Whether or not jazz is an inherently African-American art form - a topic of heated debate in our day - it seems clear that the music is headed for a polyglot, multicultural future. Take Sunny Jain, one of several exciting player/composers to emerge f [+]Whether or not jazz is an inherently African-American art form - a topic of heated debate in our day - it seems clear that the music is headed for a polyglot, multicultural future. Take Sunny Jain, one of several exciting player/composers to emerge from the South Asian diaspora. The 28-year-old grew up in Rochester, New York, listening to bhajans (Indian religious songs) and Hindustani (North Indian) music. He was drawn primarily to the rhythmic element, so he took up the drums and soon became exposed to jazz and other sources of musical inspiration.
In 1993 Jain continued his jazz studies at Rutgers University, under Kenny Barron and Ted Dunbar. Along the way, Jain has played in bands led by singer Norah Jones, bassist Kyle Eastwood, guitarist Chris Bergson, and others. In 2002 he was named a Jazz Ambassador by the U.S. State Department and the Kennedy Center, and was given the opportunity to perform and lead music workshops in Africa.
Rez Abbasi, of Pakistani descent, plays amplified, solid-body guitar with an uncommonly pure and agile touch. He has also been working extensively with the seldom-heard sitar guitar, which we hear to great advantage on three tracks. Steve Welsh proves a highly complementary soloist, playing a no-nonsense post-bop tenor saxophone but also spicing up the sonic palette with a variety of signal processing effects. Gary Wang provides the bottom on acoustic bass, locking in with the leader on drums to create a capacious time feel, as loose and relaxed as it is unrelenting.
"Mango Festival" - an original of Jain's, begins with an upbeat groove but moody, dark harmonies, arpeggiated on the guitar. Abbasi solos, alone at first, until the band reenters at a slower tempo. Welsh incites a transition to swing time, ratcheting up the intensity. Jain witnessed a mango festival in New Delhi several years ago: "The event had musical entertainment throughout. A North Indian group performed classical Punjabi music. This song opens with a groove reminiscent of the groove played by the dhol [drum] player in that Punjabi band."
"As Is" - composed by Steve Welsh, who loops a winding sixteenth-note figure in real time under the melody. Virtuosic guitar and saxophone solos follow, over a somewhat restless rhythmic flow. The looped saxoph
|
 |
Genre/Tags: 
Ringtones
Full Tracks
