Rudresh Mahanthappa - Gamak (CD)

Release Date: 01/07/13

In Gamak the long phrasing of Indian music, the shred-power of electric fusion and the deep, heavy beats of funk and metal merge seamlessly. An adventurous trip by saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa.

Downbeat International Critics Poll winner Rudresh Mahanthappa is one of the most innovative musicians and composers in jazz today. Gamak is a bold, striking set of music that melds leading-edge jazz with innovative reinterpretations of traditional Indian and Middle Eastern approaches, shot through with an electric jolt of prog-rock complexity. Mahanthappa’s distinctly personal sound hybridizes progressive jazz and South Indian classical music in a fluid and forward-looking form that reflects the composer’s own experience growing up a second-generation Indian-American. Just as his personal experience is never wholly lived on one side of the hyphenate or the other, his music speaks in a voice dedicated to forging a new path forward. Gamak features guitarist David Fiuczynski, bassist François Moutin, and drummer Dan Weiss. The album showcases the stunning electric guitar work of David “Fuze” Fiuczynski, Rudresh’s partner in crime in Jack DeJohnette’s current group. Fiuczynski’s unparalleled versatility and virtuosity along with his unique abilities to convey alternate tunings and microtonal ornamentation elevate the possibilities of this ensemble. Combined with Mahanthappa’s frequent bandmates, the ever-inventive Moutin on bass and the expressive Weiss on drums, Gamak is destined to reach great heights in presenting a contemporary American music that synthesizes Western and Non-Western musical forms and concepts.