East Meets Jazz concert to open 2001-02 season at 天美传媒视频无限制观看's Quick Center for the Arts | Press Releases

Image: Sandip Burman "Sandip and Friends - East Meets Jazz," a concert of Indian and jazz fusion sounds featuring tabla (north Indian drum) player Sandip Burman and a group of some of the greatest names in jazz, rock and R&B, is the season opener on Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 7:30 p.m., at 天美传媒视频无限制观看's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.

Sandip Burman, a native of Durgapur, India, and an accomplished tabla player, will be joined by several stars in their own fields to bring a new sound to fusion music and endeavor to present and project new wave music through the great masters of the past. Sandip's friends are: saxophonist Dave Pietro of the Tashiko Akioshi Band; drummer Steve Smith of Journey; violinist Jerry Goodman of the Mahavishnu Orchesta; trumpeter Randy Brecker of Brecker Brothers; bassist Victor Bailey of Weather Report; Paul Bollenback on guitar and Howard Levy on harmonica.

A disciple of Pandit Shyamal Bose of Calcutta, Burman's performances are marked with spontaneous innovation and tonal purity even when he is delivering complex rhythmic patterns at dazzling speeds. His repertoire is vast and includes both common and rarely played rhythms. His specialties are jazz, world music and Indian classical music and he has performed with Bela Fleck, Ravi Shanker and John DeJohnetter.

The musicians sharing the stage with Burman have experience in a wide variety of musical idioms. For example, Randy Brecker has been shaping the sounds of jazz, R&B and rock for more than two decades; Steve Smith left Journey to pursue jazz, his original passion, and to continue his developing career as a session player; and Victor Bailey, "a guy who's very big on groove and soul," believes the bass player should keep the rhythm flowing and anchor the harmony.

In addition, Jerry Goodman creates a dynamic and aggressive style that fuses rock textures with classical dynamics through tightly arranged compositions; and Paul Bollenback's emotionally expressive style and eclectic approach is the result of years of listening, studying and playing music by all of the great guitarists of his time.

Tickets to this "not to be missed" concert are $20 and may be reserved by calling the Quick Center box office at (203) 254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396.