SARATHY KORWAR レコード& CD

Review: Always a worldly traveller in his musical quests Brian D'Souza aka Auntie Flo has now teamed up with Sarathy Korwar, an accomplished US-based percussionist with Indian heritage. Their collaborative album Shruti Dances is described as 'an explorative journey through South Asian tonality and diasporic identity', and it finds Korwar laying down dense tabla rhythms and drumming. D'Souza responds in kind with a varied pitch of sonic ingredients, largely synthesised but charged with a spiritual energy which feels perfectly matched to the captivating rhythms Korwar lays down. Boiled down to six tracks but hopefully with more to be unearthed in the future, it's a highly successful crossover which should appeal to everyone who loves outernational fusions.

Review: Last year, Jamal Moss in conjunction with percussionist and producer Sarathy Korwar (Ninja Tune/The Steve Reid Foundation) and the highly respected British saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings recorded a live and improvised session at the iconic Lightship95 studio, moored at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London. Two and a half hours of music was recorded across two sessions, with 90 minutes streamed live via NTS Radio. Technicolour now present a 12" EP comprising of four edits from these sessions titled 'Association For Research & Enlightenment Project'. The deep analogue tribalism of "The Doctrines Of Swedenborg" is truly magical and is geared for some real tunnelling effects. The lush ambience of "Dimensions Of Frequency & Vibrations" on the flip was a highlight too, awash in celestial synths and evocative saxophone solos, accompanied by Korwar's drumming reaching near tribal moments.

Review: If you're looking for some exotic, spiritually minded jazz to kick-start 2021, look no further than this inspired collection as "direct-to-disc" improvisation from drummer Sarathy Korwar and his regular studio partners, the UPAJ Collective. In keeping with the feel of their previous work, the five showcased improvised recordings brilliant fuse familiar spiritual jazz tropes (snaking saxophone solos, loose-limbed drums and quality keys-work) with the traditions and sounds of Indian classical music (think tablas, violins, Hindi musical motifs played on acoustic guitar etc). Throw in some real-time recording trickery, and you've got an unusual but extremely entertaining set that we firmly believe is the first great jazz album of 2021.