Rez Abbasi

Rez Abbasi (guitars)
Natural Selection (Sunnyside Records)

Bill Ware (vibes)

Eric McPherson (drums)

Stephan Crump (bass)

Rez Abbasi has been layering his multi-cultural rhythms on the scene for almost 20 years. I really only knew about him in name. I had seen his name in live listings but never really ventured out to check him out. This past week I was surprised when a friend gave me a copy of his latest album, Natural Selection (Sunnyside Records).

Abbasi is originally from Pakistan but has been in the US for most of his life. He has studied and played with a variety of genre bending musicians including, Greg Osby, Rudresh Manhanthappa, Kadhri Gopalnath, Tony Malaby and Marilyn Crispell to just name a small few. Rez Abbasi like Manhanthappa and Gopalnath, has seamlessly blended his Eastern heritage into his Western learning and it is perfectly done on Natural Selection. It is a straight ahead jazz album but you get his life experience as the foundation throughout the session.

Natural Selection gets started with a cover of one of my favourite artists of all time, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan 's "Lament". This caught me completely off guard because I didn't really look at the track listing before I put the CD on. And I knew within seconds who he was covering and my head went spinning. So now that he's caught my attention... "Lament" is a somber tune and driven by what in this case would be usual instruments from the traditional Pakistani style--guitar, vibes, drums and bass--this turns out be a beautiful swirling opener and homage to the legendary voice.

"Pakistani Minor" delivers an almost John Abercrombie-esque quality with some wonderful passages and manipulation. Eric McPherson sounds extremely stunning on drums. In addition, Bill Ware and Stephan Crump hide dreamlike inside the melody making this Abbasi original a real standout. "Up On The Hill," a dedication to the great pianist Andrew Hill, has many of Hill's philosophy built in. There are multi-faceted statements here both large and small. Complex, but a real delicate beauty as played out by Abassi and Ware in unison. One of those foundation points for me was "When Light Falls", a short piece with just Abbasi on guitar, but what you get is that East-West blend from an instrument that is clearly Western in nature. Played with the intimacy and integrity of years of understanding.

"Blu Vindaloo" is an adventurous number which could easily appear on a Jason Adasiewicz album. The performance from Ware sounds almost like a piano at times. Crump and McPherson shine here in slow midtempo blues. "Ain't No Sunshine" (the Bill Wither's classic) closes out the album in a soulful and spiritual way. Abbasi delivers this rendition fairly straight forward and romantically. But it also shows a soft tone and versatility that many current guitarists may not take with number like this. A really superb passage.

For me, Natural Selection was a rich surprise from a unique talent that I probably should have been listening to for awhile. The use of all acoustic instruments and the manner in which each musician tackles the compositions is truly stunning. And at times you really wonder "how'd they do that?" I may be late for the train and some of you might be too--so let's get onboard together. Rez Abbasi has delivered a document of high quality and inventiveness that is well worth your time.

Sankorfa: In Between Instruments

Sankorfa (group; formed 2004)
In Between Instruments (Greater London Records)

Michael Allen (drums, percussion)
Zands Duggan (congas, percussion)
Ruth Gomez (drums, percussion)
Scott Wilson (vibraphone, drums, marimbas)

Hailing from London, Sankorfa (African saying: looking backwards to move forward) is an incredible new quartet that uses percussion as the main thrust of their vision with wonderfully futuristic results. The band uses vibraphone, drums, congas, marimbas to create a beautiful blend of earthy rhythms that hold the listener in its sway and suggest a deep interest in exploration.

One of the first things you’ll noticed when listening to Sankorfa is the influence of minimalist composer Steve Reich. The emotional content, however, is a key differentiator for Sankorfa, and promises huge potential for future development. While each piece sounds like it originated from one member, the group’s sound definitely speaks to the potency of their collective vision.

Not unlike fellow London jazz experimentalists, Portico Quartet and Outside, Sankorfa explores Eastern and Western aesthetics with a classical approach, but combines it with a youthful spirit of adventure that I haven't heard in quite awhile.

On their new album In Between Instruments, Sankorfa explores sub-Asian and African rhythms. The opening tracks, “A Ok” and “Enough Already,” favorably remind me of the collaborations between legendary Punjabi singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and genre-hopping musician/producer Michael Brook, as well as drum legend Tony Allen.

The quartet also displays an appreciate for trance on the infectious “Inside The Oyster,” which starts innocuously but finds a drum ‘n’ bass groove at the three-quarter point that Roni Size might be proud of.

On “Great Ocean Road,” Sankorfa creates a samba-meets-minimalism vibe worthy of both Reich and vibraphone innovator Gary Burton, and, man, that’s a pretty cool combination.

“Kloshing” offers some magnificent ambient atmospherics with a hint of drum ‘n’ bass propulsion that pulls you along, while its seductive harmonics tug on the cerebral side of the groove.

Don’t think for a minute that it’s all percussion grooves and Eastern atmosphere going on here. My favorite track (this week at least) is the closing number, “Trouble So Hard.” Quiet and bluesy, it brings the journey to a peaceful finish, and leaves the listener wowed.

In Between Instruments is an album you will want to hear over and over again. I enjoyed discovering this record during the past week and highly recommend it. Visit Sankorfa's web site to learn more and if you really need more convincing, check out their latest non-album cut “7 Minutes (In The Hurt Locker)” available through the Sankorfa Myspace site as a FREE DOWNLOAD. In Between Instruments comes out on Monday. You won't be disappointed.

Sidsel Endresen: That Nordic Voice

Sidsel Endresen (voice)

Photo: C.F. Wesenberg

Sidsel Endresen has been a fixture on the European scene for over 20 years. She has released only a few albums under her own name (eight at last count). She is definitely an artist that might define her music as world (World the genre). While aesthetically the music may be grounded in European jazz--use of sparse arrangements and electronic atmospherics and abstruse lyrics, Sisdel Endresen has created a body of work which is truly original, impressive and influential.

In recent years she has been working with the well-known pianist Bugge Wesseltoft who has surrounded her lyrics mystic with modest yet highly emotional instrumentation. Endresen's albums are more an exploration of voice as instrument than the instruments supporting her. While don't expect everyone to get her I believe she is someone more people need to know about and hear for yourselves. She has also worked with fellow Norwegian, Nils Petter Molvaer and the pairing of her hypnotic voice and Molvaer's muted/electronically tempered trumpet is truly astounding. Those of you familiar with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sheila Chandra, Diamanda Gallas and combining that with the jazz experiments of Joni Mitchell might also find Sidsel Endresen quite rewarding.

For me the most accessible album might be Out Here. In There. (Jazzland). Out Here. In There. features a nice blend of both Sidsel's folkish/jazz tinged vocal treatments and Bugge Wesseltoft's excellent electronic work as shown of tracks like "Heartbeat", "Survival Techniques" and "Hav". A moody little record that is both engaging and sophisticated.

Sidsel Endresen is an artist reaching beyond rhythmic structure and forcing the listener to view things outside of their comfort zone. This minimalistic approach has made her one of the most soft-after performers and teachers in Europe and a cult figure here in states. I won't try to explain it anymore than that. Take a listen and let me know what you think.