Monthly Archive for May, 2009

Live Music: “Tannenberg & Meyer” – Celebrating the art of the jazz duo

Tannenberg & Meyer

Jörg Tannenberg and Sebastian Meyer are two german guys, well educated in jazz who meet to celebrate the art of the duo. Using jazz guitar and double-bass they perform jazz standards, ballads, latin music and their own original compositions. Like ying and yang the two musicians give and take energy to create a overall balance.

Recognised by many of Beijing’s top musicians as the finest jazz duo in town these guys have been playing together for over seven years. Their music is always intriguing on the first hear, and sucks you in, getting incredibly psychedelic towards the end. In short if you like jazz – don’t miss it!

Please see the ‘Upcoming Events’ box on the right of our web page for their next performance. Seen them play before? Please give them a star rating below. Post your reviews in the comments.
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Pink Pimm’s Party at Ginkgo with banging tunes from DJ Gaohu!

Pink Pimm's Party

Summer is here!  What better way to cool down in the stifling heat than with a refreshing glass of Pimm’s, stuffed full of fresh fruit and mint? Join us at Ginkgo this friday night and enjoy glasses of Pimm’s by the glass and pitcher. The dress code is PINK, and those of you that get here before 10pm dressed accordingly will enjoy a free glass of Pimm’s for your trouble! Plus from 10:30pm DJ Gaohu will be playing up a storm on the decks! We hope to see you then – in PINK!

What’s Pimm’s you ask? See here for some education!

Live Music: “Amine Kouider” – Algerian Rai with Reggae beats, French Lullabies & Spanish Rumbas

Amine Kouider

Join us at Ginkgo on Thursday 4th June from 9:30pm for live music from from guitarist Amine Kouider who is Beijing for a few weeks. Born in Algiers, Algeria and currently living in the US, Amine has been singing for as long as he could speak. At the age of 4 he was nicknamed “cassette tape” because of his non-stop singing!

His music blends graceful Algerian Rai music with Reggae beats, French Lullabies with Spanish Rumbas. Amine sings in English, French, Arabic, Berber and Spanish. His acoustic performance will include original songs and covers from Manu Chao, Khaled, Bob Marley, George Moustaki and others. Don’t miss him before he leaves town!

UPDATE – Amine will be joined by the Australian percussionist, Zac Courtney, on Djembe.

Drink Spotlight: Pimm’s No. 1 – The quintessential English summer drink

Pimm'sNothing beats a glass of Pimms on a hot summer’s day! The British beverage is almost as much a tradition as the cup of tea, and in the Summer months the drink is downed by the gallon, popular at sporting events like Wimbledon fortnight and Henley Reggata.

Origin and History of Pimms
In the early 1840s, James Pimm, landlord of an oyster bar in London’s financial district began selling a health tonic called Pimm’s No 1 Cup, the ‘cup’ being a contemporary reference to the tankard in which a drink was served. Using gin, quinine and a secret mixture of herbs, James Pimm served up the brew as an aid to digestion. Patrons would eat his fresh oysters and then down a chaser of Pimm’s. Previously gin alone had been offered but Pimm added the spices to make it more palatable and less harsh for his customers.

In 1859, backed by some of his well-heeled clientele, Mr Pimm began marketing Pimm’s No 1 commercially, and during the late 19th Century it took off among the bon viveurs of English fashionable society, and was soon being distributed to wherever the sun didn’t set, reportedly making it as far as the officer’s mess in Khartoum, Sudan.

After the Second World War, Pimms extended their range, using a number of other spirits as bases for new cups. Scotch lent its name to No. 2 cup while No. 3 used brandy, No. 4 rum, No. 5 rye and No. 6 vodka. Of these sequels, the vodka cup and brandy (now called Winter) are the only ones in production while original No. 1 cup still reigns supreme in popularity. During a Wimbledon fortnight, some 80,000 half-pints of Pimm’s No 1 Cup are sold to punters who should be watching tennis! 

While a number of variations exist, by far the most popular way to serve Pimm’s is with lots of fresh fruit and mint, over ice and topped up with lemonade. Enjoy a Pimm’s at Ginkgo this Summer by glass (35 RMB) and large pitcher (150 RMB).

More about Pimm’s can be found on their website here.

Live Music: “Ismat” – ‘East meets west’ fusing of traditional Xinjiang folk influences with Flamenco!

Ismat
Ismat, are without question the finest Xinjiang act in Beijing! They have been playing up a storm around the city for the last few years and have built up a loyal following, and for good reason -  their enthusiastic playing style, get up and go attitude and energetic rhythms always get the crowd buzzing! Their style merges traditional Xinjiang folk influences with the speed and strummed guitars of flamenco in a truly fascinating hybrid of Chinese and Western folk music. Be sure not to miss them next time they perform at Ginkgo!

You can view a video clip of them in action here.

Please see the ‘Upcoming Events’ box on the right of our web page for their next performance. Seen them play before? Please give them a star rating below. Post your reviews in the comments.
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Drink Spotlight: Grasovka – Polish Bison Grass Vodka

Grasovka (Zubrovka)The specific character of this Polish vodka comes from its delicate bison grass flavour – every bottle contains an individual blade of bison grass. The plant grows only in the woods of the national park of Bialowieza on the border between Poland and White Russia. The extremely rare wild European bison are found there as well, hence the name. Numerous attempts to cultivate bison grass in other areas in the world failed, so each blade of bison grass in a bottle of Grasovka is a present from Polish nature!

The product name “vodka” originates from the Old Polish language and was derived from the word “woda” – translated “little water”. Traditionally, vodka was distilled in Poland, Russia, Finland and Sweden. To this day, it is unclear whether the first vodka was made in Russia or Poland; both countries claim to have invented it  and used the cereal-based distillates as medicine.

Historically the alcohol content of vodka was not very high, and combining the distilled liquor with herbs, roots and grasses (in the case of Zubrowka’s vodka) was more usual. Only in the 18th century did vodka became a pure and clear spirit.

We invite you to try Grasovka on your next visit to Ginkgo, as a shot or with a mixer. The delicate flavour from the bison grass wins converts every time!

Live Music: “Frederick” – The Dalian songmeister returns to Beijing

Frederick Live at GinkgoThose of you that missed Frederick on his last visit to Ginkgo will be pleased to hear that he will be returning to Beijing this month to perform live at Ginkgo on Thursday 21st May from 9:30pm.

Frederick, commonly known as 弗雷德 (pinyin: Fu Lei De), is a European singer-songwriter living in Dalian, China. Known for live improvisations, flipping and sometimes even breaking his guitar during shows, Frederick’s atmosphere comes directly from streets and underground bars where he honed his skills in America, Europe and China.

Frederick has performed more than 450 gigs and concerts in the USA (Los Angeles, Orange County, Washington DC), China (Beijing, Dalian, Tianjin) and Europe (Paris, Munich, Barcelona, French Riviera).

Discography : 3 EPs, actually working on his first album, with songs in Chinese.

Influences : The Doors, Jack Johnson, 周杰伦, John Lee Hooker & Green Day.

He is currently promoting his 3rd EP ‘Human Planes’, and working on his first album.

More information on his music can be found on his website here where you can download some of his songs for free.

We hope to see you at Ginkgo for another great evening of live music.

Joint Birthday Party for the ‘Pride of Ginkgo’ Rod & Nico

Nico & Rod's Birthday @ Ginkgo
Join us tonight from 8pm to celebrate the joint birthday’s of the ‘Pride of Ginkgo’ Nico Pellissier & Rod Hope. We will also be firing up the barbecue to serve up some fresh kill!

To help us with judging numbers please RSVP on Facebook here.

Come and enjoy outside drinking on the Ginkgo Roof Garden

The Ginkgo Roof Garden
We are pleased to announce that after a week of hard work the Ginkgo roof garden is now open. Come down and enjoy a drink al fresco – perfect for these sunny afternoons! Thanks to TVD for the photo and to our beautiful models!

Live Music: “Jess Meider” – The Beijing singer-songwriter performs acoustic with her band

Jess Meider - Songwriter

Next Performance: Thursday 19th November 2009 – 9:30pm (featuring songs from her new album)

New York born, Jess Meider is well-known for her musical talent and effervescent performances. The Berklee college of music graduate has been performing in Beijing for the last few years. Her repertoire includes jazz improvisation with her quartet to her electronic drum’n'base band “Junglecat”. Now however Jess is getting back to her most acoustic format – the songwriter.

Join Jess Meider (guitar, vocals), Zac Courtney (percussion) and Sarah Vossler (backing vocals) for a night of storytelling acoustic musica – featuring a decade of her songs (including brand new tunes!).



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