Rez Abbasi - Django-shift

August 31, 2020

Label: Whirlwind Recordings, 2020

Personnel - Rez Abbasi: fretted and fretless acoustic guitars; Neil Alexander: organ, synthesizers, electronics; Michael Sarin: drums.

Adroit guitarist Rez Abbasi had the courage to revivify a few tunes by the iconic swing guitarist Django Reinhardt, an early source of inspiration. He rebuilds these old songs with a perfect contemporary twist, plunging them into fresh, gripping, state-of-the-art environments. Harmonically supported by keyboardist Neil Alexander and having the sensitive drummer Michael Sarin holding down the foundation, Abbasi makes room for both sly rhythmic interplay and fierce improvisation.

Rounding out a program that includes seven Django originals, we have readings of Kurt Weill’s “September Song”, a drum-less experience where the fretless guitar sounds allude to a sitar, and Ion Ivanovich’s “Anniversary Song”, here infused with an odd-metered funk-bossa groove and spanking maneuvers in the rhythmic department. Both these tunes were part of Django’s repertoire.

The album gets off to a gripping start with the busy activity of “Diminishing”, a funk-fueled mesh of acoustic guitar and synth sounds where swing jazz meets psychedelic rock with a 6/8 feel. Abbasi and Alexander alternate bars, exchanging winding, knotty phrases, and, near the finale, is Sarin who unfurls percussive practices in a vamp-for-drums section. The magnetism of the main melody is impressive, totally unaffected by the trio’s ambiguous direction.

Guitarist and keyboardist also trade creative ideas on “Hungaria”, a quite danceable number with a lively spark and a familiar melody. Modernity and tradition go hand in hand, and joyful moments of thudding drum kicks interspersed with cymbal vitality takes us to the end.

“Swing 42” is turned into an engulfing fusion odyssey that serves as a vehicle for Abbasi’s ruminative guitaristic pleasures in the first instance, and then falls into a stirred-crazy rock after Alexander takes the lead. Not averse to dissonance, the latter’s asymmetric lines and jabbed clusters also create an impact on “Heavy Artillery”, a piece where a beautiful, Soundgarden-like acoustic guitar intro contrasts with a playful gypsy jazz theme delivered with hints of Monk.

Glitteringly brushed by Sarin, the atmospheric ballad “Django’s Castle” is cultivated with emotionally charged solos shaped in accordance to its laid-back ambience.

Displaying his extraordinary musicianship and specialized arranging skills, Abbasi oozes authenticity from every phrase he utters. This is a sensational tribute to Django’s compositional character and influential music.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Diminishing ► 03 - Heavy Artillery ► 08 - Hungaria

Rez Abbasi - A Throw of Dice

December 5, 2019

Label: Whirlwind Recordings, 2019

Personnel - Rez Abbasi: guitars, electric sitar-guitar; Rawan Benjamin: saxophone, flute, bensuri; Jennifer Vincent: bass, cello; Rohan Khrishnamurthy: mridangam, ghatam, khanjira; Jake Goldbas: drum set.

A Throw of Dice is the new outing by the highly regarded guitarist Rez Abbasi, who, for the very first time in his career, wrote a score to be played live in a film, namely, the Indian-German classic movie of the same name, dated back to 1929. For the effect, the guitarist gathered a cross border quintet, whose members - saxophonist/flutist Rawan Benjamin, bassist/cellist Jennifer Vincent, Carnatic percussionist Rohan Khrishnamurthy, and drummer Jake Goldbas - contribute a great deal to the pleasing hybrid aesthetic, where Indian ragas and rhythms fuse with Western elements, such as jazz and rock.

Abbasi smears the tracks with his empathic virtuosity, and his sitar-guitar intensifies the world fusion contexts of “Love Prevails”, a piece with interesting nuances in the rhythm, and the deceptively balladic “Facing Truth”, which incorporates bass pedals, tenor circularity, and guitar/flute unisons.

His acoustic chordal work is like a symphony to the ears on the exquisitely beautiful “Mystery Rising”, which positions the flute in the spotlight while advancing with propulsive three and four time feels, as well as on the tranquil “Seven Days Until News”, a piece momentarily bewitched by Vincent’s solemn cello.

However, two of the most impressive selections feature electric guitar, forging ahead with the progressive vision of their creator. I’m referring to “Blissful Moments”, whose initially relaxed fingerpicking gets the company of soprano sax and cello before veering into a stream of rock limned with a mix of raga and reggae feels; and “Wedding Preparation”, a marvel in seven whose centrifugal force comes from adroit jazz phrases and a myriad of colorful rhythms and harmonic textures that serve to affirm Abbasi’s improvisational thread. After embarking on coincidental ideas, guitarist and saxophonist end up dialoguing with suppleness. They reiterate this idea on “Jugglers”.

Other pieces deserving mention are “Changing Worlds”, a well-synchronized coloration of timbres with rhythmic momentum and outside tenor ventures, and “Chase for Liberation”, a sort of jazzatronica manipulation with a contemporary vibe.

Denoting tremendous sagacity in the arrangements and juggling a variety of influences, A Throw of Dice provides aural pleasures in each of its narrative episodes. Abbasi’s first cinematic essay comes filled with expressive charisma and musical substance, resulting in an extremely positive experience.

Favorite Tracks:
06 - Blissful Moments ► 12 - Wedding Preparation ► 17 - Changing Worlds

Rez Abbasi - Unfiltered Universe

October 26, 2017

Label/Year: Whirlwind Recordings, 2017

Lineup – Rez Abbasi: guitar; Rudresh Mahanthappa: alto saxophone; Vijay Iyer: piano; Johannes Weidenmueller: bass; Dan Weiss: drums + guest Elizabeth Mikhael: cello.

Since a young age, Pakistan-born American guitarist Rez Abbasi realized that the six strings of his guitar were a fantastic way to express himself. Throughout the years, he has been proving a deep understanding of the instrument and a prodigious facility in painting his modern style with multi-colored Eastern elements and a superb technique.

Unfiltered Universe, the last installment of his Indo-Pakistani-influenced jazz trilogy, entraps us in complex sonic webs, embracing improvisation over well-defined structured forms with unlimited freedom.
For the third time, Abbasi summoned the multi-cultural, stellar aggregation baptized as Invocation whose members include saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, pianist Vijay Iyer, bassist Johannes Weidenmueller, and drummer Dan Weiss. Together, they formulate piquant Carnatic South Asian seasonings to enhance the flavors of today’s contemporary jazz dishes.

The quintet takes the plunge with “Propensity”, a changeable piece marked by exotic melodic lines and a free-funk feel that derives from the bass groove. Mahanthappa flings a scalding improvisation using the raw instinct and the unmistakable timbre that has always highlighted his playing. Abbasi follows him, discoursing with pertinacity over the edgy accompaniment fomented by Iyer.

The title track acquires an eminent chamber tone in its first minutes due to the incisive cello slashes inflicted by guest Elizabeth Mikhael. The mood changes for the improvisations as the bandleader sketches geometric figures by whether employing sharp angles or rounding off the edges with reliable melodic sense. The pianist, on the other hand, constructs slowly but virtuously.

Functioning as an interlude, “Thoughts” is a less-than-2-minute free-form solo ride wrapped in synth-like effect.

Every tune carries Eastern folk accents in the melody, to a certain extent, but both “Disagree to Agree” and “Thin-King” are particularly driven by a rock-tinged energy that strengthens their muscular cores. The latter, whimsically shifting in tempo, displays Iyer, Abbasi, and Mahanthappa soloing interspersedly. After a short collective romp, it's Weidenmueller’s elegant bass dissertation that concludes the improvisational section.

“Turn of Events” precipitates a wider sense of mystery and awe attached to the strange, dreamy textures. Once again, Mikhael contributes substantially to the atmosphere, while Abbasi and Mahanthappa ignite the fire by exchanging improvised, transonic wallops. The turns of events don’t end here.

The album closes with the gracefully groovy “Dance Number”, where guitarist and saxophonist throw in plenty of phenomenal hooks. On top of that, Iyer’s wry harmonic twists and punchy phrasing are there to gain sonic preponderance near the end.

Innovation and positivism are vital factors that Rez Abbasi doesn’t renounce. Unfiltered Universe exposes a world fusion extravagance, which even tumultuous at times, is no less than emphatically magical.

Favorite Tracks:
01 – Propensity ► 04 – Thin-King ► 05 – Turn of Events