After a serious bike accident Brooklyn based guitarist and composer Xander Naylor had to basically learn to play his instrument again. It was a long and cumbersome process, but his hands are once more able again to do what his brain wants them to do. His new album is Children of Sound is the result of many years of study of North Indian Hindustani classical music with tabla maestro Samir Chatterjee and mixing it with his contemporary jazz skills, something he had been wanted to record for quite some time. A grant from the Vermont Arts Council was very welcome and made it possible to set up in the Bunker Studio in order to capture the conversation between two musical worlds.
When different approaches to music meet, listening to each other is key. Naylor may be the composer, but each of the musicians is equally important and without their contributions the album wouldn't have the depth of exploration and rich textures that make it so much more than the sum of its parts. He takes turns with sax player Birsa Chatterjee and pianist Utsav Lal to provide the melody - the latter's knack for raga enables him to work a double shift if the track needs it with the percussionists Samir Chatterjee and Raphaël Pannier. It is a true collaborative effort and hopefully there is more to come from this ensemble. There are no boundaries in art. Borders and walls are ignored as they should be.
Xander Naylor: guitar
Samir Chatterjee: tabla
Raphaël Pannier: drums
Utsav Lal: piano
Birsa Chatterjee: tenor saxophone
Children of Sound is a self-released album (vinyl, digital). Buy it from his website.
Tracks:- Future Curious
- Children of Sound
- Internal Eternal
- The Gaunt Prospector
- Wild Harvest
- Wait for the Big Fish, Part I
- Wait for the Big Fish, Part II
- Love After All
HCTF review of Continuum
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