Jazz Articles about Rez Abbasi

Rez Abbasi: Snake Charmer

by Woodrow Wilkins
August 17, 2005

A native of India who migrated to Los Angeles and later New York, Rez Abbasi marries elements from both sides of the world on Snake Charmer, the guitarist's fourth album as a bandleader. He's accompanied by a small ensemble: Gary Versace on organ, Danny Weiss on drums and tabla, Dave Liebman on soprano saxophone, and Kiran Ahluwalia on Indian vocals and tanpura. They deliver an altogether different sound to the jazz scene. The title song begins this nearly ...

Rez Abbasi in Ottawa, Canada

by John Kelman
March 23, 2005

Rez Abbasi The Bayou, Ottawa, Canada Saturday, March 19, 2005

New York-based guitarist Rez Abbasi rolled into town on Saturday, March 19, 2005 for a performance at Ottawa's The Bayou, in support of his latest release Snake Charmer. Using the same line-up as the album, with the exception of the lesser-known but certainly deserving-of-more-attention saxophonist Marc Mommaas replacing David Liebman, Abbasi and organist Gary Versace, drummer Danny Weiss and singer Kiran Ahluwalia had some ...

Rez Abbasi: Snake Charmer

by Sean Patrick Fitzell
February 27, 2005

With Snake Charmer, his fourth CD as a leader, guitarist Rez Abbasi overtly draws on his Indian subcontinent heritage. Beneath this conspicuous exterior is a rhythmically charged guitar-organ-drum trio. This was palpable within minutes at the group's CD release party at Joe's Pub, when Abbasi, along with organist Gary Versace, and drummer Danny Weiss, locked into the quick, sinewy movement of the title track. Their tight interplay is the foundation for the music and provides solid support for their guests. ...

Rez Abbasi: Snake Charmer

by John Kelman
February 6, 2005

There's nothing especially new about fusing jazz with the already rich improvising tradition of Indian music. Guitarist John McLaughlin has pursued it with his Shakti and Remember Shakti projects, while percussionist Trilok Gurtu, most notably on his earlier records, has blended the traditions in a more overtly electric fashion. Even British alto saxophonist Martin Speake has examined the meeting point on his latest disc, The Journey . But in most cases the emphasis seems to be on rhythmic and scalar ...

Rez Abbasi: Snake Charmer

by Jochem van Dijk
January 14, 2005

It probably happened to a lot of us. Aspiring to become the next Vincent van Gogh, we once picked up a paintbrush and enthusiastically started mixing colors, only to find out that we ended up with the same drab brown no matter how vibrant the original hues. In music, too, throwing together styles and cultures just as often results in the equivalent of muddy brown: a vague fusion-ish mishmash that lacks any depth, direction or character. So ...

Rez Abbasi: Snake Charmer

by Jim Santella
January 9, 2005

In a fusion of contemporary jazz and world music, guitarist Rez Abbasi sets out to bring distant nations together on Snake Charmer. His fiery electric guitars deliver a contemporary punch.

With organ and drums, he drives a portion of the session in high gear. His music explodes as the trio explores contemporary jazz from a Western perspective.

Dave Liebman and Kiran Ahluwalia join Abbasi on “Pearl" for a different approach altogether as they explore the music ...

Rez Abbasi: Reziliently Brilliant

by Phil DiPietro
June 1, 2002

At 36, Rez Abbasi is the latest accomplished and proven musician with a few solo releases and a few sideman appearances in his discography to choose the independent jazz route. Born in Pakistan, raised in the USA since the age of three, and having gone east from west internationally as well as domestically, Abbasi is known as a jazzer who displays some restrained measure of his East Indian roots in his composition, playing and harmonic concept. On his superb latest ...