#Rudresh Mahanthappa

[sivavakkiyar]

the closing tracks, some of the best music they’ve made imo

[mosaicrecords]

Charlie Parker at 100: the Sound and the Myth

This speculative essay by J. D. Considine traces the personal and musical history of Charlie Parker and his various lifestyle and musical influences on future generations. The conclusion, a quote from Vincent Herring, says it all: “The music continues to evolve, and regardless of where it goes, Charlie Parker will always be one of the cornerstones of the music.”

-Michael Cuscuna

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[dustedmagazine]

Rudresh Mahanthappa — Hero Trio (Whirlwind)

[A quick editorial note: the particularly sharp-eyed among our readers may have noticed that we posted another review of this very record last Thursday. The Dusted hive mind does our best not to double-up on records, but every so often wires get crossed and two of our number do review the same thing. Seeing as how the duplication didn’t get caught until after both were written (and one was published), we thought it best just to share another glimpse at this album and invite any interested parties to check out both takes.]

In jazz music, repertory records can be equal parts rote and revelatory, especially in the wide-open context of a trio. Alto wizard Mahanthappa has been in the zone for, oh, a decade. One of his very finest from this period is Bird Calls, which celebrated the still-powerful influence of Charlie Parker. The Hero Trio finds Mahanthappa joined by that disc’s bassist, Francois Moutin, and drummer, Rudy Royston for a genuinely expansive, and often thrilling, ride through songs from Mahanthappa’s personal pantheon.

A dazzlingly rearranged version of Parker’s “Red Cross” roars out of the gate, and this nimble creative trio immediately shows its elegance, its creativity and most of all its ability to zig and zag improbably. Royston can lay down the most majestic grooves or provide the subtlest color. Moutin can swing buoyantly but is always following a melody line (especially in his fantastic solos). This quick-change responsiveness not only makes for dynamic trio music; it suits this wide-ranging material beautifully. They take on Danilo Perez’s fabulous arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed” and Wonder’s own distinctive melodic sense comes across so well that I found myself wanting a whole album of this trio doing Wonder tunes. That’s how well they capture the master’s shifting registers and articulations, leaning into those lovely phrases now coming through a horn.  

On the funked-up take on Bird’s “Barbados,” you’re reminded once again of how deftly Mahanthappa’s instrumental voice comes through his alteration of meter and cadence. But even that can’t quite prepare you for the moment when the trio turns on a time and rockets from Bird into Trane’s “26-2.” Just when you think they’ve settled into a sequence of structurally impressive tunes heavy on instrumental velocity, more surprises ensue. There’s a stark, at times even dour interpretation of “I Can’t Get Started” that is genuinely affecting. Then, a sprint through Keith Jarrett’s “The Windup,” a bold choice for a piano-less group but a winner. But it’s the next track that had me laughing out loud the first time I spun this record, without consulting the track list: Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” Nothing ironic or piss-taking about this performance: they love this tune, and you can hear it.  

Rounding out this tight 45-minute disc is a dense and innovative “I’ll Remember April,” an achingly sparse reading of Ornette’s “Sadness” (which has Royston playing with his fingers) and a bracing “Dewey Square.” Don’t worry too much about where this record fits in, in terms of sub-genre or whatever. In a year of precious little joy, this is quite simply a jewel of a jazz record.  

Jason Bivins

[soundgrammar]

Listen/purchase: Ring Of Fire by Rudresh Mahanthappa

[allmusic]

AllMusic Staff Pick: Rudresh Mahanthappa Kinsmen September 23, 2008 Modal Music

Mahanthappa exchanges his sax quartet for the hybrid American jazz/South Indian classical Dakshina Ensemble, co-led by Carnatic saxophone legend Kadri Gopalnath. Guitar, bass, and drum kit are joined by violin and mridangam and the leaders' two saxophones; meeting squarely between the two traditions. Melodies are Indian inspired but this is a jazz album that swings mightily through most of the program. - Sean Westergaard

[diyeipetea]

Rudresh Mahanthappa's Hero Trio: "Faith" [Animal Crossing EP (Whirlwind Recordings, 2022)] Por Pachi Tapiz. JazzX5#417 [Minipodcast de jazz AKA Malditos Jazztardos]

Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Hero Trio: “Faith” [Animal Crossing EP (Whirlwind Recordings, 2022)] Por Pachi Tapiz. JazzX5#417 [Minipodcast de jazz AKA Malditos Jazztardos]

“Faith” Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Hero Trio: Aninal Crossing EP (Whirlwind Recordings, 2022) Rudresh Mahanthappa, François Moutin, Rudy Roiston. El tema es obra de George Michael. Tomajazz: © Pachi Tapiz, 2022 ¿Sabías que? El saxofonista Rudresh Mahanthappa grabó el EP Animal Crossing el 22 de noviembre de 2021. Se ha publicado el 4 de febrero de 2022. David Amlen fue el ingeniero de la grabación,…

[theloniousbach]

Couch Tour, Rudresh Mahanthappa/Hero Trio Album Release Concert, 13 October 2020

Rudresh Mahanthappa has been on my longshot list of people to see for a while.  He has played with Vijay Iyer, has fascinatingly incorporated Carnatic Indian music into his playing (he was born in Italy and grew up in Colorado, so it’s his heritage but something he had to learn), and his 2015 reimagining of Charlie Parker tunes on Bird Calls was brilliant.

This album is like Bird Calls with covers--of Parker (three times), standards, Coltrane, Coleman, and radio songs (Stevie Wonder and Johnny Cash), but also a wickedly adventurous spirit.  It is a standout album of the year and, for me, a good place to settle in with him, to learn/see what he does while it unfolds.  The Parker album was established when I heard it.

I think it has legs--as both homage and innovation.  “Ring of Fire” is nicely done and reveals key things about the project, but it wasn’t on the set list and will/should fade.  But there is, particularly in that tune, the risk of gimmick.

So too in the impressive bass playing of Francois Moutin.  Particularly in this spare setting he has lots of room--to play double stops, multiple stringed arpeggio/chords, two fingered strums down the neck.  His virtuosity reminds me of Jaco Pastorious which is a double edged sword as the latter wears thin for me.  His was the iteration of Weather Report that I saw but what I really prefer is the Alphonso Johnson era and “Birdland” is, by now, just a brilliant cliche even though I saw it when it was new.

Rudy Royston is amazing too--a drummer magician of the first rank.  As I think about the sax/bass/drum trio, I think about how they fill the space.  Sonny Rollins at the Vanguard and John Coltrane “Chasin’ the Trane” have big sounds.  Mark Turner in Fly and Melissa Aldana with Crash Trio do it with complex but lithe lines (Rollins and Coltrane are pretty damn complex too, I hasten to add.).  Mahanthappa plays many notes in a glorious combination of Parker, sheets of sound, and ragas (probably not specifically ragas, but Indian scale variations), but the band fills the space too.

I’ve been listening to the album most days since I knew this show was coming and it is impressive.  Again, “Ring of Fire” is losing its novelty pretty quickly, but this show hit the high points with two of the three Parker tunes, the better pop tune as a ballad (Steve Wonder’s “Overjoyed”), and both standards.  They stretched out on the Parker opener “Red Cross” which is a little deeper in the book.  It established the virtues of all of the players.

After the Wonder, they settled into the standards.  “I Remember April” started with just a sax riff picked up by bass and drums before the theme snapped in briskly.  It evokes yet another sax/bass/drums trio, Lee Konitz’s album “Motion” which Mahanthappa freely acknowledged in the post show conversation with the band and Nate Chinen.  It would have been Konitz’s 93rd birthday.  “I Can’t Get Started” was a dirge and that pace helped temper some of the franticness; I confess I’m going to have to see just how much of Mahanthappa I can take at a time, much as I admire his conception of the music.

The last tune in the set proper was the rollicking Keith Jarrett tune, “The Wind Up,” which Joshua Redman has also covered.  Moutin carries a bit more than his usual prodigious amount of the sound to kick it off, but the whole band has fun with it.

The encore was the only original and the only one not from the album, a determined slower piece called “Hope.”  A nice touch.  The Ornate Coleman tune on the album, which wasn’t played, was “Sadness.”  They did do “Overjoyed” though.  “Hope,” thoughtful and a bit battered but persevering, was a good way to end.

They had to be playing together live, but the presentation was as if a Zoom call--a three camera shot, one for each musician presented face on.  The director shifted the shots and varied it visually but it was oddly not as if they were interacting, visually.  They sure were musically.

I saw about a half hour of the post-show conversation with Chinen.  The key points were an appreciation of Konitz and a discussion of the role of the repertoire as an actually freeing launching pad.

Once again, the world of possibilities just keeps opening up for opportunities like this one.

[fullyaltered2018-blog]

On our #NYCWJF marathon's first evening (1/12/18) at 11:20 PM at Bowery Electric, the lauded and fantastic Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Indo-Pak Coalition will perform. Hailed by The New York Times as “a trio equally grounded in folk tradition and jazz improvisation, propos[ing] a social pact as well as a musical ideal.” The ensemble’s three formidable talents — Mahanthappa on alto saxophone, Rez Abbasi on guitar, and Dan Weiss on tabla — have been honing their unique approach for years. A vibrant presence of Indian rhythmic and melodic elements in a charged, modern improvisational framework born of the New York jazz scene, remains at the band's core. This performance and their second record comes at a propitious time for all three members: Mahanthappa has enjoyed great success with his Bird Calls quintet and recently became Director of Jazz Studies at Princeton University. Abbasi, born in Karachi, Pakistan and raised in California, has revealed a rare mastery of guitar in a range of settings including his own RAAQ acoustic quartet and his heavily electric project, Junction. Weiss, a voraciously eclectic drummer with interests ranging from classical tabla performance to metal, has garnered acclaim for his work ranging from solo drums to trio to large ensemble. From all three instruments we hear a heightening of expressive nuance and possibility. Mahanthappa’s alto is transformed in places by software-driven effects to create strange processed timbres, echoes, decays and soundscapes. Don't miss this tremendous band.

[burlveneer-music]

Rudresh Mahanthappa/Indo-Pak Coalition – Snap

"Snap" is the second track on Rudresh Mahanthappa's long awaited album Agrima, which reunites his Indo-Pak Coalition with Rez Abbasi on guitar and Dan Weiss on tabla/drums. The recording will be independently released October 17, 2017 via digital and vinyl only.

The group has been hailed by The New York Times as "a trio equally grounded in folk tradition and jazz improvisation, propos[ing] a social pact as well as a musical ideal." The ensemble's three formidable talents first documented their group conception in 2008 with Apti, which won praise from The Guardian for its "irresistible urgency."

Agrima, the long-awaited follow-up, finds Mahanthappa and the group expanding aesthetic horizons: adding a modified drum set, incorporating effects and electronics, and working with a broader audio canvas overall. The core of the band's sound, the vibrant presence of Indian rhythmic and melodic elements in a charged, modern improvisational framework born of the New York jazz scene, remains firmly in place.

[mosaicrecords]

Vijay Iyer and Rudresh Mahanthappa: Their Bond Transcends Music

It shouldn't have to be, should it, that the two supremely gifted musicians Vijay Iyer and Rudresh Mahanthappa, even in this revealing Pitchfork interview, have to be paired in a manner that goes beyond their musical affinity. And yet, alas, it does happen: the musical and secular worlds the two inhabit, for all the respect it justly accords them, has at times cast them as outsiders. Fortunately, mutual collegial respect prevails, which, thankfully circles us back here to the significant and magnificent matters of their musicmaking.

-Nick Moy

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[dustedmagazine]

Rudresh Mahanthappa – Hero Trio (Whirlwind)

[Editorial note: due to some behind the scenes confusion, we have two reviews of this record! Please see Jason Bivins’ take here.]

“Jazz is the sound of surprise”. So famously opined critic and connoisseur Whitney Balliett and he was right. Altoist Rudresh Mahanthappa has made spontaneity a central component of his music across fifteen albums. For Hero Trio he injects the unexpected by shelving his own compositional impulses for a program of selections that represent a survey of his most indelible influences. Close colleagues of Mahanthappa’s for twenty-years, bassist Francois Moutin and drummer Rudy Royston are commensurate participants in rigging the chosen songs with renderings that feel invigoratingly personal.

Mahanthappa has a refreshingly self-deprecating sense of humor. It’s a trait not immediately or even overtly evident in much of his music, but it comes through hilariously clear in the band portrait that graces the disc gatefold featuring him and his bandmates bedecked in superhero attire that could easily do double duty as professional wrestling apparel. Humor and playfulness also color the covers starting with a sprint through Charlie Parker’s “Red Cross” rife with stops, starts and sharply veering asides. Bird is an inescapable influence on practically every post-WWII altoist. Mahanthappa’s spaciously shaped versions echo their composer’s uncanny ability at bridging technical agility with improvisatory incisiveness. 

Shaded with scribbling arco accents true to title, Ornette Coleman’s “Sadness” and a pugilistic investigation of “I’ll Remember April” that obliquely references the late Lee Konitz give knowing glances to other occupants of Mahanthappa’s instrumental pantheon. Moutin and Royston are vibrantly active across both pieces, bolstering and driving their employer in complementary measure. Stevie Wonder’s “Overyjoyed” is the first of a pair of choices that point to the leader’s musical loves outside the idiom he normally operates in. Bouncing the amorous melody around over a constantly shifting accompaniment Mahanthappa manages to keep it airborne. “Ring of Fire” is similarly true to source while allowing for some dizzyingly elastic interplay over a faux Tejano meets calypso beat and again, touches of warm, inclusive comedy.

Derek Taylor

[amorfose]

NEW YORK, December 16, 2016 — Invocation is Pakistani-born American jazz guitarist Rez Abbasi’s sextet featuring pianist Vijay Iyer and saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa. In this performance, the group unveils a new project that explores Carnatic classical music from Southern India through the idiom of jazz. This is the final installment in a triptych made by Abbasi that puts a jazz lens on the musical traditions of South Asia; Invocation previously explored Hindustani music and qawwali in a pair of critically acclaimed recordings. (1 hr., 28 mins.)