12th May 2023: RELEASE DAY – ‘Charm’ by Naya Baaz (Rez Abbasi and Josh Feinberg) out now
Charm is the debut release from Naya Baaz – a groundbreaking new collaboration between two extraordinary musicians, both of whom have achieved a rare level of mastery in demanding musical traditions from opposite sides of the globe. Recent Guggenheim Fellow, Rez Abbasi moved from Karachi to California as a child and has built up a formidable reputation as a guitarist who combines his love of Jazz (evidenced on his last major release, ‘Django-Shift’) with an international array of influences from South Asia and beyond: Josh Feinberg is one of a handful of Western musicians to excel at the challenging legacy of the Hindustani sitar, specializing in the Maihar Gharana style from North India, and also a jazz bass player who studied with Paul Bley and Dave Holland. ‘Josh earnestly understands jazz harmony and chromaticism as well as Indian musical traditions’ says Rez ‘That’s a very rare combination’. Completing the endlessly flexible line-up are Jennifer Vincent’s bespoke five-string cello, opening up possibilities to add both basslines and melodies, and Satoshi Takeishi’s specially augmented drumset.
Abbasi and Feinberg started bouncing musical ideas between themselves and soon realized they were entering uncharted territory. Rez states, ‘No-one has played these kinds of chromatic melodies and harmonies on sitar before, but Josh had a luthier build him a special sitar that enabled us to bring the band’s vision to fruition.’ The writing was a true collaborative process as they explored the new possibilities opening up before them. ‘Charm’ is the result – a suite of music that falls naturally into three sections, each with its own brief intro.