This Thursday the Wexner Center welcomes back jazz sax sensation Rudresh Mahanthappa, whose Coltrane-inspired sound is well matched to the ever-questing thrust of Gamak, his new quartet. Gamak features the stellar, intricate guitar work of Dave “Fuze” Fiuczynski (who also teams up with Mahanthappa in Jack DeJohnette’s current group), as well as Mahanthappa’s longtime rhythm section of Francois Moutin on bass and Gene Lake on drums. This stunning ensemble furthers Mahanthappa’s ongoing interest in drawing on non-Western sources of musical inspiration to fuel his new jazz concepts. Gamak will issue a new recording early in 2013, and you’ll be able to hear the musicians tear into this fresh material up close in the intimate cabaret-style setting of the Performance Space.
Here are some quick quotes and reviews for Mahanthappa…
“To observe that Mahanthappa fused the incantatory phrase-making and exotic scales of Indian music with the free-wheeling improvisational spirit of American jazz would be an understatement. He’s so thoroughly immersed in both worlds that he conjured up a startlingly original merger of the two.”
“Mahanthappa’s biting attack pairs a Coltrane influence with an incisive, exacting articulation, which absolutely soars.”—JazzTimes
“Terrific stuff that you want to spin again the moment it’s done, and no doubt a band that will melt you in a live setting.” -Dusted Magazine
Thu, Feb 7 | 8 PM
Wexner Performance Space
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