Friday 06 November 2015

Rudresh Mahanthappa

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At 44, Rudresh Mahanthappa has been declared Saxophonist of the Year three times by the DownbeatMagazine’s International Critics Polls and for five years running by the Jazz Journalists Association, has won the coveted Doris Duke Performing Artist Award for his enviable dedication to jazz, has received a research grant from the prestigious Guggenheim Foundation and has been commissioned to compose dozens of works.
 
His greatest obsession, though, is the legendary saxophonist, Charlie Parker. His latest recording, Bird Calls, which was released by ACT, does reference Charlie Parker directly, it’s not a tribute album.
 
The album was a critical triumph, the verdict unanimous: “This is the sort of thing a jazz fan's daydreams are made of”, or “It's astonishing realize that so few players have taken chances by looking beyond the songs, the music theory, the recordings of Bird”.
 
Mahanthappa doesn’t keep anything from Bird’s originals-well, perhaps a chord or two which clash with the melody or the occasional familiar motif played with different notes. The result is classic jazz with a contemporary approach to rhythm, melody and harmony.
 
6 November 2015, 20:30
Onassis Cultural Centre- Main Stage
 
Via: http://www.sgt.gr

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