EVENTS
taste in music ICELAND
MAY 21, 2023
AN EVENING OF FOOD AND MUSIC
ft. CHEF STEFAN ELI STEFANSSON (PERLAN)
LA PRIMAVERA - HARPA
REYKJAVIK, ICELAND
taste in music 3
JUNE 29, 2022 Gather 5pm Dinner 6pm
AN EVENING OF FOOD AND MUSIC
ft. CHEF RANDY RUCKER (RIVER TWICE)
CHEF YEHUDA SICHEL (HUDA)
& CHEF MIKEY MCCANN (DIZENGOFF)
HILL GIRT FARM / CHADDS FORD, PA
It all started when…
magical seeds were planted into my head by multiple friends, musicians, and industry associates to do a piano album. When I finally accepted the challenge and after two years of writing and producing, I announced this new project; an acoustic trio of grand piano, upright bass and drums. We released a full length album in early 2019.
As I began thinking of a venue for the fist perfomance of this new project back in 2018, I wanted it to be vibey and fun. Having the debut performance in the Philadelphia region was important to me, as this album's production was a local production. The musicians are all prominent Philly based musicians. The studio (Range Records) is a neighborhood studio. The principle engineer on the album, Will Maher, my right hand man and co-pilot, began splitting his time between the studio and a friend's farm. He would come back to the studio on Monday, after hauling bins of fresh picked watermelon and cantaloupe, with stories and pictures.
A prominent fixture on the farm is the barn, a structure that dates back to the 1600's (with updates since) where they began doing summer Field to Fork dinners with local chefs using fresh vegetables grown on farm. This is where I decided to do the first performance of this new project. The juxtaposition of bringing a grand piano into a barn was appealing to me, as its complimentary to the setting, yet simultaneously makes no sense without context.
Chef Yehuda Sichel and I first met at his restaurant, Abe Fisher, several years ago. We have a mutual admiration for each other's craft. I was thrilled to pair his culinary creations with my music in an incredibly serene setting as part of the first Taste in Music.
Since then, SPAGA has toured nationally in support of our debut album, including stops at prestigious jazz festivals. Taste in Music is now its 3rd year and has also evolved to include a collaborative effort of Chefs including Mikey McCann (Dizengoff) and Randy Rucker (River Twice). Randy actually attended the first Taste in Music, which is where we met right before the opening of River Twice. The first time my wife and I dined at his restaurant, we knew he was an exceptional chef and a brilliant addition to the Philadelphia culinary scene. We have been looking to collaborate since and after seeing this year’s menu, I couldn’t be more excited.
-Aron Magner
