Vidroha Jamie - Indo Reel

Vidroha Jamie teams up with Grammy nominated musician and producer Kit Walker and a collection of international musicians for his new album of Indian, Celtic, and jazz fusion. Indo Reel is a stunning follow up to his third album, Celtic Ragas, which garnered this praise from Paul McCartney, 'I love the blend of Indian and Celtic styles in this music. It is one of my favorite Cds.' Guitars, tablas, violin, piano, bamboo flutes, trumpet, sitar, bass, and drums give voice to Jamie's richly layered compositions. Innocent, joyful, sometimes haunting, Indo Reel alternates intimate dialogues between bamboo flutes and sitar, ('From an Unknown Heart') and a guitar / trumpet duet ('The River') with a full band of guitar, bass, drums, sitar, flutes, and tables, as in 'Night Falls.' There is a saying in India, that music is made of silence. Stylistically, Indo Reel is a hybrid mix of Celtic and Indian with some pieces begun with a Keith Jarrett like piano solo as in 'Alap', others with tablas laying down a familiar Indian swing. Jamie's family roots trace back to Ireland, and in the 90's he was steeped in the meditation and celebration of India, where he lived for twelve years imbibing the meditative approach to music there. In that environment his musical expression shifted from rock and blues to the mystical relationship between music, silence, and meditation. Indo Reel features a group of world class musicians including Kit Walker (jazz piano, nominated for a Grammy for his work with Jai Uttal on the album 'Mondo Rama'), Prem Joshua (sitar, bamboo flutes, thirteen world music CDs), Toni Marcus (violin, received 'Most Valuable Player of the Year Award' for her work with Van Morrison in the late 70's including the CD 'Into the Music'), and Manish Vyas (tablas). About this Music: Jamie's own family roots trace back to Ireland. Yet when he describes his arrival the first time in India as having the feeling of arriving home. All the musicians playing on Indo Reel have lived in India for a time, and most also visited or lived in the UK as well. The roots of this music lie in a higher discipline, that of meditating under the guidance of a master, a distinctly Eastern phenomenon. Ultimately, the real fusion of this music lies not just in that of crossing Indian melodies and instrumentation with Celtic, but of creating expression for the silence of the meditative heart, the Zen Heart, in sound and celebration. Jamie 's first album with New Earth Records, Celtic Ragas, gained the recognition of Paul McCartney, who said this about the music, 'I love the blend of Indian and Celtic music. This has become one of my favorite CDs.' Since that meeting Jamie has written and recorded two albums of music, Indo Reel, and a vocal album called Infusion, which will be released on Sublime Dezine Records in Sept. 2004. In 1979, abandoning a promising career in acting, Jamie traveled to India to embark on an exploration of meditation and personal growth. He lived in India for 12 years and began developing his own unique guitar style and melodic compositions blended with softer jazz chords and influenced by the experience of the Eastern meditation traditions he was exploring. Jamie is currently on the board of the Osho Meditation Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to meditation and personal growth in Boulder, CO. and performs in Boulder music for meditation and satsang when he isn't recording. He will tour this summer (2004) with another new age artist, Suvarna (Etherean Records) with a concert in Boulder the end of August. Musician's bios: Virdoha Jamie (guitars) has written and recorded four albums, Indo Reel being the third. In 1979 Jamie traveled to India to embark on an exploration of meditation and personal growth, where he lived for 12 years. He began developing his own unique guitar style and melodic compositions blended with softer jazz chords and influenced by the experience of the Eastern meditation traditions he was exploring. Kit Walker (piano, bass) Nominated for a Grammy along with Jai Uttal's Pagan Love Orchestra, for the album 'Mondo Rama' 2001: wins the BMI Urban Music Award for the number one Jay-Z hit song 'I Just Want to Love You (Give it 2 Me)' February 2004: Kit toured Europe with Brasilian jazz masters Airto Moreira and FloraPurim Kit's albums: Windham Hill Jazz releases: 'Wind Follows the Tiger', and 'Dancing on the Edge of the World', 'Fire in the Lake'. Kit has shared the stage with artists such as Chick Corea, Tuck and Patti, and Kitaro. Talia Toni Marcus (violin) Talia Toni Marcus, a concert violinist and composer, has composed for film, television and theatre. Her classical training and improvisational skills have been influenced by studies with Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Pran Nath and time spent in the Jazz & Rock music world. She received 'Most Valuable Player of the Year Award' for her work with Van Morrison in the late 70's including the CD 'Into the Music'. She has recorded and played with Pavoratti, Kenny G., Ornette Coleman, Carla Bley's Jazz Composers Orchestra, The New American Orchestra. Prem Joshua (bamboo flutes, sitar) Multi-instrumentalist and composer Prem Joshua draws inspiration from the deep wells of eastern music traditions. With his music Joshua has toured all over the world, giving concerts in the USA, Japan, India, Malaysia, Singapore and the whole of Europe. Albums: Water Down the Ganges, Dance of Shakti, Sky Kisses Earth, Mudra, Secret of the Wind, Desert Visions, Hamsafar, Tales of a Dancing River Manish Vyas (tablas) Albums: SATTVA, Water Down The Ganges, Healing Ragas Manish's Indian music influences include classical, to 'kirtan' to folk. He studied with Maestro, Ustad Allarakha in Mumbai. Over the last 10 years he has worked with many recording names, namely Deva Premal, Prem Joshua, Chinmaya Dunster, Shastro, Yashu. Tanmayo Boydd (violin) Classically trained in both violin and piano from the age of 7, Tanmayo has explored a wide variety of musical styles, also appearing as a singer in settings as diverse as a Glasgow jazz quartet, the Celtic fusion band, 'In a Split Second' and the London Gospel Choir. Ashik (penny whistle) Albums: Gypsy Soul Ashik's music reflects the many musical worlds he has travelled in. He studied violin and guitar and learned to play classical guitar and a variety of folk and blues styles. After graduating in philosophy from the University of Oxford in 1968 he founded the acoustic trio 'Mythica.' Chinmaya Dunster (sarod - a nineeteen-stringed, banjo-like Indian classical instrument). Albums: Spiral Dance, Lands of the Dawn, Feng Shui Parts 1 and 2, Celtic Ragas.

1) From An Unknown Heart
2) Umbrian Curves
3) Night Falls
4) Indo Reel
5) Alap
6) The Sufi's Solo
7) The River
8) Nataraj Reel
9) Starry Plough
10) One Windswept Day