Eshaan Sood/The Sonic Alchemists: Dream River

Guitarist Eshaan Sood has come a long way—in more ways than one. Born and raised in New Delhi, India, he was a graphic artist who had never considered a career in music, let alone jazz, until a near-fatal auto accident in 2015 left him blind and forced him to rethink his plans. No longer able to pursue his dream, Sood turned to a second love, music, finally settling on the guitar as his instrument of choice. That brought him eventually to America, and more specifically to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, wherein he honed his jazz skills as a player and composer before his graduation in 2025.

That long and arduous journey has led to Sood's first recording, Dream River, comprising eight of his original compositions performed by a quartet of his former classmates at the Eastman School, a group Sood has dubbed The Sonic Alchemists. The Alchemists are tasked with taking Sood's notes from the written page and turning them into music that is bright and engaging, a task they undertake with creativity and enthusiasm.

Sood's compositions are more or less straight-ahead with elements of Indian classical music surfacing at brief intervals. Some of them depict aspects of his journey, others people or places that are housed in his memory. "If Our Hearts Could Talk" emphasizes the need for more love in the world, while "Miss Lightning" is about the grief felt when a beloved dog dies, and "Here for a Good Time" is simply that, a danceable salute to the joy of making music together. Sood and the group end their voyage by "Sailing Through Dream River."

The Alchemists play well, individually and collectively, and there are several handsome solos by tenor saxophonist Ivan Demarjian and pianist Annie Orzen to complement those by Sood. In sum, a solid debut that is rarely less than pleasing.