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Pakistani-born Los Angeles-raised guitarist Rez Abbasi debuted with
Third Ear (november 1992), followed by
Modern Memory (1996),
Out Of Body (2002), with two ten-minute jams
(Ganges and Dark Bones),
Snake Charmer (june 2003), featuring Indian vocalist Kiran Ahluwalia
and reedist Dave Liebman,
Bazaar (september 2005),
with Rudresh Mahanthappa on alto sax plus Dave Liebman on soprano sax,
Things To Come (january 2009),
that debuted the Invocation quintet
with alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa and pianist Vijay Iyer
(and guest vocalist Ahluwalia), containing
Within Sanity and
Realities Of Chromaticism,
Natural Selection (may 2010), his first acoustic recording,
accompanied by Bill Ware on vibraphone, Stephan Crump
on acoustic bass and Eric McPherson on drums,
Suno Suno (december 2010), another Invocation collaboration with
Mahanthappa and Iyer, with stellar interplay and thoughtful compositions
(Thanks for Giving,
Onus on Us,
Nusrat,
Overseas,
Part of One),
Continuous Beat (may 2012),
a trio with bassist John Hebert and drummer Satoshi Takeishi,
and
Intents and Purposes (april 2014),
the acoustic follow-up to Natural Selection.
Rez Abbasi also formed Junction with saxophonist Mark Shim
(who played with Hamiett Bluiett, Elvin Jones, David Murray, Greg Osby, Vijay Iyer), veteran keyboardist Ben Stivers and drummer Kenny Grohowski
of Secret Chiefs 3.
They debuted with Behind the Vibration (august 2015).
The five lengthy jams that constitute the bulk of the album are a bit too
predictable. These seasoned players are obviously skilled and don't need to
prove it here, but there is a general lack of passion and imagination.
It feels like a fashion show in which models perform well-tested memorized
movements.
The liquid jazz-rock Holy Butter (9:01) is quite derivative, no matter
how vibrant and competent the playing.
There is, nonetheless, plenty to digest. For example
the lyrical and summer-y guitar refrain and the eloquent organ solo in
Inner Context (8:51), the raga-psychedelic beginning of Uncommon Sense (8:54), the stuttering trumpet solo in New Rituals (9:05), which is probably the album's standout (but feels like a collage of individual solos), etc.
The trilogy with Iyer and Mahanthappa was completed by
Unfiltered Universe (february 2016) that documents a lineup with Vijay Iyer (piano), Rudresh Mahanthappa (alto sax), Johannes Weidenmueller (double bass), Dan Weiss (drums) and Elizabeth Mikhael (cello).
A quintet with the Silent Ensemble comprising of Pawan Benjamin (tenor and soprano saxes), Jennifer Vincent (acoustic bass, cello), Rohan Khrishnamurthy (mridangam, ghatam, khanjira) and Jake Goldbas (drum set) recorded
A Throw Of Dice (may 2017).
Oasis (premiered in june 2019) documents a collaboration between guitarist Rez Abbasi and harpist Isabelle Olivier (also on electronics), with the addition of percussionists David Paycha and Prabhu Edouard.
The tribute to guitarist Django Reinhardt of
Django-Shift (february 2019) was performed in the company of
keyboardist Neil "Nail" Alexander, and drummer Michael Sarin.
Naya Baaz, a quartet with Josh Feinberg (sitar), Jennifer Vincent (5-string cello) and Satoshi Takeishi (drums), debuted with the twelve-part suite of Charm (november 2021).
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