Djazz Cafe

Steve Smith, George Brooks, Prasanna - The Raga Bop Trio

11/19/10
11/20/20108pm & 10pm

Nov. 19-20, 2010 Steve Smith, George Brooks, Prasanna - The Raga Bop Trio Jazz Café at 8pm, 10pm DRUM BATTLE
THE RAGA BOP TRIO REACH ACROSS AND BEYOND CULTURAL AND MUSICAL LINES ON DEBUT ALBUM – AVAILABLE ON ABSTRACT LOGIX
Composed of award-winning drummer Steve Smith (Journey, Vital Information, and innumerable rock, pop, and R&B sessions), saxophonist and composer George Brooks (Summit, Bombay Jazz with Larry Coryell), and guitarist and composer Prasanna (Dave Douglas, Vijay Iyer), the Raga Bop Trio play a fluidly inventive music that bravely and insightfully combines improvisational traditions from around the world. Drawing upon the urgency and harmonic density of jazz, the rhythmic complexity and melodic richness of Indian classical music and a range of pan-African grooves, the uniquely-constructed trio’s self-titled debut album is simultaneously groundbreaking and refreshingly listenable.

“From the Indian side,” Smith explains, “George Brooks brings his expertise in northern Indian Hindustani music and Prasanna – being from Chennai, India – is an expert in southern Indian Carnatic music. I grew up with the American jazz/groove concept, but starting in 2002, I’ve incorporated northern and southern Indian rhythms and rhythmic concepts into my playing.”

While Raga Bop Trio is the group’s first studio recording, the musicians have been exploring these hybrid musical concepts for some time. Since 2004, Smith and Prasanna had pursued their own version of the Indian percussion-plus-melody duo format, while Smith has also performed in Brooks’ Indian/jazz fusion outfit Summit since 2003. A direct extension of these endeavors, the Raga Bop Trio uses its unusual, stripped-down lineup to highlight the rhythmic intricacy of the compositions, while allowing for maximum interplay. Instrumental roles are re-imagined and transformed, with Brooks’ saxophones occasional taking on the role of the droning tanpura, Smith’s toms functioning as a bass instrument, and Prasanna’s guitar taking on a disarming, almost vocal quality.
In the hands of amateurs, this delicate balance of compositional sophistication, improvisational intensity, and international influences would be unthinkable – yet the Raga Bop Trio delivers it with overwhelming grace and aplomb. “For me,” Smith concludes, “the distinctive quality of the Raga Bop Trio is that the writing and playing employ a seamless amalgamation of all the individual components.”
www.ragaboptrio.com

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