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Rez Abbasi: Unfiltered Universe
by Glenn Astarita
Guitarist Rez Abbasi, saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa and pianist Vijay Iyer share South Asian roots and have respectively incorporated many of the region's modalities and song-forms into the progressive jazz idiom at various points in time as solo artists or collaborators. Hence, the musicians coalesce for the third chapter of Abassi's Invocation group that merges South Asian music with ultra-modern jazz, often executed at warp speed amid supple time signatures and Herculean soloing activities. Largely built on tightly ...
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by Roger Farbey
Rez Abbasi was born in Karachi, Pakistan but at the age of four his family moved to Los Angeles and at eleven he started learning guitar. Whilst there are undoubtedly some South Asian influences in his compositions, these are generally incidental or to be found “under the radar" as Abbasi himself puts it. In any case the music surely transcends geographical boundaries. With a brace of ten albums to his name, this is Abbasi's follow-up to 2016's Behind The Vibration ...
Continue ReadingRez Abbasi & Junction: Behind the Vibration
by Mark F. Turner
With a unique touch and distinct abilities, guitarist Rez Abbasi has produced some captivating recordings that have combined modern jazz and Pakistani/American in forward thinking projects like 2015's Intents and Purposes (Enja) with his Acoustic Quartet which put a fresh spin on popular 1970s jazz-rock compositions. Here he presents Junction, a new electric project of original music delivered by like-minded musicians with a lively plugged-in aesthetic--throbbing keyboards and funky yet tricky rhythms that lean heavily toward his early rock influences. ...
Continue ReadingRez Abbasi Acoustic Quartet: Intents and Purposes
by Mario Calvitti
Rileggere alcuni dei classici del jazz-rock elettrico anni '70 secondo una prospettiva acustica potrebbe sembrare una scommessa decisamente azzardata per molti. Non per il chitarrista di origine pakistana Rez Abbasi, che alla guida di un quartetto acustico completato dal vibrafono di Bill Ware e dalla sezione ritmica formata dal contrabbassista Stephan Crump e dal batterista Eric McPherson ne propone la sua personale rilettura in questo Intents and Purposes, secondo disco del quartetto dopo Natural Selection del 2010. ...
Continue ReadingRez Abbasi Trio: Continuous Beat
by John Kelman
In the 17 years since Rez Abbasi released Third Ear (Cathexis, 1995), the Pakistan-born, American-raised guitarist hasn't just covered a lot of ground, he's gone from an undoubtedly talented but somewhat vanilla player to one with a distinct voice and approach. Starting with Snake Charmer (Earth Sounds, 2005) and Bazaar (Zoho, 2006), Abbasi began to find his voice, in a meeting place between the linear nature of his eastern roots and the broader harmonies of his western studies.For ...
Continue ReadingRez Abbasi Trio: Continuous Beat
by Glenn Astarita
Guitarist Rez Abbasi is one of the more prolific modern-era guitarists, calling New York City home but often adhering to his Pakistani roots through the looking-glass of jazz. Other than his impressive chops, he often amalgamates--to varying degrees--an Indo-jazz vibe into his solo outings and session gigs. However, on this plugged-in trio date, Abbasi instills a quasi, jazz-fusion vibe while adding minimal doses of distortion into the grand schema. With a formidable rhythm section supplying a loose but ...
Continue ReadingRez Abbasi: Continuous Beat
by AAJ Italy Staff
Il titolo del nuovo disco di Rez Abbasi, Continuous Beat, sembra fare riferimento a un work in progress, ad una serie di pulsazioni che traggono origine da palpiti antecedenti al disco stesso. Abbasi ha voluto completare e ampliare un progetto iniziato più di un anno fa con Paul Motian e non concretizzatosi a causa della morte del grande batterista. A “sostituirlo" troviamo Satoshi Takeishi, percussionista e batterista dalle eccezionali e dirompenti doti musicali, che intercetta e condivide alla perfezione le ...
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