Arun Luthra's Konnakol Jazz Project

SAXOPHONIST & COMPOSER ARUN LUTHRA COMBINES SOUTH INDIAN VOCAL PERCUSSION WITH MODERN JAZZ.

WISCONSIN UNION THEATER PRESENTS

ARUN LUTHRA’S

KONNAKOL JAZZ PROJECT FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 | 7:30PM PLAY CIRCLE AT MEMORIAL UNION

Interdisciplinary Artist Residency Teaching program presented by UW–Madison Division of the Arts.

ARUN LUTHRA

PERFORMERS

New York-based saxophonist, konnakol artist, composer, and arranger Arun Luthra is one of the small group of American jazz musicians of Indian heritage, who have continued to explore the possibilities of fusing the modern post-bop sound of Black American Music with elements of Indian classical music, as well drawing from a wide variety of modern and classic musical influences to create a new sound and style.

Art Hirahara: Piano

Luthra was raised in the United States and Europe by parents with roots in India, Europe, and Africa. His compositional practice embraces his multicultural and international identity and experience. Firmly grounded in the practices and vernacular of Black American Music, Luthra’s compositional techniques blend the Indian classical music rhythms with pitch cells, atonality, and pan-tonality. He bases his compositions in rhythm and groove, emphasizing thematic cohesion and voice leading in his melodies and harmonies, creating innovative “tonal universes.”

He is influenced by the legacy of mysticism in music, composing music that is as much a search for meaning as it is an artistic expression. His intent is to discern and express universal truths through composition and performance and to profoundly connect with audiences.

KONNAKOL PROJECT AND THE UW–MADISON DIVISION OF THE ARTS The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of the Arts welcomes Arun Luthra as the fall 2021 interdisciplinary artistin-residence. For the semester, Luthra is teaching the threecredit course “The Universal Language of Rhythm: Explorations Through Konnakol and Black American Music.”

ENSEMBLE Arun Luthra’s Konnakol Jazz Project is an expression of its leader Arun Luthra’s Indian, European, and United States heritage and artistic identity, blending Indian and European musical techniques and practices with its foundational Black American Music sound.

The ensemble takes its name from konnakol, the Carnatic (South Indian classical) music tradition of vocalizing rhythms.

Its traditional jazz instrumentation of saxophone, piano, bass, and drums is augmented by Arun Luthra’s performance of both composed and improvised konnakol, as well as with the addition of percussionists from Carnatic and Hindustani (North Indian classical) musical traditions.

The Konnakol Jazz Project’s unique blending of Indian classical music rhythmic vernacular with the Black American Music tradition has been presented throughout the United States as well as in Europe, Japan, South America, Australia, and the U.K.

Art Hirahara is a jazz keyboardist and composer based in New York, NY. He has honed his craft, performing in a wide range of musical situations ranging from straight-ahead standards to time cycle-based progressive jazz to free improvisation. From the traditional to the avant-garde, Hirahara has found a sound of his own that cuts across genres and boundaries. He is constantly seeking new situations to challenge his musicality.

Noriko Ueda: Bass Originally from Hyogo, Japan, Noriko Ueda currently performs with the ensemble ARTEMIS, led by Renee Rosnes.

Her trio album as a bandleader “DEBUT” was released on Terashima Records in 2015. Ueada has performed and toured with various legendary musicians including Frank Wess, Kenny Barron, Grady Tate, Nancy Wilson, Makoto Ozone and Terumasa Hino. Ueada was also the winner of the Charlie Parker Jazz composition Prize for her original big band piece in 2002.

Jonathan Barber: Drum Set Only 29 years old, New York City-based Jonathan Barber has already recorded and toured worldwide with worldrenowned artists. Barber stepped forth as a composer and leader with his Vision Ahead band. Barber has played drums since the age of five, falling in love with the instrument through watching his father perform in the family church. Barber has synthesized his favorite traditions into a modern and endlessly adaptable musical expression that connects with listeners from across generations.

Rohan Krishnamurthy: Carnatic Percussion Indian-American percussionist and composer Rohan Krishnamurthy is one of the leading voices of Indian classical and cross-genre music in the South Asian diaspora. Krishnamurthy’s cross-cultural artistry draws from his formal study of south Indian classical Carnatic music, at once propagating the ancient tradition and expanding it across global genres.

Krishnamurthy’s prolific artistry also explores the intersections of Indian percussion and contemporary jazz and funk drum set.