2010 MJF PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE: WHEN: Friday Night Sept. 17, 2010 / 11:00pm WHERE: Night Club MJF HISTORY: MJF DEBUT!

Synthesizing jazz with the astutely improvised musical forms of South Asia, the Indo-
Pak Coalition transcends any preconception of Indo-jazz fusion. Led by Indian-
American saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, this trio with Pakistani-American guitarist Rez Abbasi and rising tabla star Dan Weiss is already turning heads internationally in both the jazz and world music scenes. Their debut album Apti (Innova, 2008) reached #1 on the JazzWeek World Music radio charts and enjoyed long stints in the top ten of the JazzWeek Jazz, CMJ Jazz, and ChartAttack radio charts. Rolling Stone, the New York Times, and DownBeat, among others, have raved about both the ensemble and the album.

Rudresh Mahanthappa
Guggenheim fellow and 2009 Downbeat International Critics Poll Winner (“Rising Star-Jazz Artist” and “Rising Star-Alto Saxophone”) Rudresh Mahanthappa is one of the most innovative young musicians and composers in jazz today.

Named Alto Saxophonist of the Year for 2009 by the Jazz Journalist Association, Rudresh has incorporated the culture of his Indian ancestry and has fused myriad influences to create a truly groundbreaking artistic vision. As a performer, he leads/co-leads seven groups to critical acclaim. His 2008 release for Pi Recordings, Kinsmen, featuring Carnatic saxophone legend Kadri Gopalnath has been named one of the Top Jazz CDs of 2008 by numerous news sources including the New York Times, NPR, BBC, Boston Globe, slate.com, JazzTimes, and the Village Voice to name just a few.

His previous quartet release in 2006 for Pi, Codebook, was named one of the Top Jazz Albums of 2006 by the Village Voice, JazzTimes, and the Denver Post and received rave reviews from Downbeat, wired.com, and Science Magazine. In Europe, Codebook received the esteemed “Choc de l'Annee” (album of the year) for 2007 in France’s Jazzman, 4 stars in the UK’s Jazzwise, and received the “Bollino di Marzo” from Italy’s Musica Jazz. As a saxophonist, Mahanthappa has achieved international recognition, and performs regularly at jazz festivals and clubs worldwide.

As a composer, Rudresh has received commission grants from the Rockefeller Foundation MAP Fund, American Composers Forum, Chamber Music America, and the New York State Council on the Arts to develop new work. Mahanthappa holds a Bachelors of Music Degree in jazz performance from Berklee College of Music and a Masters of Music degree in jazz composition from Chicago's DePaul University. He now teaches at The New School University in New York City.

Rudresh Mahanthappa currently lives in New York where he is clearly regarded as an important and influential voice in the jazz world. Rudresh K. Mahanthappa uses Vandoren reeds exclusively. Mahanthappa is also a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow.

Rez Abbasi
Born on the Indian sub-continent, removed at the age of four to the vastness of Southern California, schooled at the University of Southern California and the Manhattan School of Music in jazz and classical music, as well as a pilgrimage in India under the tutorial of master percussionist, Ustad Alla Rakha, Rez Abbasi is a vivid synthesis of all the above stated influences and genres.

Making New York home for the past 18 years, Rez Abbasi is considered by many to be one of the foremost modern jazz guitar players on today’s scene. He has developed a unique sound both as a composer and an instrumentalist and has honed his skills with performances through out the world including multiple tours in Europe, Canada, the U.S., Mexico and India. He has performed and recorded with many jazz greats including, Grammy winner Ruth Brown, Peter Erskine, Kenny Werner, Barre Phillips, Tim Hagans, Marc Johnson, Billy Hart, Marvin 'Smitty' Smith, Gary Thomas, Rick Margitza, Dave Douglas, DD Jackson, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Tony Malaby, George Brooks, Pandit Ronu Majumdar, Pandit Kadri Gopalnath, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Marilyn Crispell, Greg Osby, Howard Levy and a host of others.

Rez is musical director and producer for Indian/Canadian Juno award winning vocalist, Kiran Ahluwalia. Kiran’s 2008 recording, Wanderlust on the World Connection label, hit the top ten on the European world-music radio charts and also received top ten in Song Lines Magazine. The group travelled extensively throughout Europe, performing at the Paleo and Sfinks festivals. Rez also plays an integral role in two of saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa’s groups, The Indo-Pak Coalition (Innova) and Kinsmen (PI). Kinsmen placed in twenty top ten list’s for 2008. As a result, Rez was interviewed by NPR’s All Things Considered, Rolling Stone Magazine India and featured in the New York Times. The Indo-Pak Coalition recently performed at many festivals including, the Montreal Jazz Festival and Newport Jazz Festival. Rez can also be heard as a member of saxophonist Dave Pietro's Chakra Suite (Challenge Records), and the Sandro Dominelli Trio, among many other groups.

With six albums of original compositions under his belt, Abbasi continues to garner new groups of musicians to help his musical vision come to life. His 2005 recording, Snake Charmer, created a stir in the music world partly due to his organic, original approach in blending two complex musical genres together, namely jazz and Indian music. The provocative instrumentation of organ, drums and guitar alongside Indian vocalist Kiran Ahluwalia, is on one hand, a sound grounded in jazz and yet uncommon in jazz arenas. 20th Century Guitar reviewed the CD as "One of the best examples yet of how to merge Indian Classical music with jazz...Snake Charmer really breaks new ground." In 2007, Rez achieved even greater heights with the follow up recording, Bazaar.

Bazaar continues the group’s journey through uncharted territory and achieves results unparalleled in today’s jazz/world music scene. Rez makes wise use of his fellow player’s talents to create a larger sphere of sound. Besides Gary Versace on organ and Dan Weiss on drums and tabla, Kiran Ahluwalia returns as a central member of the group.

Abbasi’s musical philosophy states, “To create a global-based music steeped in jazz is my goal. In this way, I’m following in the footsteps of some of the greatest jazz musicians. Coltrane, Ellington and Gillespie all immersed themselves into music from around the world and then brought it back home. If I have that kind of unifying affect, I’ve succeeded!”

Rez recently finished his newest work, Things To Come (2009), which is yet another leap into unchartered musical territory and his most intriguing. It includes a star-studded group of Vijay Iyer, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Kiran Ahluwalia, Johannes Weidenmuller, and Dan Weiss and is on the prestigious Sunnyside Record label. Rez was also awarded the Chamber Music America grant in 2009 in order to write more material for this group.

Dan Weiss
Top call drummer Dan Weiss has been studying tabla for the last 10 years exclusively under the guidance of his guru Pandit Samir Chatterjee. He has performed classical