With Leave The Door Open (Whirlwind Recordings), guitarist 
Joel Harrison
guitar, electricb.1957
Multiplicity of Musical Idioms: Guitarist Joel Harrison & Sarode Master Anupam Shobhakar Release "Leave The Door Open"
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data-original-title="" title="">Joel Harrison teams up with sarode player Anupam Shobhakar and the product is a wholly idiosyncratic synthesis of Indian and American musics and more particularly, the lives and interests of these two musicians.
Harrison and Shobhakar met as a result of a 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship when Harrison set out to compose a piece for classical percussion, jazz quintet, and sarode. Harrison says that he and Shobhakar “spent a lot of time together figuring out how our different backgrounds could blend and cohere. ‘He taught me and I taught him. He’s an incredibly virtuosic, well-educated performer.’ I had had a lifelong interest in sarode, but working with Anupam allowed me to grow exponentially in my understanding of his tradition.”
Rather than have Shobhakar act as a “special guest” in the context of a chamber ensemble of Harrison’s regular peers, the guitarist says that Shobhakar embraced the challenge to step outside the bounds of traditional Indian music – to collaborate wholeheartedly in the spirit of a multiplicity of approaches.
Says Shobhakar, “Working on this project allowed me to learn in much deeper ways what jazz music is, and how it connects to who I am. I am truly thrilled to have learned so much about how to work with a jazz rhythm section. Indian improvisation and jazz improvisation are very different in a lot of ways, and developing a rapport with Joel and his peers was at the heart of this project."
This notion of collaboration is what one hears first upon listening to Leave The Door Open. The album's first half is comprised of long form pieces, two from each composer. “We wanted to dig deep into our compositional backgrounds and write music that takes the listener on a journey," Harrison says. “We both added to each other's shapes and ideas. However, we didn’t just want to write from an esoteric, intellectual place. We really wanted to make something emotionally engaging. We both felt that folk music was a way to do that. We wanted the CD to have heart and soul.”
On
Harrison and Shobhakar met as a result of a 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship when Harrison set out to compose a piece for classical percussion, jazz quintet, and sarode. Harrison says that he and Shobhakar “spent a lot of time together figuring out how our different backgrounds could blend and cohere. ‘He taught me and I taught him. He’s an incredibly virtuosic, well-educated performer.’ I had had a lifelong interest in sarode, but working with Anupam allowed me to grow exponentially in my understanding of his tradition.”
Rather than have Shobhakar act as a “special guest” in the context of a chamber ensemble of Harrison’s regular peers, the guitarist says that Shobhakar embraced the challenge to step outside the bounds of traditional Indian music – to collaborate wholeheartedly in the spirit of a multiplicity of approaches.
Says Shobhakar, “Working on this project allowed me to learn in much deeper ways what jazz music is, and how it connects to who I am. I am truly thrilled to have learned so much about how to work with a jazz rhythm section. Indian improvisation and jazz improvisation are very different in a lot of ways, and developing a rapport with Joel and his peers was at the heart of this project."
This notion of collaboration is what one hears first upon listening to Leave The Door Open. The album's first half is comprised of long form pieces, two from each composer. “We wanted to dig deep into our compositional backgrounds and write music that takes the listener on a journey," Harrison says. “We both added to each other's shapes and ideas. However, we didn’t just want to write from an esoteric, intellectual place. We really wanted to make something emotionally engaging. We both felt that folk music was a way to do that. We wanted the CD to have heart and soul.”
On
Willie Dixon
bass, acoustic1915 - 1992
Of the musicians in the band, Harrison says that drummer
Dan Weiss
drums
Hans Glawischnig
bassb.1970
Gary Versace
pianoThe common thread among these musicians is their extensive musical relationships – not only with Harrison – but also with each other. Given that, Harrison says Leave The Door Open, “was like turning to the home-team”. He goes on to stress that, “I’m making my own record here, it’s not like I was saying ‘It’s time for me to make an Indian record and I’m going to get a bunch of people together to do that.’ It’s another link or chapter in my output, with its attention turned in a certain direction.”
Regarding the name Multiplicity, Harrison says: “We used that word because it represents our multiplicity of approaches. Our collaboration is unique because of the many diverse cross currents involved. Hopefully, this richness of background and materials evolves into a unity of purpose." That unity is certainly present throughout Leave The Door Open.
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Track Listing
The Translator; Leave the Door Open; Madhuvanti; Multiplicity; Spoonful; Kemne Avul; Turning World; Devil Mountain Blues; Deep River.
Personnel
Joel Harrison
guitar, electricAdditional Instrumentation
Joel Harrison: electric, National steel, acoustic and baritone guitars; Anupam Shobhakar: sarode; Gary Versace: piano, Hammond B-3organ, accordion; Hans Glawischnig: acoustic and electric bass; Dan Weiss: drums, tabla; David Binney: alto saxophone (1, 3); Todd Isler: percussion (6, 8); Bonnie Chakraborty: voice (6); Chandrashekar Vase: voice (4).
Album information
Title: Leave the Door Open | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Whirlwind Recordings Ltd
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Recording
Joel Harrison
Chris M. Slawecki
United States
Whirlwind Recordings
Anupam Shobhakar
Willie Dixon
Dan Weiss
Hans Glawischnig
Gary Versace
Dave Binney
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