RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA'S CODEBOOK plays SAMDHI

A direct result, of his research as a Guggenheim fellow, this new work is sure to deeply engage the listener while breaking new ground in the multicultural landscape of modern music.

Jazz Journalist Association's 2009 Alto Saxophonist of the Year and Guggenheim fellow Rudresh Mahanthappa is one of the most innovative young musicians and composers in jazz today. Winner of the 2009 Downbeat International Critics Poll in both the "Rising Star-Jazz Artist" and "Rising Star-Alto Saxophone" categories, Rudresh has incorporated the culture of his Indian ancestry and has fused myriad influences to create a truly groundbreaking artistic vision. As a performer, he leads/co-leads seven groups to critical acclaim. His most recent release for Pi Recordings Kinsmen featuring Carnatic saxophone legend Kadri Gopalnath (September 25, 2008) has been named one of the Top Jazz CDs of 2008 by numerous news sources including the New York Times, NPR, BBC, Boston Globe, slate.com, JazzTimes, and the Village Voice to name just a few. His previous quartet release for Pi release Codebook (September 26, 2006) was named one of the Top Jazz Albums of 2006 by The Village Voice, Jazztimes, and The Denver Post and received rave reviews from Downbeat, wired.com and Science Magazine. In Europe, Codebook received the esteemed "CHOC DE L'ANNÉE" (album of the year) for 2007 in France's Jazzman, 4 stars in the UK's Jazzwise, and received the "Bollino di Marzo" from Italy's Musica Jazz. As a saxophonist, Mahanthappa has achieved international recognition performing regularly at jazz festivals and clubs worldwide. As a composer, Rudresh has received commission grants from the Rockefeller Foundation MAP Fund, American Composers Forum, Chamber Music America, and the New York State Council on the Arts to develop new work. Mahanthappa holds a Bachelors of Music Degree in jazz performance from Berklee College of Music and a Masters of Music degree in jazz composition from Chicago's DePaul University. He now teaches at The New School University. Rudresh Mahanthappa currently lives in New York where he is clearly regarded as an important and influential voice in the jazz world. uses Vandoren reeds exclusively. Mahanthappa is also a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow.

Over the past decade guitarist and composer David Gilmore has recorded and performed with some of the most highly influential and innovative artists in modern music today including Wayne Shorter, Muhal Richard Abrams, Sam Rivers, Steve Coleman, Don Byron, Dave Douglas, Cassandra Wilson, Christian McBride, Uri Caine, Randy Brecker and David Sanborn. He has appeared on over 50 recordings and has been a major presence on the international touring scene. He has also recorded, and toured extensively with pop artists Joss Stone and Me'Shell N'Degeocello.. In the Spring of 2001 he released his first recording as a leader entitled Ritualism (Kashka Records), which received major international critical appraise and was nominated for Debut CD of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association. He has twice been a recipient of Chamber Music America's New Works Composer Grant and voted as a Rising Star in DownBeat's Reader Poll. His playing has been compared to guitarists with styles as diverse as George Benson, Wes Montgomery, Jimi Hendrix and Leo Nocentelli. His latest recording effort, Unified Presence (RKM Muisc, 2006) features Ravi Coltrane, Christian McBride, Jeff "Tain" Watts, and Caludi Acuna.

All About Jazz once wrote that Canadian bassist Rich Brown is "one of the finest electric bassists you'll hear anywhere". Brown makes his home in Toronto, Canada but has been performing and recording with international artist such as Dapp Theory, Steve Coleman & 5 Elements, Trichy Sankaran, Kim Mitchell, James Blood Ulmer, Yan Kuba Saho, Vernon Reid, Tim Reis(The Rolling Stones), and David Clayton Thomas(Blood, Sweat, & Tears) to name a few. Rich also leads his own band rinsethealgorithm, a band nominated three years in a row in the category of "Electric Group of the Year" for Canada's National Jazz Awards. He has appeared on over 50 recordings ranging from Jazz to Funk to Latin and various genres of traditional music indigenous to a multitude of cultures around the world.

Hailing from Southern California, Damion Reid began playing music almost since conception. He started playing drums in church at age 3, eventually to play professionally at age 14 with various artists. He studied music at New England Conservatory of Music, The Thelonious Monk Institute of Music at the University of Southern California and The New School University. Reid has toured and recorded with many prominent and influential artists including Terence Blanchard, Greg Osby, Meshell N'degeocello and Robert Glasper.