Artistic Director Speaks: Rudresh Mahanthappa

Artistic Director Speaks: A Series of Shorts

June 11, 2014

by: Ken Pickering - Artistic Director / Co-founder

Twitter: ken_pickering

Rudresh Mahanthappa's Gamak featuring Rez Abbasi, Rich Brown & Dan Weiss

June 22 – Performance Works – 7:30pm

It’s been a decade since we first hosted incendiary alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa at the Western Front in a duo setting with Vijay Iyer - more recently but still a few years back, he returned in 2007 with Vijay’s Quartet for a fest show at the Cultch. Just as Vijay Iyer’s career has blown up internationally, Rudresh is similarly emerging as a bona fide leader with his bands Gamak and Samdhi and recent albums on the prestigious German ACT label and some extensive touring. Check out this EPK on the making of the Gamak album.

His second release on ACT - Gamak released in 2013

If I remember correctly it was around the time he moved from Chicago to NYC in 1998 and hooked up with Vijay Iyer that I first heard about Rudresh. In recent years I often encounter Rudresh in NYC during my nearly annual visits to APAP or IJFO meetings – lots of chances to chat and opportunities to hear him in with his own bands at the Jazz Standard, as well as with the legendary drummer / composer Jack DeJohnette at Birdland and the Blue Note. Media Director John Orysik heard Gamak (with Dave Fiuczynski, Francois Moutin and Dan Weiss) at the 2013 Chicago Jazz Festival and was gob smacked – giving me all the encouragement I needed to begin work on developing a Canadian tour with his manager Dan Melnick (who also programs the Newport Jazz Festival).

Rez Abbasi

This music is an innovative high-octane fusion of his Indian ancestry with jazz and a diversity of other influences that occasionally brings to mind the heady days of Mahavishnu in the early 70’s. When Gamak catches fire, it can be spine tingling excitement.

Dan Weiss

The new edition of Gamak includes rising star guitarist of American / Pakistani descent, Rez Abbasi (Kiran Ahluwalia, Kadri Golpalnath, Greg Osby), Toronto bassist Rich Brown (Vernon Reid, Steve Coleman) and the unbelievable drummer Dan Weiss (Lee Konitz, Kenny Werner, Miles Okazaki), whose deft underpinnings even in the most complex time signatures, anchor the ensemble and motor this music along with confidence and ease.

Rich Brown

Gamak will undertake a 7 date Canadian tour that will take in almost all of the most important jazz festivals from Victoria to Montreal - their Vancouver date is one of our most highly anticipated concerts to be sure.

Rudresh Mahanthappa's Gamak  June 22 – Performance Works – 7:30pm