Bethany Yarrow and Rufus Cappadocia are a cello & voice duo from Brooklyn, New York who move together through a sonic universe of transcendent invocations rooted in the spiritual musics of the Americas. Deeply influenced by ceremonial music from around the world their performances are like watching two spirits weave a river of song, prayer, and dance — of improvised melodies, ancestral incantations and ecstatic groove. Bethany & Rufus are also deeply committed to social justice and earth activism, performing often in the streets at demonstrations, rallies, and concerts for change all over the world.
Rufus, a world renowned cellist, is highly acclaimed for his cross cultural collaborations, taking the cello into previously unexplored realms. He has collaborated with a wide spectrum of world music artists. Through his work with West African, Haitian Vodou and Arabic Music his unique musical style traces the lineage of American music back to its root sources. Rufus is also well known for his improvisation based solo cello repertoire and critically acclaimed CD “Songs for Cello” (Daqui Records).
Rufus met Bethany in 1999 at a gig at the legendary Knitting Factory in downtown Manhattan and they quickly formed a deep musical partnership. As the daughter of folk legend Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul & Mary) Bethany absorbed a huge amount of traditional American folk music, blues and spirituals in her early childhood which permanently rooted her in the voices of her ancestors. Throughout her life she has continued to learn and study traditional songs and prayer music from all over the world. Bethany’s tour-de-force stage presence, mesmerizing voice and deep knowledge of the material help her, like a musical medium, to transmit the truth, beauty and prophetic messages of these songs.
For this performance Bethany & Rufus are honored to be joined by Moroccan percussionist and oud player Brahim Fribgane, a master musician who has performed with many great artists at festivals throughout the world including: Dr. L. Subramaniam, Leni Stern, Vishal Vaid, Club d’Elf, Sami Yusuf, Hassan Hakmoun, Will Calhoun, Adam Rudolph, Zakir Hussein, Giovanni Hidalgo, Malika Zarra, Hamid Drake, Selva Ganesh, Steve Gorn, Larry Coryell, Reggie Workman, Hubert Laws, Corey Segal, Adam Deitch, Pete Seeger, Amit Chattergee, Medeski Martin & Wood, to name a few. Brahim has recorded with Harry Belafonte, Paula Cole, Club d’Elf, Jamsheid Sharifi, Leni Stern, DJ Logic, Malika Zarra, Morphine, among other talented artists.
