REZ ABBASI ACOUSTIC QUINTET

SOUND REMAINS

Whirlwind Recordings

Rez Abbasi, acoustic guitars/composer; Bill Ware, vibraphone; Stephan Crump, acoustic bass; Eric McPherson, drums; Hasan Bakr, percussion; Feroza Kazi Abbasi, poetry.

Rez Abbasi is a 2021 Guggenheim Fello and this “Sound Remains” album is his 17^th recording.  During this production, he and his Rez Abbasi Acoustic Quintet have returned to the warmth that his acoustic guitar brings to this project.  Along with his guitar mastery, Rez Abbasi has composed most of the songs on this project, with the exception of “Lonnie’s Lament” written by John Coltrane and Keith Jarrett’s tune “Questar.”

They open with a tune he calls “Presence” enhanced by the percussive skills of Hasan Bakr and Bill Ware’s vibraphone. The vibes blend beautifully with the Abbasi guitar.  Hasan Bakr brings his unique rhythms, straight from the Gullah-Geechee culture, that happens to be his heritage.  They establish a 12/8 groove, with the vibraphonist and Abbasi’s guitar exchanging ideas.  The one thing I did not hear was a melody that I could hum along with or remember. Everything was soothing, but quite improvisational.

Rez uses steel string acoustic guitars during this recording.

“I wanted to reconnect with the intimacy of my acoustic group where all I play is acoustic guitar.  This time, however, the extra element of percussion improvising with the band gave a new edge to my tunes,” Abassi stated in his press package.

The songs on this project are the result of Abbasi’s love of meditation.  Each composition is reflective of his exploration of presence, mindfulness, and the dissolution of ego-driven attachments. A Keith Jarett composition titled “Questar” dances along at a moderate pace.  It’s a turn from Jarrett’s “My Song” album.  His choice of this song explains to me Rez Abbasi’s own style and musical appreciation.  There is a certain freedom in Abbasi’s music. Also, the song for his mother “Folk’s Song” is lovely.

On his composition “Spin Dream” Abassi explores a metaphor musically addressing life’s circular confusion.  This tune shifts from the opening infectious groove to a driving swing, then moves back to a moderate tempo.  The double bass of Stephan Crump walks briskly beneath this tune and energizes it. Bill Ware is strongly featured on his vibraphone, all the time being pushed ahead by the drums of Eric McPherson and Abbasi’s assertive guitar.

Rez Abbasi plays a fretless guitar on Coltrane’s tune, “Lonnie’s Lament” that offers another texture for his guitar to explore.  Abbasi continues to push the boundaries of jazz guitar and widen his own parameters as a musician. Born in Karachi, Pakistan, he migrated to Southern California as a preschool child. He has studied at the University of Southern California and the Manhattan School of Music, both jazz and classical music. Additionally, he took a pilgrimage to India to study with master percussionist Ustad Alla Rakha.The various music and cultures reflect all these influences as he blends genres. But for the most part, his music represents freedom of spirit.  Abbasi stitches improvised solos into each arrangement, like unusual pieces of quilting, they enrich his blanket of sound.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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