SLAMCD586 Anatma – Anatma

The Italian/Indian quartet Anatma combines Indian classical music with jazz, without subordinating one to the other and vice-versa.

The great interplay and friendship of the jazz trio allow sitar player Rohan Dasgupta to fit comfortably in a totally new musical world, where he feels free an inspiring freedom of expression. The starting idea of the recording was to play on a particular Hindustani raga named “Lalit”. Raga Lalit is a quite common raga in Indian Classical music: its time of playing refers to the very late night.

After recording “Raga Lalit”, drummer Daniele Di Pentima proposes a tune set on the same raga dedicated to the ragmala painting “Lalita”. From now on all the remaining recordings are totally improvised in the recording studio without even deciding which raga or scale to play on. The results are “Kolkatay Stomp” inspired by a bass riff, “Bengal” a sweet ballad dedicated to this enchanting Indian region, “Lacrimosa”, a thought to Paul Bley, and “Raga Zila Kafi” the last, where the band decides to play on a Dorian scale, incorporating a Kaoss Pad to simulate the classical Indian Tampura.

Rohan Dasgupta: sitar
Luigi Di Chiappari: piano
Riccardo Di Fiandra: acoustic bass
Daniele Di Pentima: drums

“A casual listen might lead you to guess that these early Oregon out-takes, but the rhythmic energy is more measured and less rhapsodic…The instrumentation and distribution of melodic materials aren’t classical, but that scarcely matters here. When the group locks into a groove, the results are exhilarating, as much so as anything Towner, Moore and Walcott produced back in the day. What’s missing from Anatma is exactly what’s missing from that Oregon personnel. The sound calls out for something like Paul McCandless’s oboe. And yet the addition of an obvious lead voice would change the nature of the music entirely, and not necessarily for the better. Di Flondra and Di Pentima claim most of the composition credits, and that’s where the energy of the group lies: earthy rhythm sound that reveals new layers with each repetition.” – Brian Morton, Jazz Journal

“There is one long 27 minute jam, “Raga Lalit” which includes free association with piano and drums along with a pulsating sitar, while “Lalita” has a rich bluesy hue with clever sitar tunings. Di Chiappari is featured on the lonely and lovely “Lacrimosa” while the picks “Raga Zila Kafi” and “Kolkatay Stomp” feature gentle rivulets along with changing landscapes, with piano and sitar weaving in and out of the intoxicating cadences. Fragrant.” – George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly

Recorded 7th November 2016 at Groovefarm, Rome, Italy
Recording and mixing by Davide Abbruzzese
Mastering by Andrea Guastadisegni

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