Border Crossing has been performing throughout the Pacific Northwest for the past 20 years, staying true to their vision, which is to bring together music and musical influences from many cultures and to perform songs representing a wide spectrum of world music. Karen Kitchen, Native American vocalist from the Osage Tribe, Peter Dammann, Fred Hard and Israel Annoh of Border Crossing are a treat to their Portland, OR audiences. Border Crossing band members bring a great variety of musical experience to their common pursuit of this goal. Karen Kitchen, Karen Kitchen (one of the hottest Native American vocalists on the U.S. music scene) Peter Dammann, Fred Hard, Israel Annoh are pleased to offer free sound samples.



Leader and Vocalist
Karen Kitchen, a Native American of the Osage Tribe, grew up in Oklahoma. Native American vocalists like Karen Kitchen are a treasure. Always musically mindful of her own culture and alert to influences from many other musical sources, Karen eventually found herself in Paris under the sway of Argentine exile Mercedes Sosa, whose music she performs to this day. Karen - who sings in French, Spanish, Portuguese and several Native American Vocables- has a truly beautiful voice and instantly moves her audience with the genuine emotion of her performances. Karen recently starred in the Portland Children’s Theater production of Sacagawea at the Keller Auditorium. Karen also has a long history of collaboration and performance with the late songwriter Dave Carter. Karen Kitchen provides a soulful dining adventure. Wakomini, Woman of SunWater. Peter Dammann, Fred Hard, Israel Annoh, Karen Kitchen


Guitarist
Peter Dammann, is a musical wizard who moves easily from playing lead guitar in a major blues band (he has been for many years Paul deLay’s guitar soloist, a gig that has taken him to major festivals all over the U.S. and Europe), to exploration of the classical and jazz repertoires. He is a particular master of the complex melodies and rhythms found in the Latin American music that Border Crossing loves to perform. Peter Dammann Karen Kitchen, Peter Dammann, Fred Hard, Israel Annoh


Bassist
Fred Hard has had a long career in Jazz. Born in New Orleans, he played in swing bands in the Midwest in the ‘50s and came to Portland to teach at Reed College in 1962. In 1970 he left his academic career to pursue music, and has played in innumerable jazz groups in Portland since that time. He provides a grooving and powerful foundation for the Border Crossing sound. Karen Kitchen, Peter Dammann, Fred Hard, Israel Annoh


Percussionist
Israel Annoh, who emigrated to the U.S. from Ghana in the 1980s, frequently joins the group on drums, bringing an extraordinary facility with a full array of exotic percussion instruments, as well as with the full drum set that commonly provides the backbone for jazz, blues and rock bands. Widely respected in his native Ghana, Israel has become a huge asset in many of Portland’s finest musical groups, including the Michael Allen Harrison Band (with which he has performed for 11 years), and the Northwest African Ballet. Karen Kitchen, Peter Dammann, Fred Hard, Israel Annoh

Over its long career Border Crossing, in addition to providing music for the soundtrack of Gus Van Sant’s first film, Mala Noche, has played numerous concerts and festivals throughout the Northwest, including Portland’s Art Quake and Rose Festivals; Seattle’s prestigious Bumbershoot Festival; concerts on San Juan and Orcas islands; and annual Christmas concerts at Oregon’s premier resorts, Salishan Lodge on the coast, and Skamania Lodge in the Gorge. Border Crossing has performed at Portland’s Old Church, at the 1999 Indian Art Northwest festival, as part of the Pueblo å Pueblo benefit for the victims of Hurricane Mitch, for thousands of cyclists participating in Cycle Oregon, at the Taste of the Nation benefit at Keller Auditorium, and for numerous wedding receptions, political fundraisers, corporate parties and other private events. Their recordings - Border Crossing, Noël Nouvelet, and Heart of Winter, Promise of Spring - have received airplay on public radio throughout the region. Karen Kitchen, Peter Dammann, Fred Hard, Israel Annoh

Artist Statement Festival Performance - Border Crossing

Border Crossing takes the audience on a musical tour of the globe, visiting the Brazilian rain forests where sambas were born; the Argentine pampas, where tangos took root; the plains of the Dakotas, where Native American hunters sang riding songs; the Mississippi River Delta, which gave birth to the blues; the Loire where gypsies sang French chansons. Karen Kitchen, Peter Dammann, Fred Hard, Israel Annoh

Music Sound Samples
International, international music, la música internacional, musique internationale, World Beat, Blues, Jazz, Eclectic, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Portuguese, Native American, Christmas Music, Christmas Songs