Den anerkendte percussionist Sarathy Korwar og hans UPAJ Collective byder på bjergtagende og organisk møde mellem indisk musik og spirituel jazz. De er aktuelle med albummet ‘My East is Your West’ og gæster nu ALICE under Copenhagen Jazz Festival 2019.

‘My East is Your West’ lyder titlen på Sarathy Korwars seneste og bjergtagende album, som The Guardian kaldte “seamless genre fusion”.

Den unge og fremadstormende percussionist, komponist og bandleder er født i USA, opvokset i Indien og har nu gjort det multikulturelle London til sit hjemsted. Så det overrasker næppe, at Korwar har vekselvirkningen mellem øst og vest helt inde under huden. Alligevel forbløffes man over det mesterskab, hvormed Korwar formår at forene inspirationer fra indisk musik og spirituel jazz til et organisk hele. Det er musik, der sender hilsner til gamle ikoner som Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane og Don Cherry, men som samtidig har en højst nutidig følelse i sin musikalske meditation over multikulturel identitet.

Allerede på sit første album, ‘Day To Day’, (Ninja Tune, 2016) trak Korwar på den indiske arv gennem field recordings af Sidi-musikere (efterkommere af afrikanske immigranter i Indien). Selv har han studeret klassisk tabla-spil under mestre som Shri Rajeev Devasthali og Pandit Sanju Sahai, mens han i London har specialiseret sig i at overføre klassiske indiske slagtøjstekniker til vestlige trommer.

I London er han en aktiv del af den progressive jazzscene, hvor han bl.a. har samarbejdet med Shabaka Hutchings (Sons of Kemet, The Comet is Coming). ‘My East is Your West’ har han indspillet live i Church of Sound i London sammen med sit eget UPAJ Collective. Et ensemble, der består af et stærkt musikalsk hold med både indiske musikere og vestlige jazzmusikere. Og det er netop UPAJ Collective, som Korwar medbringer, når han gæster ALICE under Copenhagen Jazz Festival 2019.

Copenhagen Jazz Festival 2019 finder sted på 120 venues den 5.-14. juli. Læs mere på www.jazz.dk

Sagt om ‘My East is Your West’:

“The body slams the album delivers give astral jazz an exhilarating twist.”

– All About Jazz

“Making you reconsider totemic moments in jazz, this feels like an important record, one that opens up a conversation that has largely been excluded from the mainstream for much too long. Above all this, though, is the sheer marvel of the musicianship, the endless innovation, the continual improvisation that makes ‘My East Is Your West’ such a surprising, and truly enjoyable listen.” – Clash Magazine

In English:

Born in the US, raised in India and now based in London, Sarathy Korwar has made a name for himself with an organic and breathtaking fusion of spiritual jazz and Indian music. Sarathy has been trained as a classical tabla player under the guidance of Shri Rajeev Devasthali and Pandit Sanju Sahai, and is equally at ease on the tabla and drum-kit. In 2011, he graduated with an MMus in Performance from SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) in London, with a focus on the adaptation of Indian classical rhythmic material to non-Indian percussion instruments. In 2018 he released the aptly titled ‘My East is Your West’ with his own UPAJ Collective. Recorded live in Church of Sound in London, the album brings together Indian musicians and musicians from the field of contemporary jazz in a musical meditation on multiculturalism. Now Sarathy Korwar brings his ensemble to Copenhagen to perform at ALICE during Copenhagen Jazz Festival 2019.

Copenhagen Jazz Festival 2019 takes place at 120 venues on July 5-14. Read more at www.jazz.dk