Global Rhythms photo by Adrien Tillman.
Saturday, September 23, 7:30pm
Plymouth Church Seattle
1217 6th Ave
$15–20
On what would have been John Coltrane’s 91st birthday, Town Hall Seattle and Earshot Jazz welcome the globally recognized artists’ collective Brooklyn Raga Massive (BRM) to play unique homage to the legendary jazz saxophonist.
Melding chamber ragas, funk, pop, jazz, western classical, and African traditions, BRM will bring Coltrane back into being. The performers include Jay Gandhi (bansuri), Pawan Benjamin (saxophone), Trina Basu (violin), Brandee Younger (harp), Marc Cary (piano, Rhodes), Neel Murgai (sitar), Sameer Gupta (drums, tabla), Rashaan Carter (bass) and Michael Gam (bass), Arun Ramamurthy (carnatic violin).
BRM is a collective of forward-thinking musicians rooted in and inspired by Indian classical music. Hailed as “Leaders of the Raga Renaissance” by the New Yorker, BRM creates original composed music by BRM member musicians and represented ensembles, presents over 70 concerts annually with an ongoing weekly concert and raga jam session series and specialty concerts, and co-presents an annual 24 Ragas Live festival.
BRM features both traditional Indian classical performances as well as cross-cultural Raga-inspired music. In particular, the culturally inclusive nature of BRM has not only built a strong community, but has become an incubator of new music collaborations with sounds indigenous to Brooklyn. As collective member David Ellenbogen states, “There is something magical happening right now. There is a new generation of musicians who are disciples of some of the greatest living Indian Classical musicians, but who also speak the languages of jazz, funk, reggae—not as outsiders, but as insiders of both traditions.”
Now a 501(c)(3) non-profit, BRM’s first seeds as a humble music collective began in 2012 in a Prospect Heights dive bar with a weekly concert series and jam session. Over the years, this ongoing weekly event has helped to cultivate a vibrant community of musicians and music lovers, all while embracing new artists and opening doors for cross-cultural collaboration reflective of the current Brooklyn musical landscape.
The inclusive and spontaneous nature of BRM is apropos in celebrating the legendary Coltrane, whose ideas went on to shape jazz, improvised, and experimental music as we know it today.
Presented by Town Hall Seattle & Earshot Jazz
For tickets and more information, visit townhallseattle.org. To learn about Brooklyn Raga Massive, visit brooklynragamassive.org.
–Caitlin Peterkin
