Saxophonist and composer Rudresh Mahanthappa's Indo-Pak Coalition set the jazz world afire with their 2008 offering Apti on Innova. The bandleader has made a career of blurring the lines between his Indian subcontinent roots and modern creative jazz, but the Indo-Pak Coalition, with ace guitarist Rez Abbasi and tabla master Dan Weiss, have done it with more finesse, energy, and imagination than previous groups. Mahanthappa has recorded with both men in other ensembles, but it's been quite some time since they recorded as a trio in 2008, making this follow-up quite an event.
Agrima takes a more open and wide-ranging approach than its predecessor. Abbasi's electric guitar is dirtier and more effects laden, while Weiss adds his drum kit to the tabla. Even Mahanthappa's alto horn has been appended -- in places -- with electronic effects. On "Showcase," it's multi-tracked and enveloped in reverb, creating a richer timbral and dynamic palette while sounding completely natural. The title track commences with arpeggiatic runs on a synth before Mahanthappa joins in unison. Weiss adds his break-laden kit and Abbasi kicks in with vamped, distorted power chords. The saxophone is overdubbed as the intricate harmonic line winds out, turns back on itself, and evolves. "Rasikapriya" is hypnotic yet urgent, with raga-like lines on saxophone accompanied by rumbling tabla that gets stretched by ambient electronic flourishes, cymbals, and floating guitar passages that eventually pick up and move with Mahanthappa and Weiss' kit toward knotty jazz-rock. "Can-Did" is moodier; its shifting time signatures are song-like as the three participants engage in exotic modal counterpoint. The set's 14-and-a-half-minute "Revati" is more contemplative and challenging. Its unhurried pace features gorgeous textures in Abbasi's use of volume swells; they introduce a drone-like Carnatic theme by the altoist. The guitarist and Weiss -- alternating between tablas and his kit -- join as melodic fragments combine and separate into drawn-out harmonic inquiries. The track forms a Moebius Strip before picking up steam with post-bop explosions, building on them in collective improvisation. When Mahanthappa solos, he is listening deeply to the tonal and rhythmic invention constructed by his bandmates. Closer "Take Turns" commences with Mahanthappa soloing in full Coltrane-esque dialogue with himself before hushed electronics, guitar harmonics, and percussion join the fray. Abbasi's open-chord vamps and Weiss' trap kit almost transform the jam into rock, but Mahanthappa's playing keeps pushing back toward jazz and it all gels; the ensemble creates new grooves that emerge, dissipate, shift, and transform as modal blues, raga, and force carry the tune out in a final knotty flurry of shattering beauty. Agrima is a knockout. The Indo-Pak Coalition stack harmonies, textures, dynamics, and peerless rhythmic maneuvering throughout in dazzling combinations. They extend the rich history of Indo-jazz fusion beyond its historical conversational and dialogic boundaries to create a new meta-musical language of their own design.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo