Description
Ashram Sun, Surya Botofasina’s much-anticipated album follows his hugely acclaimed debut Everyones Children and his first offering since his contribution to New Blue Sun and global touring alongside Andr 3000. It is an ode to Suryas upbringing and musical teachings in the tradition of Swamini Turiyasangitananda – aka Alice Coltrane, by the spiritual jazz colossus Herself, at Her Sai Anantam Ashram in California. Ashram Sun is a deep listening, spiritual masterpiece with close collaborators Carlos Nio and Nate Mercereau, and is produced by the prolific Carlos Nio, whose vision has become a pivotal point for contemporary progressive jazz music.
Ashram Sun features appearances from musical luminaries, including multi-instrumentalist Angel Bat Dawid, Los Angeles saxophonist Randal Fisher, vocalist Mia Doi Todd, as well as collaborations with vocalist MidnightRoba and acclaimed harpist and vocalist Radha Botofasina, among others. The album continues to expand on and conversate with the innovative spiritual-jazz configurations of recent works by Shabaka Hutchings, Andr 3000 and Carlos Nio all of which Surya plays on. This evolution follows from his debut album Everyones Children, also produced by Nio, which was one of the earliest offerings of this fresh, spiritual approach. As the keyboardist on Andr 3000s New Blue Sun and an integral member of Andrs touring group, Surya has already directly brought the legacy of Alice Coltrane/Turiyasangitananda into this rich new current in creative music.
The music on Ashram Sun is tuned into these wavelengths, consolidating a new jazz lineage with energies directly from the source. The album blends improvisation in the creative music tradition with washes of cleanly spiritualised keyboard work, atmospheric percussion, and sanctified vocalisation.
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