 David Burk David Burk is a multi-instrumentalist performer and composer who specializes in various "world" music styles, including African, Caribbean, Latin and various Middle Eastern music. He counts guitar, bass, oud, cuatro, cavaquinho, tres, saz, mandolin and chumbus among the instruments he plays. David Burk has played at various venues throughout North America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East with performers such as Lorraine Klaasen, Keith Secola, Intergalactic Contemporary Ensemble, Shangoya, Voices of Sepharad, The Georges Lammam Arabic Orchestra, Sattar, Robayat, Ethnic Dance Theatre, Amandla, Cafe Con Leche, Mpambara, Out of Africa, Fuego Flamenco, RaiAction, BraSamba and numerous others.
He has also performed with numerous acts who first made their mark in the formative years of rock music, including the Drifters, the Coasters, Tommy Roe, Peter Noone, Spencer Davis, the Platters, the Marvellettes, Bo Diddley, Frankie Ford, and numerous others.
In 2001, he was awarded a Jerome Travel and Study grant to attend the Arabic Music Retreat at Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts, where he studied with Simon Shaheen, Dr. Ali Jihad Racy and other prominent Arabic music luminaries.
In 2002, he was awarded a Folk Arts Apprenticeship grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board to study oud with Lebenese multi-instrumental master Bassam Saba (of Simon Shaheen's ensemble Qantara).
Working in schools throughout Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, he has co-founded two different education-focused ensembles. Karibuni presents African music and cultural programs, while the group Maqam Ensemble demonstrates these characteristics as they relate to the Arab world. He has further co-founded the "ethno-techno" group Redondo, which contemporizes traditional songs from various cultures around the world via modern "sampling" technology. Since 1988, he has produced over 30 different compact disc releases for various record labels and independent recording artists throughout the Midwestern US.
He maintains a full teaching schedule, and he is also an occasional columnist for GUITAR PLAYER magazine. A busy songwriter with representation in Nashville, Los Angeles, and New York City, his music is featured on the soundtrack of the Hollywood motion picture "Lush" (released February 2002). In 1998 and 1999, he served on an Advisory Panel for Minnesota Arts organization COMPAS. On stage, David Burk has further played with groups who have opened for the likes of Youssou N'Dour, the Mighty Sparrow, Kanda Bongo Man, Burning Spear, Yellowman, Asleep At the Wheel, NRBQ, Beausoliel, and many others.
January 2003
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