Guitarist Rez Abbasi is an emblematic figure in the globalization of jazz through his seamless welding of vanguard jazz and South Indian Carnatic sounds. While his virtuosity and inventiveness have been clear in past Walker appearances, this new project with saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa marks Minnesota’s first opportunity to witness Abbasi’s strength as a composer and bandleader. Invocation includes Rez Abbasi (guitar/composition), Rudresh Mahanthappa (alto saxophone), Vijay Iyer (piano), Johannes Weidenmueller (acoustic bass), Dan Weiss (drums), and Elizabeth Means (cello).
The concert opens with Mahanthappa’s groundbreaking Indo-Pak Coalition—a synthesis of bebop chromatics, roiling ragas, and dexterous velocity that creates a “meticulously ordered” sound that “swings like mad” (New Yorker).
Presented in association with the Indian Music Society of Minnesota (IMSOM).
