“The great jazz guitarist Larry Coryell, Bay area saxophone legend George Brooks, bansuri flute master Ronu Majumdar and tabla virtuoso Aditya Kalyanpur join forces to conjure Indian-inspired jazz raga with Bombay Jazz. These world music visionaries blend the ancient improvisational art of Indian classical music with America’s jazz tradition to create a soul satisfying, original music filled with rich melodies and dynamic rhythms.” Bombay Jazz rolls into the San Jose Jazz Festival on Saturday, August 8th at 5:00 pm on the California Theater Stage.
“Bombay Jazz made their debut at the Jazz Yatra in Mumbai, India in 2003, where they received critical and popular acclaim. A whirlwind tour of Europe (21 performances, 10 countries, 23 days) and performances throughout the United States soon followed. Since their debut, Bombay Jazz has toured across the globe, solidifying the group’s relentless pursuit of compositional and improvisational excellence.
As one of the pioneers of jazz-rock, Coryell has performed with superstars including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Al Di Meola. His Indian music collaborations include Hariprasad Chaurasia, Zakir Hussain, and Dr. L. Subramanium. A Grammy® nominee, world-renowned Ronu Majumdar plays the bansuri, a simple bamboo flute, with tremendous power, versatility, and virtuosity. He has performed with international superstars Pandit Ravi Shankar, George Harrison, and Ry Cooder. Considered one of the most promising torchbearers of the Punjab Gharana, Aditya Kalyanpur has had the honor of accompanying India’s most outstanding concert artists including Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, and Ustad Sultan Khan. Kalyanpur teaches on the faculty of Harvard’s Sangeet Music School and has worked with the Rolling Stones and saxophonist Tim Reis.
George Brooks is a prolific and diverse saxophonist and composer, acclaimed for successfully bridging the worlds of jazz and Indian classical music. He is the founder of several important Indian fusion groups including Summit with Fareed Haque, Kai Eckhardt, Zakir Hussain and Steve Smith, Bombay Jazz with Larry Coryell and Ronu Majumdar and the Kirwani Quartet with Dutch harpist Gwyneth Wentink and Indian flute maestro Hariprasad Chaurasia. 2010 brings us the release of George’s new Spirit and Spice CD (on Brooks’ Earth Brother Music label) as well as Abstract Logix’s release of the Raga Bop Trio CD featuring George, drummer Steve Smith and south Indian electric guitar phenomenon, Prasanna. In the fall of 2010 he will reunite with his mentor/colleague Terry Riley and Asian Underground innovator, Talvin Singh for an extensive tour of Europe and the UK.
In the hands of world-renowned flutist, Ronu Majumdar, the bansuri, a simple bamboo flute, becomes an instrument of tremendous power, virtuosity and versatility. A Grammy nominee, Ronu has performed with international superstars, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Beatle George Harrison and guitarist Ry Cooder. He is the co-composer (with Sam Carrdon) of the score for the award winning Imax film, Mystic India.
Aditya Kalyanpur began his studies at age five under the vigilance of Tabla Maestros Ustad Allarakha and Zakir Hussain, Aditya is considered one of the most promising torchbearers of the Punjab Gharana and has had the honor of accompanying India’s most outstanding concert artisits including Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ustad Sultan Khan, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Pandit VishwaMohan Bhat, Ustad Shujaat Khan and many others. Aditya teaches on the faculty of Harvard’s Sangeet Music School and has worked with the Rolling Stones and saxophonist Tim Reis…”
Here’s a video clip interviewing Coryell and footage of Bombay Jazz in Montreal in 2010…
