Projects

Blu-Qawwali

Blu-Qawwali will be a collection of new hybrid works that will link the traditions of jazz and Pakistani qawwali.

  • Project Created By

    Rez Abbasi

    Born in Karachi, Pakistan, removed at the age of four to the vastness of Southern California, schooled at the University of Southern California and the Manhattan School of Music in jazz and classical music, along with a pilgrimage in India under the tutelage of master percussionist, Ustad Alla Rakha, Rez Abbasi is a vivid synthesis of all the above stated influences and genres.

  • Project Location
    New York, New York
  • Project Dates
    Start Date
    June 1, 2020

Blu-Qawwali

Blu-Qawwali will be a collection of new hybrid works that will link the traditions of jazz and Pakistani qawwali.

Blu-Qawwali will be a collection of new hybrid works that will link the traditions of jazz and the vocal style of Pakistani qawwali. As a Pakistani-American jazz musician my music is a unique blend of influences from both my birthplace within the Indian subcontinent and my adopted homeland, the U.S. Since then, my appreciation of qawwali and its potential to enhance my compositional ability has deepened exponentially. My current ambition is to further expand my knowledge of the genre through a more nuanced and consequential approach, directly engaging an ensemble of both jazz and qawwali musicians. The funds from New Music USA will help to galvanize the process in the following manner: compose initial material, pay for multiple rehearsals over the course of a year, record the group to be released as my sixteenth album.

NewMusicUSA Grantee Event

Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival: DEFENSE-DEFIANCE-DEDICATION

March 28, 2024 | 7:00 pm

The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, 450 West 37th Street New York, NY 10018

NewMusicUSA Grantee Event

Plastic Dream Fugue – Aaron Larget-Caplan in Concert

March 29, 2024 | 7:30 pm

First Church Boston, 66 Marlborough Street, Boston 02116

NewMusicUSA Grantee Event

Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival: VIRKO BALEY AT 85

March 29, 2024 | 7:00 pm

The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, 450 West 37th Street New York, NY 10018

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