In a collectively anxious era where we’re forever searching to transcend the day to day and aspire to more meaningful transcendent visions, it’s right there for us to see at the top of Noshir Mody’s home page: “Mission: To Save The World With Awesome Music.” The deeply innovative, ever-adventurous guitarist’s penchant for multiple shades of this awesome since his 2008 debut album In This World With You derives from two foundational influences that will always define and drive his artistry – the traditional Indian music of his heritage and his later fascination for bebop and contemporary jazz.
Growing up in India, the self-taught Mody’s first musical experiences were with classical East Indian music. When he discovered jazz, his initial passion for jazz was sparked by bebop and continued to evolve after moving to NYC and immersing in the dynamic scene there. His three greatest influences in the genre – Al Di Meola, Pat Metheny Group and Kurt Rosenwinkel – opened the creative vistas available to him when he launched his recording career.
While it’s not typical protocol to start a review with the final song, it makes perfect sense as a launching point to explore the multitude of vibes, moods and sonic intricacies of Abstractions, Mody’s latest – and arguably, his most thought provoking imaginative and captivating – album.
Truly the emotional centerpiece of the collection, the nearly eight minute closer, the appropriately titled “Returning Home,” begins with his hypnotic, easy flowing guitar meditation with occasionally sparkling high notes over the increasing bustle of Dan Pugach’s drums.
The piece evolves into a classic East meets West fusion equally showcasing Mody’s extraordinary improvisations and the uplifting choir of exotic vocalizing by Radhika Vekaria, a pairing that continues sparking and intensifying, as if unleashing a swirl of his NYC experiences and global passions all at once. Though Mody’s exciting performances are a constant throughout, he is also the consummate ensemble player. As the journey of “Returning Home,” continues, Thomas Hutching’s sizzling tenor sax takes the reins, sailing over the fiery mix of guitar and vocals, almost to the point of euphoria. Benjamin Hankle’s cool, soulful flugelhorn solo is a splendid bridge to the end, where Vekeria’s ethereal tones culminate in a powerful Sanskrit chant of “Aham Prema” (I am divine love).
Truly crafting a contemporary jazz fusion masterpiece, Mody uniquely constructs Abstractions to begin with a brief yet memorably trippy, slow burning intro piece (“Awakening Hues”) featuring Mody’s gentle strum and sparkle over Matt Geraghty’s dark, simmering bass before entering into the full experience that features a total of five expansive pieces over seven minutes punctuated by two relatively short interludes.
Though the album features mostly originals, the lone so called “cover” (the standard “Autumn Leaves”) that is one of the most compelling and intriguing – so free form in its arrangement and wild guitar improvisations that Mody should almost get a co-write with the French composer and lyricist Johnny Mercer. Bookended by the dreamy, wafting lead vocals of Kate Victor on the familiar melody, underscored brilliantly by the bluesy keys of Campbell Charshee, the piece gives way in the middle to Mody’s exciting modulations backed by rising horns. This song has been covered hundreds of times, but never more inventively!
Mody’s journey here also leads us into the vast, bustling, horn-drenched mystery and intrigue of “Secrets”; the sensual and romantic dreamscape of “A Kiss Beneath The Stars,” featuring Mody’s meditative coolness caressed by Vivienne Aerts’ heavenly, angelic voicings; and the dynamics-filled title track, which gingerly sashays back and forth, from another cool, masterful Kate Victor vocal tune into a freewheeling romp impassioned by Hutchings’ soaring sax and later, something of an explosive blues, rock and jazz fusion jam centered on Mody’s crackling strings and Charshee’s crazy-cool Hammond B-3 energy.
As stated by Mody, the powerful piece is an exploration of the complexities of attraction and passion – concepts to keep in mind as they blow us away with their unrestrained creativity. Abstraction’s final “pairing” presents the ambient spiritual contemplation of “Predestination?” as a lead-in to the inspirational “Architecting a Dream,” which juxtaposes strong aspirations with harsh challenges via bluesy undercurrents (and a later snazzy B-3 solo by Charshee), crisp guitar improvisations and explorations (i.e. finding a way through the darkness), and initially smooth, then crazily chaotic brass passages and a feisty flugelhorn solo by Benjamin Hankle.
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