The Dakshina Ensemble
The Magic Triangle Jazz Series and the Asian Arts & Culture Program present the Dakshina Ensemble, featuring Kadri Gopalnath and Rudresh Mahanthappa.
These two alto saxophonists, presenting Kinsmen/Svajanam, are joined by A. Kanyakumari (violin), Rez Abbasi (sitar-guitar), Carlo de Rosa (bass), Poovalur Srinivasan (mridangam), and royal hartigan (drums). The Asia Society commissioned this program and produced the USA tour.
Two masters of the alto saxophone—-one a living legend of South Indian Carnatic music and the other a fiercely innovative Indian American jazz musician—-compose the Dakshina Ensemble. A recognized innovator, Kadri Gopalnath has introduced and adapted a relatively new western instrument to the traditions of Indian Carnatic music. Rudresh Mahanthappa fuses a myriad of contemporary and traditional influences, drawing on his Indian ancestry and using American jazz as his foundation, into his highly improvisational work. The distinction between their respective influences, training and idiom is both complicated and enhanced by their shared South Indian heritage and their shared instrument.
Kadri Gopalnath is a true phenomenon in the world of Indian classical music. In 2004, he was awarded Padmashree, the highest award given to an artist in India, by President Sri A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. In 1977, he gave his first concert and became an instant sensation. His fame soon spread throughout India where he has frequently been the highlight of festivals and concerts. Gopalnath has played with many leading jazz musicians, including the saxophonist John Handy, and has collaborated with flautist James Newton on an album. "The music of Kadri Gopalnath would make a stone melt and he can do anything with the bass register except eat it," writes The Illustrated Weekly.
Named a Rising Star of the alto saxophone by the Downbeat International Critics Poll for the past three years, Rudresh Mahanthappa is one of the most innovative young musicians in jazz today. His most recent recordings, Codebook and Raw Materials, were named two of the top jazz albums of 2006 by The Village Voice and Jazztimes, and he just won a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship. Mahanthappa has performed with David Murray, Steve Coleman, Jack DeJohnette, Samir Chatterjee, Von Freeman and his long-time collaborator, Vijay Iyer. "Mahanthappa creates a music that is at once technically brilliant yet musically cogent, harmonically adventurous yet expressively straightforward," writes The Chicago Tribune.