Kinsmen [PA] [Digipak] (CD - 2008)

Personnel: Rudesh K. Mahanthappa (alto saxophone); Rudresh Mahanthappa (alto saxophone); Rez Abbasi (guitar, sitar); A. Kanyakumari (violin); Kadri Gopalnath (alto saxophone); Carlo DeRosa (bass instrument, acoustic bass); Royal Hartigan (drums); Poovalur Sriji.

On his first five albums as a leader, saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa explored an edgy post-bop direction. On KINSMEN, however, he teams up with saxophonist Kadri Gopalnath and the Dakshina Ensemble, who specialize in South Indian classical music, to make a connection between his own post-bop roots and Indian classical forms. Unlike many Indian-influenced albums released in the West, KINSMEN doesn't rely completely on traditional raga forms. Instead, the album draws on the modes and timbres of Indian music itself, while maintaining the collaborative range, and high-energy swing, of traditional jazz. minimize