Rudresh Mahanthappa | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | May 4, 1971 Trieste, Italy |
| Genres | Jazz, avant-garde jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instrument | Alto saxophone |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
| Labels | Pi, ACT |
| Website | www |
Rudresh Mahanthappa (born May 4, 1971) is a New York-based jazz alto saxophonist and composer.
Mahanthappa is the son of Indian emigrants to the U.S. He was born in Trieste, Italy as a result of his father's job in academia, but spent most of his life in Boulder, Colorado. He graduated from Fairview High School in 1988, [1] subsequently receiving a BM from the Berklee College of Music in 1992 [2] and an MM in jazz composition from Chicago's DePaul University in 1998. [3]
After moving to New York City in 1997, he released the album Architextures with pianist Vijay Iyer. The two would continue to collaborate often, releasing the albums Black Water, Mother Tongue and Codebook with Mahanthappa's quartet, and Raw Materials as a duo. [4]
Mahanthappa is currently the Anthony P. Lee'79 Director of Jazz at Princeton University, [5] where he teaches improvisation and directs small groups. In 2019, he organized the first annual Princeton University Jazz Festival, which featured headliner Dave Holland along with other student and professional musicians. [6]
During his time at Berklee, he was introduced to the music of Indian saxophonist Kadri Gopalnath, whose use of a Western instrument in carnatic music surprised and inspired Mahanthappa. He would later travel to India on a grant to work with Gopalnath; the two played together in concert between 2005 and 2008 and collaborated on the album Kinsmen (2008), which fuses Western and Indian approaches to improvisation. [7]
In 2010, Mahanthappa recorded and released Apex with saxophonist Bunky Green. As Mahanthappa tells it, "I first heard about Bunky from the late great saxophone teacher Joe Viola when I was a student at Berklee in the early 90s. Joe heard me warming up once and recommended that I check Bunky out as he thought that my approach was on track to being something similar to his. He loaned me Bunky's record Places We've Never Been (Vanguard) which totally knocked me out!" Mahanthappa sought Green out and sent him a tape of his playing to which Green responded by providing some encouraging feedback, leading to a long friendship. [8]
Mahanthappa traveled again to India for his Guggenheim Fellowship so that he could study and gain a better understanding of the formal elements of carnatic music. In a 2011 interview with Westword newspaper about the resulting album, Samdhi, Mahanthappa said, "my idea was to take whatever I learned—take that knowledge—and really put in a setting that has nothing to do with Indian classical music. [1] Mahanthappa further claims The Brecker Brothers, The Yellowjackets, David Sanborn, Grover Washington, Jr., and Miles Davis' electric bands as influences in creating Samdhi.
He leads or co-leads the Rudresh Mahanthappa Quartet (with Vijay Iyer or Craig Taborn on piano, François Moutin on bass, and Dan Weiss on drums), Raw Materials (with Vijay Iyer), Indo-Pak Coalition (with Rez Abbasi on sitar-guitar and Dan Weiss on tabla), MSG (with Ronan Guilfoyle on bass and Chander Sardjoe on drums), Dakshina Ensemble septet, and various groups playing under the label Dual Identity.
Since 2003, Mahanthappa has been listed frequently in the Critics' Poll of Down Beat magazine. He was named both "No. 1 Rising Star Jazz Artist" and "No. 1 Rising Star Alto Saxophonist" in the 2010 poll. [9] In 2011, he was voted the No. 1 Alto Saxophonist of the Year by the 59th Annual Down Beat Critics' Poll. [10]
He was given a grant by the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow in Music (2006), three Rockefeller MAP grants, and two grants from the New York State Council on the Arts.
In 2007, he was named a Guggenheim fellow to pursue his interest in how carnatic music can inform and inspire American jazz. [11]
The Jazz Journalists Association named Mahanthappa Alto Saxophonist of the Year in 2009, [12] 2010, [13] and 2011. [14]
| Year | Title | Artist | Label | Footnotes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Yatra | Rudresh Mahanthappa | Red Giant | [15] |
| 2002 | Black Water | Rudresh Mahanthappa | Red Giant | [16] |
| 2004 | Mother Tongue | Rudresh Mahanthappa | Pi | [17] |
| 2006 | Raw Materials | Vijay Iyer & Rudresh Mahanthappa | Savoy Jazz | [18] |
| 2006 | Codebook | Rudresh Mahanthappa | Pi | [19] |
| 2006 | The Beautiful Enabler | Mauger Trio (Rudresh Mahanthappa, Mark Dresser, Gerry Hemingway) | Clean Feed | [20] |
| 2008 | Kinsmen | Rudresh Mahanthappa & Kadri Gopalnath: The Dakshina Ensemble | Pi | [21] |
| 2008 | Apti | Rudresh Mahanthappa's Indo-Pak Coalition | Innova | [22] |
| 2010 | Dual Identity | Rudresh Mahanthappa & Steve Lehman | Clean Feed | [23] |
| 2010 | Apex | Rudresh Mahanthappa & Bunky Green | Pi | [24] |
| 2011 | Tasty! | MSG: Rudresh Mahanthappa, Chander Sardjoe, Ronan Guilfoyle | Plus Loin | [25] |
| 2011 | Samdhi | Rudresh Mahanthappa | ACT | [26] |
| 2013 | Gamak | Rudresh Mahanthappa | ACT | [27] |
| 2015 | Bird Calls | Rudresh Mahanthappa | ACT |
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Panoptic Modes is the third studio album led by American pianist Vijay Iyer originally released on the Red Giant label in 2001 and re-released on Pi Recordings in 2010.
Blood Sutra is an album by pianist Vijay Iyer recorded in 2003 and originally released on the Artists House label before being reissued on Pi Recordings in 2006.
Reimagining is an album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, which was recorded in 2004, originally released on the Savoy label and reissued in Europe by Pi Recordings. The follow-up to Blood Sutra, the record features nine Iyer's compositions for his quartet with Rudresh Mahanthappa on alto sax, Stephan Crump on bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums, and a solo piano interpretation of John Lennon's "Imagine".
Tragicomic is an album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, which was recorded in 2007 and released on the Sunnyside label. The follow-up to Reimagining, the record features ten Iyer's compositions for his quartet with Rudresh Mahanthappa on alto sax, Stephan Crump on bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums, and two covers: a dub version of Bud Powell's "Comin' Up" and a solo piano interpretation of the standard "I'm All Smiles".
Architextures is the second studio album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer recorded with eight musicians. The album was released on October 13, 1998 via Asian Improv Records label. The tracks 3, 4, 7, 9 were recorded by a trio of Iyer, Brock, and Hargreaves. The tracks 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 were recorded by an octet. The tracks 1 and 12 were recorded solo by Iyer.
Raw Materials is a studio album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer and American jazz saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa. The album was released on May 23, 2006 via Savoy Jazz label.
Dan Weiss is an American jazz drummer and composer who lives in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
Things to Come is an album by guitarist Rez Abbasi which was recorded in late 2008 and early 2009 and released on the Sunnyside label.
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