Trilok Gurtu is an Indian percussionist and composer, he was born born in Mumbai, India on 30 October 1951 and his work blending traditional Indian music with jazz fusion, world music and many other different genres.
Trilok Gurtu has collaborated with many artists, including Terje Rypdal, Gary Moore, John McLaughlin, Jan Garbarek, Joe Zawinul, Bill Laswell, Maria João & Mário Laginha, and Robert Miles.
Gurtu began playing western drum kit in the 1970s, and developed interest in jazz. In the 1970s, he played with Charlie Mariano, John Tchicai, Terje Rypdal, and Don Cherry.
In the 1980s, Gurtu played with Swiss drummer Charly Antolini, bassists Jonas Hellborg and with John McLaughlin in McLaughlin’s trio, and performed at least one concert opening for Miles Davis.
“Spellbound” is an expression of Trilok Gurtu’s great admiration for the man and musician Don Cherry, but also have some moments with a strong Miles Davis flavor.
Although the album starts with a 33-second improvisation in a duo with Cherry on trumpet and Trilok Gurtu, “Spellbound” contain no other recordings with Don Cherry.
But Gurtu invited a solid line-up of trumpeters to contribute to this album. The Norwegian Nils Petter Molvær, for example, who, like no other European trumpeter, can translate the seething funk-rock mixture of a Miles Davis from the early 1970s into the expression of an improvising musician from Europe. Or the Italian Paolo Fresu, who always manages to transform the melodious, hot-blooded temperament of his homeland into a cool sound design. Or the German multi-talent Matthias Schriefl, whose youthful impetuosity stretches even Gurtu’s music beyond the boundaries of tonality. And then there is Ibrahim Maalouf, a native of Lebanon living in France, who plays the melisma of Arabic musical culture on his unusual quarter tone trumpet, as well as Hasan Gözetlik from Turkey, who transfers the emotionality-increasing microtonality of the folklore of his homeland to a current, contemporary music.
“Spellbound” is a symbol of Trilok Gurtu’s vision of a world music “without borders”, the album running through different genres and styles, taking rides upon swing and bebop, mixing once again Indian flavor with jazz fusion and creating a magic world, a bridge between continents and cultures.
Very fresh and very refreshing!
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