ANITA KATAKKAR & KAYLA MILMINE

AMRITA

Independent Label

Anita Katakkar, tabla/composer; Kayla Milmine, soprano saxophone/composer; Jonathan Kay, esraj; Zaynab Wilson, cajón.

“Amrita” is the album title. It represents Anita Katakkar on tabla and Kayla Milmine on soprano saxophone. As a duo, they call themselves, “Amrita.” Here are two talented women who offer us World Fusion music.  It is generously spiced with the Hindustani music culture, jazz and improvised music.  This is a captivating soundscape.

Formed in 2022, this unique duo plays hypnotic music that draws me into it like quicksand. Anita Katakkar explains that “The Lucknow tradition allows tabla compositions to be alive through whomever plays them with commitment.” This talented Tabla player certainly embraces that commitment.

Inspired by great teachers like Yusef Lateef, Ali Akbar Khan and John Handy, both of these women feel their choice of music and instrumental delivery heightens their melodic and spiritual senses by combining Hindustani music with their own intricate rhythms and their composer creativity. You hear it on their opening number “Take Flight.”

This commitment is also heard on their composition “Clinton Street 7.” This song includes vocal rhythms, without words, hand-clapping and wonderful percussion work by Katakkar. “Amrita” invites featured guests Jonathan Kay on esraj and Zaynab Wilson on cajón. The cajón is a box with a large single circular hole in it.  You sit on it and play the box with your hands. Inside the wooden box are strings, like guitar strings or snares, that give off a sound similar to a snare drum.

Another special guest is Jonathan Kay who plays the esraj during this production.  It is a stringed instrument,  that is bowed, with a very Middle Eastern sound.  It’s a rare East Indian instrumental addition.

Composer and musician Anita Katakkar studied tabla in Toronto. Katakkar’s career began as a member of the Toronto Tabla Ensemble.  She played with them from 2001 to 2009.  Then she formed ‘Rakkatak’, a project that showcased her tabla compositions. She has released an EP and three full-length albums. Most recently, she is a part of this unusual duo called “Amrita.”

Kayla Milmine is consistently exploring possibilities that are specific for the soprano saxophone to interpret. She is inspired by musicians like Anthony Braxton and Roscoe Mitchell, as well as the warmth and thoughtfulness of Steve Lacy’s playing.  In 2019, Milmine released “Straight Horn Magick” that featured her soprano horn improvisations. This began her recording as a band leader. Additionally, she has played with, toured with, and recorded with multiple groups for the past 15 years. She earned a Bachelor of Applied Music in jazz performance from Concordia University in Montreal. Then, moved to Toronto in 2014.

Together, these two incredibly gifted and creative women have merged to form ‘Amrita.’  Under that title, they produce wonderous tonal explosions of sound and emotion; rhythm and freedom. While listening, I felt inspired, elevated, educated and entertained by their unique album.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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