ESHAAN SOOD & THE SONIC ALCHEMISTS

DREAM RIVER

Independent Label

THE SONIC ALCHEMISTS: Eshaan Sood, guitar; Annie Orzen, piano; Brendan Nie, bass; Sam Schaeffer, drums; Ivan Demarjian, tenor saxophone.

Eshaan Sood is a native of New Delhi, India.  He was a graphic artist and creatively, he wanted to write graphic novels. Fate had other plans.  In 2015, Sood and his roommate began a journey, taking a drive seven-hours to Puducherry to enjoy a country-wide festival.  They were in a horrendous accident just twenty minutes from their home.  The accident caused severe facial trauma and left Sood blind.

After operations and depression following the accident, Sood gathered his strength and determination into a bundle of hope.  As a creative person, he also loved music.  So that became an avenue to explore and develop. He became deeply interested in music and guitar. Consequently, he graduated in 2019 from the Global Music Institute, where he found an interest in jazz improvisation.  He decided to continue his education at the prestigious Eastman School at the University of Rochester. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York.

“I really didn’t understand jazz until I studied it in school.  I had been playing in jam bands for years and I fell in love with jazz, because I love improvisation. Jazz also allows me to incorporate all the different styles of music I have been listening to,” Sood shared.

You will hear Sood’s eclectic choices on this album. It showcases a mix of musical styles and genres. He opens with “Mountain Muse” a piece of music he composed from memories of visiting the Himalayas as a child.  His family drove there, even though he was prone to car sickness. Sood recalls this trauma in his musical arrangement by adding a syncopated melody in 5/4.

His song, “If Our hearts Could Talk” is about his belief that if we spoke simply and plainly, not trying to read between the lines, there would probably be a lot more love in the world.

Eshaan Sood shares that studying jazz has deeply impacted his relationship with music.  For example, on the “Here for a Good Time” tune he borrowed changes from Coltrane and set them to a dance groove.

On the “Dream River” album by Eshaan Sood, he uses his jazz guitar and composer skills to blend Bollywood, the blues, Indian Classical music and jazz into a unique blend of his own, personal, life stories.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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