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| Aakash Mittal Quartet at the Icehouse |
© Andrea Canter
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| Aakash Mittal |
I first encountered Aakash Mittal when he invited me to
review his debut recording in 2009. The young saxophonist from Denver gave that disc the rather hesitant
title, Possible Beginnings. Such
humility is characteristic of Mittal. Now, at the ripe age of 28, he's releasing
his third full-length recording, Ocean,
as he prepares for a ten-month “sabbatical” studying traditional music in India via a
grant from the American Institute of Indian Studies. Since that first interview
in 2009, I’ve enjoyed many conversations with Aakash as well as some live
performances – he’s now performed three times on the Dakota’s Late Night
series, at the 2010 Twin Cities Jazz Festival, and last weekend at the
Icehouse. Each conversation, each performance reveals a rapidly maturing artist
who continuously seeks to incorporate the traditions of his Indo-American
heritage with the idioms of modern jazz and the beauty and mystery of the
American West. He brings it all together on Ocean,
which he recorded with his long-standing Colorado-based quartet and special
guest, fellow Coloradian trumpeter Ron Miles.
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| Andrew Trim with Devin Drobka |
But perhaps most interesting of all is Aakash’s bold move to
tour in support of Ocean with none of its musicians. Wanting to try a new
sound, Mittal put together a quartet with musicians from or tied to Chicago, where he himself
has spent a lot of time visiting his India-born father’s family. Discovering
musicians on this branch of the family tree led him to pursue traditional
Indian music, including several trips to India to study and perform.
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| Kurt Schweitz |
Touring the Midwest to support Ocean, Aakash gathered a new ensemble of Kurt
Schweitz (bass), Devin Drobka (drums) and Andrew Trim (guitar). No trumpet. One
of the most impressive aspects of the Twin Cities performances last weekend was
the manner in which Mittal and his cohorts translated the original quintet
arrangements into a one-horn ensemble. One of the stand-out aspects of Ocean is the interplay and harmonization
among Mittal and Miles. How can that work with only one horn? At the Icehouse
gig in particular, the collaboration among Mittal and guitarist Trim was such
that the listener still sensed two-horn harmony – two distinct voices working in tandem and in counterpoint. It was still a distinctly different sound than
on the recording, but it was similarly evocative, challenging, and ultimately
transcendent.
I wouldn’t mind hearing this music with Ron Miles or another
virtuosic trumpeter. And I wouldn’t mind hearing this music again with just the
new quartet. Most of all, I am very eager to hear the next phase of Aakash
Mittal’s music based on his months of intensive study of afternoon and early
evening ragas and Indian saxophone techniques. It won’t really resemble India, Colorado
or Coltrane; it will become the next music of Aakash Mittal.
