RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA — Gamak (review)

RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA — Gamak album cover Album · 2013 · World Fusion Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
snobb
On his seconds release for German ACT label Italy-born US-based sax player of Indian origin Rudresh Mahanthappa returns to his quartet of "Codebook" (2006,Pi Records) but with one significant difference - instead of piano star Vijay Iyer he adds Screaming Headless Torsos guitarist David Fiuczynski playing fretless guitar here. As a result whole sound switches towards progressive rock still being true high energy fusion though.

Two other quartet members are regular Rudresh's collaborators acoustic bassist François Moutin and drummer Dan Weiss. It's interesting how differently sounds generally same "Indian roots + modern jazz" formula played by piano-less quartet: music here is not two melted in one components anymore but just balanced parallel lines of East and West. To be honest Rudresh never sounded too authentic playing Indian-rooted music, even less he does it here - his Trieste-NY-Indian sound gives lot of spices, but can't be compared with Shakti's world fusion.

From other hand Fiuczynski's fretless guitar is tuned slightly as sitar, all that gives strange modern Western jazz with ragas taste feeling. Add full-acoustic rhythm section - here we are! Album in whole sounds extremely fresh and modern, the only thing I missed are stronger compositions. Enjoying musicianship and interesting sound you will hardly remember even a single tune same moment when the music stops playing.

Important recordings in Mahanthappa discography, showing even bigger potential but released only in part here.
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