect with more of the community and also a way to supplement their income for gigs, which is not often that lucrative.”
The workshops include vocal and body warmups and simple songs from around the world. Miriam’s teaching repertoire includes West African call and response songs, Ancient Hebrew Psalms and classical Indian vocal warmups.
“Sing out loud and enjoy connecting to the oldest and most innate instrument – your human voice.”
That same evening doors will open at 6pm for the 6.30pm concert featuring Miriam Lieberman and Alexi Kaye.
“This is a family friendly event. Regarding the ticket prices – I wanted the event to have an affordable price. The workshop has a flat price ($22 for adults or $12 for children but free for those eight years and under) but for the gig there is an option for people to pay what they can.”
Music has been a lifelong journey for Alexi. She was born in South Africa’s Capetown but moved back and forth to Australia about five times until she was about 19 and she has been in Australia ever since.
She has mainly been based in Sydney but ended up living in Melbourne for nine years.
“The first time I went to Melbourne, I was on tour with a band. The music culture was palpable. I ended up living there for nine years. In my last year there, I was living in Warberton outside of Melbourne. Then one day while driving home, I got a feeling it was a good time to move back to Sydney and so, I did. Once in Sydney I made my way to the Central Coast with a couple of friends. We put a pen mark on a map and that’s how we decided where to live. “
“I started piano when I was young – I have always loved the instrument but I stopped doing classical lessons after a few years and went more towards singing. “
She completed a Music Arts Degree specialising in Voice performance, at Western Sydney university.
“It was a brilliant degree. It was unique because it focused on 20th Century music and so-called World Music, offering all kinds of ensembles run by experts in their field such as Steel Pan ensemble, Sephardic ensemble to name a few. It also offered musicology with unique perspectives. The course was led by Michael Atherton, who brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm. In the area of performance, the emphasis was on creativity, exploration and collaboration and most of us there at the time went on to be part of a music community in bands, making original music for the next 10 years and more. I have definitely been affected deeply by that feeling of community and collaboration.
“I met my band mates from Extended Family at UWS too. We started playing Mississippi blues together, then after a few years our band became a Zapper like zany blues band that people danced to. After a few years I was in another group who all went to UWS too. We were called KAYA and we formed a few weeks before auditioning for the first X-factor in Australia. We came fourth. That was certainly a learning experience!”
“After both bands stopped I put out a solo album and the launch ended up selling out The Basement (in Sydney). After the launch I left Sydney for six months or so, starting out in Paris with a mini tour of my new album.
“The next album I did was in 2015, a few years after returning to Australia. It was a bit different to the first. It has some spiritual aspects, a feeling of clearing and lightness.
“Then for the first few years while in the Coast, I sang with a band called Crescendo once a week, and loved it. For now, while I work on a new project called ‘Spiritual Blues’, I do gigs here and there as well as a weekly Sunday arvo gig at Avoca Beach Seafoods where I do some chilled out songs on piano and guitar, from 4.30pm to 6.30pm.”
Tickets for the concert and workshop on the 6th of May, are available online:
Gig – https://events.humanitix.com/miriam-lieberman-and-alexi-kaye-at-the-kincumber-neighborhood-centre
Workshop – https://events.humanitix.com/miriam-lieberman-s-vocal-workshop-music-from-around-the-world
