Asian Jazz Network » India

Rez Abassi – Guitar

admin — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 16:32:13 +0000

Born on the Indian sub-continent, removed at the age of four to the driving sounds of Southern California, schooled at the University of Southern California and the Manhattan School of Music in jazz and classical music, as well as a pilgrimage in India under the tutorial of master percussionist, Ustad Alla Rakha, Rez Abbasi is a vivid synthesis of all the above stated influences and genres.

Making New York home for the past 15 years, Rez Abbasi is considered by many to be one of the foremost modern jazz guitar players on todays scene. He has developed a unique sound both as a composer and an instrumentalist and has honed his skills with performances through out the world including multiple tours in Europe, Canada, the U.S., Mexico
and India. He has performed and recorded with many greats including, Grammy winner Ruth Brown, Peter Erskine, Kenny Werner, Barre Phillips, Tim Hagans, Marc Johnson, Billy Hart, Marvin ‘Smitty’ Smith, Gary Thomas, Rick Margitza, DD Jackson, Dave Douglas, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Tony Malaby, George Brooks, Pandit Ronu Majumdar, Pandit Kadri Gopalnath, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Greg Osby and a host of others.

Among Rez’s other creative projects is his long-standing association with bassist David Phillips, drummer Tony Moreno and alto saxophonist John O’Gallagher in the highly acclaimed, collective ensemble, “Freedance”. Rez is also musical director and producer for Indian/Canadian Juno winning vocalist Kiran Ahluwalia’s ensemble. He also plays an integral role in Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Indo-Pak Trio and Dakshani Ensemble, Dave Pietro’s Quintet plus Sunny Jain’s Collective among others.

With five albums of original compositions under his belt, Abbasi continues to garner new groups of musicians to help his musical vision come to life. His 2005 recording Snake Charmer has created a
stir in the music world partly due to his organic, original approach in blending two complex musical genres together, namely jazz and Indian music. 20th Century Guitar reviewed the CD as, “One of the best examples yet of how to merge Indian music with jazz…Snake Charmer really breaks new ground.” In 2006, Rez achieved even greater heights with the follow up to Snake Charmer, Bazaar.

Bazaar, on the prestigious Zoho Music Label, continues the groups journey through uncharted territory and achieves results unparalleled in todays jazz/world music scene. Rez makes wise use of his fellow player’s talents to create a larger sphere of sound. Besides Gary Versace on organ and Dan Weiss on drums and tabla, Kiran Ahluwalia returns as a central member of the group. In her own group, Ahluwalia focuses on the Indian genres of ghazal and Punjabi folk music. And in it Abbasi hews closely to Indian musical conventions. On Bazaar, however, he and she and the group stretch way out.

Vijay Iyer named the #1 Rising Star Jazz Artis & Composer for 2007

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 14:23:10 +0000

Vijay Iyer has been named the #1 Rising Star Jazz Artist and #1 Rising Star Composer in the 2007 Downbeat Magazine International Critics Poll! This is the second year in a row that he has topped both of those categories.

Rudresh Mahanthappa – Saxophonist

admin — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:34:02 +0000

Guggenheim fellow Rudresh Mahanthappa is one of the most innovative young musicians and composers in jazz today. Named a Rising Star of the alto saxophone by the Downbeat International Critics Poll for the past four years, #2 in 2006, Rudresh has incorporated the culture of his Indian ancestry and has fused myriad influences to create a truly groundbreaking artistic vision. As a performer, he leads/co-leads seven groups to critical acclaim. His most recent release for Pi Recordings Codebook (September 26, 2006) was named one of the Top Jazz Albums of 2006 by The Village Voice, Jazztimes, and The Denver Post to name only a few and received rave reviews from Downbeat, Jazztimes, wired.com and Science Magazine. In Europe, Codebook received the “Choc” (highest) rating in France’s Jazzman, 4 stars in the UK’s Jazzwise, and received the “Bollino di Marzo” from Italy’s Musica Jazz. This album also reached #7 on US jazz radio charts and #1 on Canadian jazz radio charts. His previous quartet recording Mother Tongue on Pi Recordings (US release 2004, international release 2005) received 4 stars in DOWNBEAT and was named one of Top Ten Jazz CDs of 2004 by the Chicago Tribune, Jazztimes, Coda, All About Jazz, and Jazzmatazz and was additionally recognized as one of the top jazz albums of 2005 by several European publications including the UK’s Jazz Review. As a saxophonist, Mahanthappa has achieved international recognition performing regularly at jazz festivals and clubs worldwide. He has also worked as a sideman with such jazz luminaries as David Murray, Steve Coleman, Jack DeJohnette, Samir Chatterjee, Von Freeman, Tim Hagans, Fareed Haque, Vijay Iyer, Howard Levy, David Liebman, Greg Osby, and Dr. Lonnie Smith. As a composer, Rudresh has received commission grants from the Rockefeller Foundation MAP Fund, American Composers Forum, Chamber Music America, and the New York State Council on the Arts to develop new work. Mahanthappa holds a Bachelors of Music Degree in jazz performance from Berklee College of Music and a Masters of Music degree in jazz composition from Chicago’s DePaul University. He now teaches at The New School University. Rudresh Mahanthappa currently lives in New York where he is clearly regarded as an important and influential voice in the jazz world. Rudresh uses Vandoren reeds exclusively. Mahanthappa is also a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow.

Rudresh uses Vandoren products exclusively.