Dave Phillips & Freedance: CONFLUENCE – [Innova, 2012] –

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Bassist, Composer, Dave Phillips, Glen Fitten, innova.mu, John O' Gallagher, Jon Werking, Rez Abbasi, Tony Moreno

“Living at a time when tradition and sameness seem to be the norm, it’s so great to hear music that dares to take chances, mixes it up and gives plenty of room for the imagination to stretch out.” —Jazz guitarist John Abercrombie

Dave Phillips & Freedance, CONFLUENCE

Dave Phillips & Freedance: CONFLUENCE –Mp3– [Innova, 2012] –

On his fourth album as a leader, New York bassist and composer Dave Phillips takes his quartet Freedance to brand new places. The sole vehicle for Phillips’ writing since he moved to New York City in 1985, the core group consists of guitarist Rez Abbasi, alto saxophonist John O’Gallagher and drummer Tony Moreno. Confluence is true to its name: a collection of eight works that blend folklike melodies, mixed meters and dynamic instrumental interplay to create a modern chamber jazz sound.

Guitarist REZ ABBASI Releases His Ninth Album Continuous Beat on Enja Records, October 9, 2012

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Composer, Enja Records, Fully Altered MEDIA, Guitarist, John Hébert, Rez Abbasi, Satoshi Takeishi

Voted #2 Rising Star Guitarist in 2012 Down Beat International Critics Poll

Rez Abbasi TRIO, Continuous Beat

Inventive guitarist Rez Abbasi takes the pulse of the modern guitar trio on his ninth album, Continuous Beat. Embracing the use of electronics and effects to broaden his sonic palette to a much further extent than he ever has in the past, Abbasi evolves the scope and range of possibilities of the traditional guitar/bass/drums format far beyond its apparent limitations.

“People often think of the jazz guitar trio and relate it to all things historical,” Abbasi says. “That’s not to say that the Jim Hall trio records aren’t some of my favorite albums of all time. But it’s 2012 now and we’ve heard a lot of purely ‘warm’ guitar trio albums. I wanted to stimulate the listener’s aural perception throughout the album – to give them a sense of textural surprise from start to finish that embodies both that warmth and the desire to push away from the commonplace.”

Rez Abbasi -][- Suno Suno [ENJA RECORDS, 2011]

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Guitar, Jazz, Rez Abbasi, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Vijay Iyer

Rez Abbasi, Suno Suno

Rez Abbasi -][- Suno Suno [ENJA RECORDS, 2011]

[Biography] – Born in Karachi, Pakistan, removed at the age of four to relocate to Southern California, schooled at the University of Southern California and the Manhattan School of Music in jazz and classical music, as well as a pilgrimage in India under the tutorial of master percussionist, Ustad Alla Rakha, Rez Abbasi is a vivid synthesis of all the above stated influences and genres.

Making New York home for the past 18 years, Abbasi has developed a unique sound both as a composer and an instrumentalist and is considered by many to be one of the foremost modern jazz guitar players the world over. He has honed his skills with performances through out Europe, Canada, the U.S., Mexico and India. He has performed and recorded with many jazz greats including, Grammy winner Ruth Brown, Peter Erskine, Kenny Werner, Barre Phillips, Tim Hagans, Marc Johnson, Billy Hart, Marvin ‘Smitty’ Smith, Gary Thomas, Rick Margitza, Dave Douglas, DD Jackson, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Tony Malaby, George Brooks, Pandit Ronu Majumdar, Pandit Kadri Gopalnath, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Marilyn Crispell, Greg Osby, Howard Levy and a host of others.

Flux Jazz Essentials for 2011?

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African American, Ambrose Akinmusire, Bass, Ben Williams, Christian Scott, David Binney, David Sanchez, Drums, Eric Harland, Fabian Almazan, Female Vocalist, Flux Jazz Essentials 2011, Flux Music Essentials, Gerald Clayton, Gretchen Parlato, Hiromi, Itai Kriss, Joshua Redman, Miguel Zenón, Miles Español, Piano, Rez Abbasi, Saxophone, Sean Jones, Stefon Harris, Terri Lyne Carrington, Trumpet, Yellowjackets

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to my fellow jazz enthusiasts, as always it’s great to be with you. Although, it’s been an extremely stressful year economically and politically for so many globally I’m thankful regardless for those of us who are still here despite the mayhem that’s currently causing all this strife and pain. With that said, as a optimist times like this has a tendency to draw us closer to our love ones, make new friends and on the entertainment side of the spectrum expand our music collection to give us a positive outlet to delve into. In this case, as music goes so far this has been an exceptional year jazz wise. Therefore, this among many reasons led me to return and share with you a few of my favorite jazz albums that I stumbled into this year. If you haven’t, I hope that you find time to listen some of these titles (their well worth your effort). If not, please share with us some of your favorite recordings you’ve embraced this year. Thanks in advance, I’ll be delighted to hear from you!

The following selections in no particular order are some of my favorite Jazz albums for 2011!

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In my absence, I appreciate those of you who drop by and followed me on Twitter at your convince. One thing for sure, I plan to return in the near future to continue sharing with you some of the finest jazz, news, and reviews available.

Until then, take care and God bless.

Rob Young |The Urban Flux [… is jazz with abstract xpressions shaped by vibrant and unique voices!]

Rez Abbasi Acoustic Quartet -][- Natural Selection [Sunny Side Records]

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Guitar, Jazz, Rez Abbasi

Natural Selection is the latest project by guitarist Rez Abbasi, this is undoubtedly one of his most lyrically intoxicating sessions which in turn captures his acoustic voice brilliantly … —Rob Young | The Urban Flux

Rez Abbasi Acoustic Quartet - Natural Selection

Rez Abbasi Acoustic Quartet -][- Natural Selection – [Sunny Side Records, 2010]

The blend of the acoustic guitar with vibraphone is one I’ve envisioned for years and that I’ve not heard so far on other recordings. It offered me a fresh perspective from which to write the music for this album. During the compositional process, I was conscious of magnifying the group’s unique chamber-like sound while retaining the essence and subtleties of each player’s unique voice.

In addition, it was important that the acoustic guitar not only be featured on ballads, as it often is, but also engaged in a variety of settings as a viable front line instrument. —Rez Abbasi

Featuring:

REZ ABBASI: Acoustic Guitars
Bill Ware:: Vibraphone
Stephan Crump: Acoustic Bass
Eric McPherson: Drums

ALL COMPOSITIONS BY REZ ABBASI except:
Lament by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan; Personal Mountains by Keith Jarrett;
Punjab by Joe Henderson; Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers

..:: Source: RezTone.com ::..