Harris Eisenstadt / Mivos String Quartet - Whatever Will Happen That Will Also Be (NoBusiness Records September 2017)

Harris Eisenstadt's compositions

performed by Mivos String Quartet

SIDE A

MOVEMENT I

MOVEMENT II

SIDE B

MOVEMENT III

MOVEMENT IV

Credits and release info

All compositions by Harris Eisenstadt, Heresy Music (SOCAN)

Recorded on 6th September, 2015 by Marc Urselli at EastSide Sound, NYC

Mixed by Marc Urselli

Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios

Design by Oskaras Anosovas

Produced by Harris Eisenstadt

Executive producer - Danas Mikailionis

Executive co-producer - Valerij Anosov

NoBusiness Records NBLP 107

Release year - 2017 

Edition of 300 copies

Bobby Bradford / Hafez Modirzadeh Quartet - Live at the Magic Triangle (NO BUSINESS RECORDS September 2017)

Bobby Bradford – cornet

Hafez Modirzadeh – tenor saxophone

Ken Filiano – bass, effects

Royal Hartigan – drums

SIDE A

SHE

SILLHOUETTE

BAYRAKTAR

SIDE B

WADSWORTH FALLS

ASHES

Recorded live on 31st March, 2016 at Bezanson Recital Hall as part of the Magical Triangle Jazz Series (Glenn Siegel - Founding Director). Concert produced by the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Recorded by Dan Richardson

Edited and mixed by Andersonix.com

Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios

Design by Oskaras Anosovas

Diagram by Hafez Modirzadeh

Produced by Hafez Modirzadeh

Executive Producer – Danas Mikailionis

Co-Executive Producer  – Valerij Anosov

NoBusiness Records NBLP 108

Release year - 2017 

Edition of 500 copies

Mark Dresser - Modicana (NoBusiness Records September 2017)

Mark Dresser - bass

SIDE A

INVOCATION UMEA

FOR GLEN MOORE

THREADED

SIDE B

HOBBY LOBBY HORSE

MODICANA TEATRO GRECO

MODICANA SHAKERATU NON ZUCCHERATU

MODICANA PANETTIERE

All compositions by Mark Dresser (Del Dresser Music / ASCAP)

„Invocation Umea” and „Threaded” recorded live on 29th October, 2016 at Umea Jazz Festival / sound engineer - Johan Hyttnäs / producer - Maurice Mogard

Other compositions recorded on 17th February, 2017 at University of California, San Diego, Department of Music, Studio A by Andrew Munsey

Mixed and mastered by Andrew Munsey

Cover painting “Pavilion of the Eight Heavens” by Bahar Behbahani - BaharBehbahani.com

Design by Oskaras Anosovas

Producer - Mark Dresser

Executive Producer - Danas Mikailionis

Co-Executive Producer  - Valerij Anosov

NoBusiness Records NBLP 109

Release year - 2017 

Edition of 300 copies

Liudas Mockūnas - Hydro (NoBusiness Records September 2017)

Liudas Mockūnas - clarinet, water prepared soprano, soprano and tenor saxophones, percussion

SIDE A

HYDRATION SUITE part 1

HYDRATION SUITE part 2

HYDRATION SUITE part 3

HYDRATION SUITE part 4

HYDRATION SUITE part 5

HYDRATION SUITE part 6

HYDRATION SUITE part 7

SIDE B

REHYDRATION SUITE part 1

REHYDRATION SUITE part 2

REHYDRATION SUITE part 3

DEHYDRATION

All compositions by Liudas Mockūnas (KODA)

Tracks  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 on side one and track 3 on side two recorded at the Latvian National Radio Studio by Ivars Ozols  in November 2015

Tracks 1, 2 and 4 on side two recorded by Arūnas Zujus at MAMA studios in  December 2016

Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios

Cover photo by Rita Stankevičiūtė

Design by Oskaras Anosovas

Produced by Liudas Mockūnas and Danas Mikailionis

Co-producer  - Valerij Anosov

NoBusiness Records NBLP 110

Release year - 2017 

Edition of 300 copies

TON-KLAMI: Midori Takada / Kang Tae Hwan / Masahiko Satoh - Prophecy of Nue (NoBusiness Records September 2017)

Midori Takada - marimba, percussion

Kang Tae Hwan - alto saxophone

Masahiko Satoh - piano

1. Prophecy of Nue 21:51

2. Manifestation 16:50

3. Incantation 16:23

Recorded live on the 27th May, 1995 at Design Plaza Hofu, Yamaguchi, Japan by Takeo Suetomi / Concert produced by Takeo Suetomi

Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios

Photos by Akihiro Matsumoto, Takeo Suetomi and Yuko Tanaka

Liner notes by Takeo Suetomi and Koji Kawai

Design by Oskaras Anosovas

Produced by Danas Mikailionis and Takeo Suetomi (Chap Chap Records)

Release coordinator - Kenny Inaoka (Jazz Tokyo)

Co-producer - Valerij Anosov

NoBusiness Records NBCD 102

Release year - 2017

Yedo Gibson / Hernâni Faustino / Vasco Trilla - Chain (NoBusiness Records September 2017)

Yedo Gibson - baritone and soprano saxophone

Hernâni Faustino - double bass

Vasco Trilla - drums and percussion

1. Mesh 8:44

2. Gear 8:15

3. Lock 10:40

4. Axis 11:45

5. Pivot 13:59

6. Tooth 8:03

All music by Gibson, Faustino and Trilla

Recorded on the 14th June, 2016 at Scratch Built Studio, Lisbon by John Klima

Mixed by Rafal Drewniany

Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios

Photo of Yedo Gibson by Peter Gannushkin

Photos of Hernâni Faustino and Vasco Trilla by Nuno Martins

Design by Oskaras Anosovas

Produced by Danas Mikailionis

Co-producer - Valerij Anosov

NoBusiness Records NBCD 101

Release year - 2017

Tubis Trio - The Truth (CHALLENGE RECORDS 2017)

After the release of two live albums and four years of giving concerts throughout Europe, the Tubis Trio finally makes its debut for Challenge Records. The polish trio is known for their narrative style, which some compare to the famous E.S.T. (Esbjörn Svensson Trio), and brilliant technique that reminds you of Brad Mehldau and The Bad Plus. The album has been released 8 september.

The ten tracks on this album are all written by pianist Maciej Tubis and recorded with the two other members of the trio, Paweł Puszczało (double bass) and Przemysław Pacan (drums). The title The Truth refers to authentic approach to music of the trio. In the liner notes of the album, they let us know: "We are unable to tell lies, not through our words and not through our music. it is possible to tell a story that is beautiful but fictitious. Yet the stories that really tug at the heartstrings are the true, fact-based ones, even if they are simple.

This is our story, these are our emotions. There is no reasoned reckoning, hence the spontaneous reactions of the audience during our concerts. We want to share our joy of music-making with others.

Jazz or not, it doesn’t matter. What matters is the truth." The result is an emotional album, balanced between various genres of music, offering an easy listening experience. 

The Tubis Trio was formed in 2006 by musicians from Łódź and Warsaw. The original bass player, Marcin Lamch, was replaced by Puszczało. The live album Live in Luxembourg from 2009 was received particularly well, and some critics even described it as one of the most important jazz records of the year.

© 2017 - NewArts International / Challenge Records Int.

Malija - Instinct (EDITION RECORDS 2107)

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Malija, the sophisticated genre-bending all-star trio that received phenomenal acclaim for their debut album 'The Day I Had Everything' [2015], releases Instinct today, an album that showcases the sheer brilliance, interplay and depth of musicianship of three of the most celebrated and adhered Jazz musicians in Europe - Mark Lockheart, Jasper Høiby and Liam Noble.

"A great trio...loved them for a while...on the ever-wonderful Edition Records." Jamie Cullum, BBC Radio 2 (UK)

"Messrs Lockheart, Høiby and Noble have again conjured-up an album of fascinating and often mesmeric tunes, all of which are seamlessly interwoven originals." All ABout Jazz (UK)

"Dominated by Lockheart and his instruments, Instinct, a collective album, is a small pearl that is highly recommended." Focus/ Le Vif (Belgium)

"Danish bass bassist Jasper Hoiby (Phronesis), British saxophonist Mark Lockheart and pianist Liam Noble are and remain top musicians in the European jazz scene. The evidence is optimal with Instinct , the second album of their trio Malija." Written in Music (The Netherlands)

"Høiby holds a rhythmic tempo, embraced by Lockheart's shining saxophone and Noble's piano. The trio shares the composer's duties between them. They each believe in the trio and have made music that is filled with temperate layers." Jazznyt (DENMARK)

New Sunnyside Releases & Post Summer Sale!

Back to school got you bummed?

Hear some new Sunnyside Releases as your Summer winds down!

Check out our recent releases!

Out today (9/8)!

Vector Families - For Those About To Jazz/Rock, We Salute You

The diverse Minneapolis/St. Paul music scene has spawned an incredible array of brilliant musicians. Like many smaller markets, the Twin Cities seem to breed multi-dimensional musicians who are versed in many styles and are willing to try anything.

Vector Families is a perfect example of this ethos, as three generations of forward thinking musicians have converged to deliver For Those About to Jazz/Rock, We Salute You. Drummer/composer Dave King is no stranger to the world of collaboration and eclecticism. Vector Families features King alongside guitarist Dean Granros, saxophonist Brandon Wozniak and bassist Anthony Cox.

Out Now!

The Sunnyside Catalog will be on Sale @ 20% off at our Bandcamp page until Friday, Sept. 15th!

Purchase Here:

Enter This Code At Checkout:

backtoschool

Upcoming Sunnyside Releases:

Sept. 15 - Kirk Lightsey & Harold Danko - Shorter By Two (Remastered)

Sept. 22 - Jay Clayton & Fred Hersch - Beautiful Love (Remastered)

Sept. 22 - Alan Ferber Big Band - Jigsaw

Sept. 29 - Martial Solal & Dave Liebman - Masters In Bordeaux

Sept. 29 - Vince Mendoza & WDR Big Band - Homecoming

Oct. 6 - Guilhem Flouzat Trio - A Thing Called Joe

Oct. 13 - Norma Winstone - Manhattan In The Rain (Reissue)

Oct. 13 - Norma Winstone - Like Song, Like Weather (Reissue)

Oct. 13 - Norma Winstone - Well Kept Secret (Reissue)

Nov. 3 - Jay Clayton & Kirk Nurock - Unraveling Emily

Nov. 10 - Clovis Nicolas - Freedom Suite Ensuite

Sunnyside Artists Live:

Sept. 9 - Dave King Trucking Co. @ Guilt & Company - Vancouver, WA

Sept. 10 - Dave King Trucking Co. @ Mississippi Studios - Portland, OR

Sept. 11 - Dave King Trucking Co. @ Willamette University - Salem, OR

Sept. 11 - Dan Tepfer & Miguel Zenon @ Mezzrow - NYC

Sept. 12 - Dave King Trucking Co. @ Yoshi's - Oakland, CA

Sept. 12 - Logan Strosahl Team @ Cornelia St. Café - NYC

Sept. 13 - Dave King Trucking Co. @ Blue Whale - Los Angeles, CA

Sept. 14 - Camille Bertault @ Jazz Standard - NYC

Sept. 14 - Dave King Trucking Co. @ Kuumbwa Jazz - Santa Cruz, CA

Sept. 15 - Dave King Trucking Co. @ Cuesta College - San Luis Obispo, CA

Sept. 15 - Dan Tepfer & Lee Konitz @ Jazz Gallery - NYC

Sept. 17 - Chano Dominguez Trio @ Monterey Jazz Fest - Monterey, CA

Sept. 19 - Adam O'Farrill Stranger Days @ Threes Brewing - Brooklyn, NY

Sept. 21 - 9 Horses @ University of AR Little Rock - Little Rock, AR

Sept. 22-23 - Judy Niemack/Dan Tepfer/Lee Konitz @ Jazz at Kitano - NYC

Sept. 23 - Benny Green @ Lakeshore Music - Tempe, AZ

Sept. 23 - Bill McHenry & Andrew Cyrille @ Hyde Park Jazz Fest - Chicago, IL

Sept. 24 - Benny Green @ Jazz at the "A" Frame - Los Angeles, CA

Sept. 24 - Bill McHenry & Andrew Cyrille @ The Arts & Literature Lab - Madison, WI

Sept. 26 - Bill McHenry & Andrew Cyrille @ Dizzy's Club Coca Cola - NYC

Oct. 1 - 9 Horses @ DePauw University - Greencastle, IN

Oct. 3 - Steve Cardenas @ Jazz Standard - NYC

Oct. 4-7 - Cristina Pato Quartet @ Vanderhoef Studio Theatre - Davis, CA

Oct. 6 - Gregorie Maret @ National Sawdust - Brooklyn, NY

Oct. 6-7 - Alan Ferber Big Band @ Jazz Gallery - NYC

Oct. 13 - Scott Tixier Quartet @ Nimes Metropole - Nimes, France

Oct. 13-15 - Aaron Goldberg @ Sunset/Sunside - Paris, France

Oct. 14 - 9 Horses @ Antenna Cloud Farm - Gill, MA

Oct. 14 - Dan Tepfer & Lee Konitz @ Kennedy Center - Washington, DC

Oct. 14 - Scott Tixier Quartet @ JazzFola Club - Aix en Provence, France

Oct. 17-18 - Alan Ferber Big Band @ Blue Whale - Los Angeles, CA

Oct. 18 - Randy Ingram w/ Drew Gress @ Mezzrow - NYC

Oct. 20 - Scott Tixier Quartet @ Theatre Denis - Hyeres, France

Oct. 21 - Harriet Tubman @ BRIC Jazz Fest - Brooklyn, NY

Oct. 23 - Greg Reitan Trio @ Dizzy's Club Coca Cola - NYC

Oct. 24 - Kevin Hays New Day Trio @ Academiezaal - Truiden, Belgium

Oct. 25 - Kevin Hays New Day Trio @ Altes Pfandhaus - Cologne, Germany

Oct. 26 - Kevin Hays New Day Trio @ Zig Zag Jazz Club - Berlin, Germany

Oct. 27 - Kevin Hays New Day Trio @ Birdland Jazz Club - Neuberg, Germany

Oct. 27 - Scott Tixier Quartet @ Salle Grillen - Colmar, France

Oct. 28-31 - Kevin Hays New Day Trio @ Café Museum - Passau, Germany

Oct. 28 - Scott Tixier Quartet @ Le Cri Du Port - Marseille, France

Nov. 1 - Kevin Hays New Day Trio @ Pizza Express - London, UK

Nov. 1 - Scott Tixier Quartet @ Ronnie Scott's - London, UK

Nov. 3 - Scott Tixier Quartet @ Moods - Zurich, Switzerland

Nov. 4 - Scott Tixier Quartet @ Jazzclub Unterfahrt - Munich, Germany

Este Fim de Semana "PORTA-JAZZ AO PÔR DO SOL" - Feira do Livro do Porto

PORTA - JAZZ AO PÔR DO SOL

Jardins do Palácio de Cristal

- entrada livre -

9-Set-17 18:30h

Susana Santos Silva 'Impermanence'

Susana Santos Silva - trompete

João Pedro Brandão - saxofone alto / flauta

Hugo Raro - piano

Torbjörn Zetterberg - contrabaixo

José Marrucho - bateria

Na música, como na vida, a impermanência das coisas é a única verdade que alimenta o desenvolvimento e a criatividade da nossa existência. Da existência de tudo afinal.

Quando nos apercebemos daquilo que uma coisa é, esta já não o é da mesma forma. Ou somos nós que olhamos para ela de outra maneira. Esta é então a razão pela qual esta música se recria e se transforma a cada momento e nunca se repete.

Impermanence é o 17º disco com Carimbo Porta-Jazz, o primeiro resultante da parceria Guimarães Jazz / Porta-Jazz.

10-Set-17 18:30h

Rui Filipe Freitas Sexteto

Rui Filipe Freitas - vibrafone

João Mortágua - saxofone alto

José Pedro Coelho - saxofone tenor

Eurico Costa - guitarra

Filipe Teixeira - contrabaixo

João Martins - bateria

“Axis Mundi” é o disco de estreia do sexteto liderado pelo vibrafonista Rui Filipe Freitas, e o 32º com Carimbo Porta-Jazz.

Composto por sete temas dos quais seis são composições originais do  lider, “Axis Mundi” surge como pretexto para uma jornada jazzística feita de sobriedade e êxtase e que tem como fim último a partilha do imaginário musical destes músicos.

PRÓXIMOS CONCERTOS

PORTA-JAZZ AO PÔR DO SOL

17-Set-17 18:30h

Pedro Neves Trio

Pedro Neves - piano

Miguel Ângelo - contrabaixo

Leandro Leonet - bateria

Depois do álbum de estreia “Ausente“, lançado pelo Carimbo Porta-Jazz em 2013 com grande aceitação pela crítica especializada e com distribuição internacional no Japão, Pedro Neves apresenta o seu novo repertório original gravado em Março de 2016 e reunido neste disco. 

"05:21" descreve o primeiro momento do amanhecer. A narrativa do álbum sugere o percurso de alguém que atravessa esta hora do dia recorrentemente, enfrentando um turbilhão de pensamentos e sensações que o levam numa viagem alucinante que apenas termina quando por fim consegue adormecer.

Esta é uma história escrita pela mão do pianista e compositor Pedro Neves, ilustrada por Miguel Ângelo e Leandro Leonet.

05:21 é o 27º disco com Carimbo Porta-Jazz.

Ghost Train Orchestra - Book of Rhapsodies, Vol. II (October 20, 2017 ACCURATE RECORDS)

Ghost Train Orchestra's Book of Rhapsodies, Vol. II

It's Ghost Train Orchestra's fourth album, following their highly acclaimed album Hot Town (2015)

"Carpenter and his little big big band don't just recreate musical museum pieces; they they breathe fire and life into this amazing music."  - DownBeat

"Carpenter is on a mission...rooting out obscurities and tweaking the arrangements until they pop like fireworks." - Burning Ambulance, top ten of 2013

"This is an amazing ensemble, playing music like no others these days, creating their own electrifying musical gold." - Andrew Velez, New York City Jazz Record

Book of Rhapsodies Vol. II is Ghost Train Orchestra's fourth album, following their highly acclaimed album Hot Town (2015). In this adventurous installment, Ghost Train Orchestra performs Brian Carpenter's surreal and modernistic re-imaginings of five unusual ensembles from the late 1930s: The Hal Herzon Septet, The Alec Wilder Octet, The John Kirby Sextet, The Raymond Scott Quintette, and Reginald Foresythe and His New Music.

Decades before composer Gunther Schuller coined the term "Third Stream" to describe a genre straddling the line between jazz and classical music, New York was the epicenter of a new movement of composers whose work seemed to exist outside the margins. In the late 1930s, a group of forward- thinking composers began creating small ensembles with unorthodox instrumentation to realize some of the strangest and most evocative music of the period.

Full of loving attention to detail, contemporary energy and attitude, plus state-of-the-art production, Book of Rhapsodies Vol. II picks up where Book of Rhapsodies left off in 2013, creating a rarely-heard genre of tone poems and chamber music for orchestra and choir. Produced by Brian Carpenter and mixed by Grammy-award winner Danny Blume, the album delivers the rich experience of transporting the listener to the past and using that past to transform the future. Acclaimed artist Noah Woods created the cover and booklet artwork inspired by the many strange and descriptive song titles. Book of Rhapsodies Vol II will be enjoyed by a young audience interested in exploring outside the mainstream of today's rock, pop, and jazz.

All three of Ghost Train Orchestra's previous albums featured on several top ten lists: NPR, New York Jazz Record, Boston Globe, Jazz Times, Burning Ambulance, and Stereophile. After leader Brian Carpenter was interviewed on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross in 2011, their debut album reached the top 10 of the Billboard Jazz charts in the weeks following.

DownBeat raved "Carpenter and his little big big band don't just recreate musical museum pieces; they breathe fire and life into this amazing music."  Burning Ambulance listed Book of Rhapsodies in their top ten of 2013, writing "Carpenter is on a mission...rooting out obscurities and tweaking the arrangements until they pop like fireworks." Of Book ofRhapsodies, Andrew Velez of New York City Jazz Record wrote, "This is an amazing ensemble, playing music like no others these days, creating their own electrifying musical gold."

The Ghost Train Orchestra was formed in 2006; since then the band has performed in New York and festivals and venues across the country, including last year's standing room only show at the Chicago Jazz Festival. Andy Taub at Brooklyn Recording Studio recorded Book of Rhapsodies after a string of monthly shows. Carpenter transcribed the originals and then completely rearranged and reassembled the pieces for orchestra and choir. The album features an outstanding roster of talent: violinist Mazz Swift, alto saxophonist Ben Kono, clarinetist Dennis Lichtman, saxophonist Petr Cancura, trombonist Curtis Hasselbring, tubist Ron Caswell, guitarist Avi Bortnick, bassist Michael Bates, drummer Rob Garcia, and accordionist Rob Reich.

Carpenter is the founder of the Boston-based band Beat Circus that recorded a "Weird American Gothic" trilogy of dark Americana albums. He also leads Brian Carpenter & the Confessions, a rock band formed in Boston with Carpenter as the lead singer and lyricist. In addition, he hosts his radio show Free Association at WZBC-FM Boston College and produces radio documentaries there, including a recent 3-hour show on sound design.

Rez Abbasi - Unfiltered Universe (WHIRLWIND RECORDINGS October 6, 2017)

Guitarist/Composer Rez Abbasi Melds Jazz and South Indian Music with a Bold, Original Vision on Unfiltered Universe, due out October 6

The third part of a trilogy with Abbasi's South Asian-inspired supergroup Invocation, the album features Rudresh Mahanthappa, Vijay Iyer, Johannes Weidenmueller, Dan Weiss and guest cellist Elizabeth Mikhael

"Producing so vivid a music that it can almost be tasted, Abbasi sounds like no one who has gone before him. His compositions are sheer genius." - Raul D'Gama Rose, All About Jazz

"Abbasi creates a sinuous, sometimes haunting and always evocative blend of contemporary jazz and Asia influences." - Time Out NY

Pre-order Unfiltered Universe and receive ‘Thin-King’ as instant download

(click the player below to listen)

It seems natural to refer to the music of Rez Abbasi as a hybrid, given the guitarist/composer's penchant for combining the traditions of South Asian music with his own modern jazz voice. That description ceases to fit as soon as one hears the music, however. In Abbasi's singular approach, this merging of influences feels less like a chimera, a patchwork of distinctive yet still identifiable parts; it is instead an evolution, a wholly new creature that bears distinctive traces of its antecedents yet has a form and beauty all its own.

Such is the case with Abbasi's 12th album, Unfiltered Universe (due out October 6, 2017 on Whirlwind Recordings), the third album in a trilogy exploring different South Asian musics with his stellar quintet Invocation. The band brings together five leading voices in forward-looking jazz, all of whom have extensively studied diverse South Asian traditions, often in collaboration with one another: Abbasi, saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, pianist Vijay Iyer, bassist Johannes Weidenmueller, and drummer Dan Weiss.

Where Invocation's 2008 debut Things To Come highlighted the influences of North Indian Hindustani music with guest vocalist Kiran Ahluwalia, and their 2011 follow-up Suno Suno, the Qawwali music of Abbasi's native Pakistan, Unfiltered Universe takes as its point of departure the Carnatic music of South India. Abbasi's experience with Carnatic music can be traced back at least to Mahanthappa's 2008 release Kinsmen, a collaboration with South Indian saxophonist Kadri Gopalnath that merged jazz and Carnatic musicians, and continued through a 2015 project with the Indian-American Ragamala Dance Company. His studies and listening have persisted throughout the intervening years, allowing him to absorb its influence and create new music under its sway that is far from a literal interpretation of its surface qualities.

The title Unfiltered Universe refers to the way in which a lifetime of globe-spanning influences were allowed to emerge directly from Abbasi's subconscious into his music. "The idea was to operate from my intuition first while creating these compositions and then later use the thought process to manipulate the music, he says. "It's unprocessed and unfiltered, shining a light on the universe within me. It really brought the fruits of my experiences to the forefront."

Such an intuitive approach to composition was a fresh experience for the guitarist, who likens the approach to Jackson Pollock's action painting. "I wanted to let the influences hit the empty canvas and allow that to speak to me as opposed to having a foundational idea of what I was going to create," Abbasi explains. "I didn't want to impose preconceived rhythms or ideas; I wanted to get the essence and energy of what I've taken away from playing with Carnatic musicians and dancers, and to tie that in with everything I've done previously."

To realize the music Abbasi reconvened his quintet Invocation, a supergroup of innovative jazz artists who have explored similar territory in disparate ways in their own work. Both American-born musicians of Indian descent, Mahanthappa and Iyer have both delved into South Asian traditions with highly acclaimed results. Weiss has brought intensive tabla studies to his inventive approach to the drum kit, while Weidenmueller has co-authored books on metric modulation via his studies in Carnatic percussion.

It's a rare group of musicians whose experiences and collaborations have made them uniquely prepared to seize on every nuance of Abbasi's compositions. "I chose these individuals because I knew that whatever I bring to the table, it's going to be supplemented by the wide-ranging history that each carries. With this group, that history contains a fortified education in Indian music and so we don't need to discuss anything Indian, per se - it's already there. For instance, if Dan plays a particular rhythmic idea from his tabla studies, all of us will be able to grab onto it intuitively. That's one reason why the communication is so stimulating within the ensemble."

Throughout Unfiltered Universe, the music surges with a uniquely propulsive groove, with sinuous melodies that follow surprising, exotic contours. The title track morphs from meditative to frenetic, while opener "Propensity" bristles with a darting, angular energy. "Thin-King" earns its play on words by managing to juggle the cerebral and the playful, while the 12-minute "Turn of Events" gathers from the abstract to the urgent and disintegrates back again, "Disagree to Agree" captures the tenor of discourse in our current moment in its teeth-gritting tension, and "Dance Number" closes the album with a buoyantly erratic groove that both tempts and challenges the listener to move.

The end result of these converging lifetimes of experience, creation, collaboration and study, (un)filtered through the lens of Abbasi's intuitive writing approach, is a strikingly individual voice that never explicitly references its influences but instead evokes the atmospheres and feelings inherent to them. "As a jazz listener you may not necessarily hear the Carnatic influence," Abbasi says, "but you'll definitely hear something different, and ultimately that's what counts."


Abbasi has received multiple composition grants in recent years. Unfiltered Universe was supported in part by a New Jazz Works grant from Chamber Music America and the Doris Duke Foundation. It is the 2nd CMA grant he has received for his group Invocation. Most recently he was commissioned by the NY Guitar Festival to compose and perform a live score to the 1929 Indian silent film, A Throw of Dice. The premiere took place in NYC in May with a reprise performance scheduled for September 16th at the Ellnora Guitar Festival in Urbana, IL.

Rez Abbasi

Guitarist and composer Rez Abbasi is an artist who continually pushes new boundaries. Born in Karachi, Pakistan, and raised in Southern California, he studied at the USC and the Manhattan School of Music in jazz and classical music, supplemented by a pilgrimage in India under the tutelage of master percussionist Ustad Alla Rakha. Abbasi's music is a vivid synthesis of all the above stated influences and genres. Voted #1 "Rising-Star Guitarist" in 2013's DownBeat Critics Poll and placed in the "Top-Ten Guitarists" in 2015 & 2016, guitarist and composer Rez Abbasi has become one of the most significant musicians on the current scene. Making New York home for the past 25 years, Abbasi has created a unique sound that is stimulated by his jazz pedigree and Indian-Pakistani upbringing. With twelve albums, multiple awards and composition commissions, Rez Abbasi continues to find creative ways to enrich diverse audiences with his musical projects.

www.reztone.com