Jazz Articles about Harish Raghavan

About Harish Raghavan

Album Review

Marquis Hill: New Gospel Revisited

Read "New Gospel Revisited" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
March 4, 2022

Chicago-born trumpeter Marquis Hill released his first album while still in college and in 2022, just over a decade later, he has retooled it on New Gospel Revisited, recorded live in his hometown with a fresh lineup and tweaked instrumentation. It is a terrific disc. Like his near contemporary and fellow trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Hill holds his music to be part of a broad musical continuum that includes genres other than jazz, notably hip hop. ...

Album Review

Ambrose Akinmusire: On The Tender Spot Of Every Calloused Moment

Read "On The Tender Spot Of Every Calloused Moment" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
July 15, 2020

Trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire rings the changes admirably from album to album. On The Tender Spot Of Every Calloused Moment is the most stripped down of his Blue Note outings (it is his fifth album for the label). It is made with a quartet. There is no second horn. The sound is ECM-like in its monastic simplicity. At fifty minutes it is also Akinmusire's most concise work to date. And while substantial portions of The Imagined Savior Is Far ...

Album Review

Harish Raghavan: Calls For Action

Read "Calls For Action" reviewed by Friedrich Kunzmann

by Friedrich Kunzmann
January 6, 2020

Several factors make bassist Harish Raghavan's debut album remarkable. The first and most striking is the sense of extreme urgency in the tone of the compositions as well as the disjointed manner with which the instruments search for common ground in and around each other. Another factor can be found in the understated melodic motifs whose arcs sometimes stretch over the entire duration of a tune. Melody in general is critical to the album's appeal. Most of the interplay and ...

Album Review

Ambrose Akinmusire: A Rift in Decorum: Live at the Village Vanguard

Read "A Rift in Decorum: Live at the Village Vanguard" reviewed by Mark E. Gallo

by Mark E. Gallo
July 27, 2017

Live albums can be an iffy proposition. Not so with this double CD set recorded live at New York's legendary Village Vanguard. California born Akinmusire has worked with the same band for a number of years and their communication is apparent. Pianist Sam Harris, bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Justin Brown supply the support and the embellishment appropriate and compliment the trumpet master throughout. In a program that rides an emotional rollercoaster, Akinmusire offers 16 original compositions over ...

Album Review

Ambrose Akinmusire: A Rift in Decorum: Live at the Village Vanguard

Read "A Rift in Decorum: Live at the Village Vanguard" reviewed by Mark Sullivan

by Mark Sullivan
July 4, 2017

Live recordings at the venerable Village Vanguard are immediately part of a storied tradition. Fully aware of the spirit of the place, trumpeter/composer Ambrose Akinmusire brought his longtime quartet with pianist Sam Harris, bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Justin Brown--but he took the unusual step of performing all new, original compositions. This is his third Blue Note album as a leader, following When the Heart Emerges Glistening (2011) and the imagined savior is far easier to paint (2014). He also ...