Knu Gmoon...Live!

Noah Jarrett's Knu Gmoon [New Moon] Project is making rare live appearances in NYC and Philadelphia next week.  We just played a CD release show at Zebulon in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (sharing the bill with Noah's other band, The Inbetweens) and will be at Chris' Jazz Cafe in Philly on August 26th and Nublu in NYC on August 27th.  Come on out!

Knu Gmoon Project is a Brooklyn-based sextet with a fresh and intuitive approach to modern jazz and improvisation.  A fusion of simple, straightforward musical ideas (folk/indigenous), with more propellent and/or complex musical ideas (environmental), both react to the other's different speed, intensity, and mood, forming and exciting and new mode for improvisation.  Featuring Noah on double bass/compositions, Loren Stillman on alto saxophone/flute, Mike Gamble on guitars/effectual matter, Tony Barba on tenor saxophone/soprano/flute, Rich Stein's percussive instincts and myself on tabla/batterie.

Red Baraat Festival! at NYC Fashion Week

Bangin' Bhangra & Brass Funk: Red Baraat Festival! melds the infectious North Indian banghra rhythm with brass funk and expresses the human spirit through improvisation and a powerful, live, raw sound.  I've been playing in this NYC-based band that plays fresh originals, traditional Punjabi songs and Bollywood numbers.  I can usually be found playing the South Indian tavil (a double-sided, barrel shaped drum similar to the dhol but played with a stick in the left hand and thimbles on four fingers in the right) and an array of other drums and percussion.

Sunny Jain leads the group on dhol with Tomas Fujiwara on drumset, Arun Luthra on soprano sax, Mike Bomwell on tenor, Mike Williams on bass trumpet, Sonny Suchdev Singh on trumpet, Dave Smith on trombone and John Altieri on sousaphone.

The band recently played at a runway show for Ports 1961 during NYC Fashion Week.  Designer Tia Cibani had traveled to India and was inspired by Mughal styles for the Fall '09 Collection.  Some video footage from the show has been posted here: 

Red Baraat Festival! NYC Fashion Week

Zanzibar, Tanzania: Sauti Za Busara Festival

After six flights and over 36 hours in the air I'm back in New York City from Sauti Za Busara Festival in Zanzibar, Tanzania where I was performing with Omega Okello's band.  The setting was enchanting: artists from across the African continent performed on the grounds of the Old Arab Fort in Stonetown (a UNESCO World Heritage site originally built in 1560) under the open sky.  Omega's set was well received by the packed crowd of locals and tourists; and the international band featured Andre Manga from Cameroon on bass, Uli G from Germany on keys, Andrew Reissiger from the U.S.A. on guitar, and myself on drums.  I'll be posting photos from the festival in the next few days.