Samora Pinderhughes: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

Samora Pinderhughes: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert with tags npr, npr music, national public radio, live, performance, tiny desk, tiny desk concert, tony desk, tiny concert

The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music's Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It's the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space.

Nikki Birch | April 15, 2022

The opening piano notes are barely sufficient warning to brace for the sweet and powerful voices that transport us to Samora Pinderhughes' Tiny Desk (home) concert, shot on film. "The Cry" heralds our journey into the Bay Area native's sophomore album, GRIEF. The vocalists move briefly out of frame for "Masculinity," a probing, open letter that addresses masculine stereotypes with directness and compassion. The song blooms beautifully, with Pinderhughes accompanied by strings, a background chorus, and his sister, renowned flutist Elena Pinderhughes.

Between tunes, Pinderhughes greets us and shares that the setting for this Tiny Desk (home) concert is his exhibition, "The Healing Project," at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Five years in the making, the project explores trauma and healing from structural violence with conversations, film, music and art created by incarcerated artists, including the artist Pitt Panther. Pinderhughes then plays "Holding Cell," a dedication to those behind the walls. For his next song, Pinderhughes leads us to a blue space, a memorial shrine with candles, offerings and dedications, where we encounter the haunted pleas of "Grief."

Pinderhughes' ability to be vulnerable makes his music incredibly intimate. He reminds us of this quiet strength once again as he introduces the last song in his set, "Process," with some final thoughts: "I think a lot of times we get a message that we should just succeed or triumph over something that's difficult in our life, particularly things like depression or grief or anxiety. But sometimes it's about living alongside those things and just taking it one day at a time."

SET LIST

"The Cry / Masculinity"

"Holding Cell"

"Grief"

"Process"

MUSICIANS

Samora Pinderhughes: vocals, piano, keyboard

Nio Levon: vocals, vocal arrangements

Elliott Skinner: vocals, guitar

Jehbreal Muhammad Jackson: vocals

Dani Murcia: vocals

Elena Pinderhughes: flute

Clara Kim: violin

Giancarlo Latta: violin

Carly Scena: viola

Saul Richmond-Rakerd: cello

CREDITS

Director: Christian Padron

Cinematographer: Jon Harrison

Audio Engineer: Jack DeBoe

Producers: Christian Padron, Samora Pinderhughes, Jesse Sachs, Hana Mogulescu

Creative Direction: Samora Pinderhughes, & Christian Padron

Editor: Christian Padron

1st AC: Linhdan Le

2nd AC: Nam Anh Nguyen

Gaffer: Carlos Gonzalez

PD/Grip: Irene Peng

Shot on Kodak Film

Filmed in "The Healing Project" exhibition at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Visual Pieces in Exhibition by Samora Pinderhughes, Pitt Panther, Emeka Ekwelum, Josh Begley, Christian Padron, Vashni Korin, Daniel Pfeffer, Christopher Burch, Nico Cary, Eli Marienthal, Raquel Pinderhughes, Dwayne Betts and Titus Kaphar.

TINY DESK TEAM

Producer: Bob Boilen

Video Producer: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant

Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin

Tiny Production Team: Bobby Carter, Michael Zamora, Maia Stern, Ashley Pointer

Executive Producer: Keith Jenkins

Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#nprmusic #tinydesk #samorapinderhughes