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A collaborative presentation with the Neighborhood Concert Series of the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall.

About this Performance

Namaskar (CD release October 14, 2010) marks a fresh and innovative approach towards jazz, Indian, and soul music. Co-produced with longtime associate pianist Marc Cary, this partnership offers a new direction in musical possibilities with the most organic, creative musical experience ever bridging classical Indian melodies and American music. Sameer Gupta has assembled an astonishing line up of Elder Indian classical musicians of the highest caliber, including the renowned Pt. Anindo Chatterjee (tabla), Pt. Ramesh Mishra (sarangi), alongside Neel Murgai, Arun Ramamuthy and Rashaan Carter.  The entire ensemble pushes the boundaries of music of today navigating through beautiful compositions---invoking lyrical depth, improvisational acumen, and intensely seductive sounds.

About the Artists

Sameer Gupta

Sameer Gupta is an original artist within improvisational styles of jazz, world, and fusion music. Since 10 years old, he has lived in Japan, New York, the Bay Area, and visited India annually. Today his skills and musicianship are appreciated globally. He has played drumset at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Birla Auditorium in Kolkata. He has played tabla at Asagiri Jam Japan and presented a lecture on Classical Indian music at Berkelee College of Music in Boston. Playing a hybrid of both tabla and drumset simultaneously, Sameer is pushing the boundaries of possibilities. He has the distinguished honor today of studying with tabla Maestro Pandit Anindo Chatterjee in Kolkata, with his first few years spent under the guidance of the legendary Ustad Zakir Hussein. Sameer can be heard live and on recording with such known artists as Marc Cary, The Supplicants, Roy Hargrove, Pt. Ramesh Misra, Pt. Chitresh Das, Richard Howell, Prasant Radhkrishnan, Marcus Shelby, Parijat Desai, Stephen Kent, Sekou Sundiata and numerous other fine artists.

http://www.sameergupta.com/

Marc Cary

Hailed by Down Beat as one of the most, “multi-dimensional keyboard players on the scene today,” whose music reveals those multi-dimensions in sensual living color, Marc Cary’s continual search for his musical identity has brought him to all corners of the earth, quenching his thirst to bring forth indigenous musics in all of their forms.

A member of the High Integrity Band and later connected with Let Um Play and the Frontline Jazz Ensemble, Cary was among the pioneers of Washington, D.C.’s infamous "GO-GO" rhythms that defined that musical scene and are continuously being referenced in hip-hop and jazz. His family carries a musical tradition: his great-grandmother played piano at local movie houses, her partner was Eubie Blake; his mother is a visual artist and father played trumpet. By 18, he found himself playing with the Dizzy Gillespie Youth Ensemble at Wolf Trap. He has earned four Grammy® nominations for his ensemble work, most recently in 2009 for "Best Contemporary Jazz Album" as a participant in Stefon Harris's Blackout. His production work on Q-Tip's The Renaissance helped earn that disc a nomination for "Best Rap Album" of 2009. Cary’s seminal masterwork, Rhodes Ahead Vol 1., released in 2000 and considered by many to be a classic, earned him the first Annual Billboard/BET "Best New Jazz Artist Award." His collaborations in all musical genres across the board include work with Meshell Ndegeocello, Dizzy Gillespie, Betty Carter, Arthur Taylor, Abbey Lincoln, Erykah Badu, Max Roach, Shirley Horn, Ani DiFranco, Wynton Marsalis and Roy Hargrove, among others.

Cary’s series of recordings for the Motéma label began with his label debut, Focus (2006) and continued with the digital release of Focus Trio Live 2008 (digitally co-released in 2009 with Marc’s ‘Caryout Productions).  In 2011 Cary will return with a studio project expected to be recorded in Summer/Fall of 2010.  In addition, there are two other exciting Cary Out projects in the works: Cary Out Productions is planning a collaboration with Motéma to begin a new digital series, where Marc will release a brand new single every month on the Motéma website – each single exploring the various areas of interest in Cary’s musical journey. The first single will be a brand new GO-GO track, release date tentatively slated for August.

http://www.marccary.com/press_and_bio.html