Arun Ramamurthy Trio
Lineup
About the Event
Carnatic Jazz
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Carnatic violin virtuoso Arun Ramamurthy is a raga evangelist dedicated to sharing the ancient melodic figures and extended rhythmic cycles that undergird South Indian classical music.
A co-founder of Brooklyn Raga Massive, a collective that transformed New York’s classical Indian music scene, he’s been involved in an array of ensembles that bring together artists steeped in raga with other styles and idioms. His trio with Bay Area-born percussionist Sameer Gupta, co-founder of Brooklyn Raga Massive, explores the deep confluence between raga and jazz, “a tradition with true kinship to Carnatic music in its history and people and the spirit of improvisation,” he says. Walking a parallel path combining his love of jazz and Hindustani classical music via the drum kit, Gupta was eager to expand his collaboration with Ramamurthy.
Veteran New York electric bassist Damon Banks, whose credits range across the globe from Brazil’s Caetano Veloso and Benin’s Angelique Kidjo to Morocco’s Hassan Hakmoun and Nigeria’s Majek Fashek, was an obvious choice to anchor the hybrid ensemble. While the bass has little track record in raga music, Ramamurthy’s soaring lines dance across the thrilling rhythmic cross-currents generated by Gupta and Banks. The trio performs a transcendent range of music including material from their 2024 Greenleaf Music album New Moon.