Glow of Benares

Lars Møller & Aarhus Jazz Orchestra
feat. The Danish Sinfonietta
Kala Ramnath & Abhijit Banerjee

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Glow of Benares

Colourful and dramatic compositions combining Indian melodic ragas and rhythms with the orchestral formats of jazz and western music.

Glow of Benares is composer, conductor and saxophonist Lars Moller’s vision for combining Jazz, North-Indian ragas and chamber music.

The album was created as a collaboration between Lars Moller and Aarhus Jazz Orchestra and features The Danish Sinfonietta, Kala Ramnath and Abhijit Banerjee – two of Indias finest musicians. Presented by Global Jazz Explorer Institute.

Article about the projekt in Kapelmesterbladet.

Released on Dacapo Records – CD and hi-res download. Available on all digital platforms.

“The final impression is yet another winner from Lars Møller and Aarhus Jazz Orchestra” (4.5 out of 5 stars)

Jakob Baekgaard All About Jazz
Global Jazz Explorer Institute
Lars Møller, tenor saxophonist, composer and conductor. Founder of Global Jazz Explorer Institute

Composer & conductor Lars Møller

Lars Møller

Lars Møller is composer and conductor of the album Glow of Benares which features Aarhus Jazz Orchestra, The Danish Sinfonietta and tablaplayer Abhijit Banerjee and violin player, singer Kala Ramnath.

The album consist of 5 compositions. In Lars’ words:

‘Everytime I visit Benares I am amazed by the intense spiritual atmosphere, and the human diversity of the city. Based on Rag Shree I have tried to capture this in the composition called ‘Glow of Benares’, which is also the title of the album.’

‘In ‘Indian Skies’ if have tried to express, in a very simple melodic way, the grandeur of nature all around us.’

‘The traditional Rag Jog and Jai Tall rhythm meets the orchestral and dramatic formats of the bigband and the chamber ensemble in the composition ‘Funky Jog’.’

‘Travelling by train in India is a unique experience. You meet people, see the Indian scenery and get all kinds of sensations; smell,  food, spices – everything. The special rhythm of this kind of journey I have tried to capture in the composition ‘Indian Train Ride’.’

‘The album ends with the fiery piece ‘Mumbai Footprints’, paying homage to Wayne Shorter.’

More detailed information about the album can be found in the CD booklet including liner notes by Christian Munch-Hansen.

Kala Ramnath

Kala Ramnath

Grammy nominated for her album ‘Miles from India’, Kala Ramnath was recognized as one of the fifty best instrumentalists in the world by the prestigious ‘Songlines’ Magazine.

Kala has revolutionized the technique of violin playing and produced a unique evocative sound akin to classical Indian vocal music, that today her violin is called ‘The Singing Violin’.

In 2017 she received India’s finest music award, given to performing artists, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

Abhijit Banerjee

Abhijit Banerjee

Abhijit Banerjee is considered among the top tabla players from India and one of the most popular creative artists in the realm of Indian classical music.

Abhijit’s unique style and profound musicality have earned him praise throughout the world.

While contributing greatly to Indian music, he has also delved into a variety of world music crossovers as a performer and composer. This includes collaborations with Ry Cooder, Larry Corryell and Trilok Gurtu.

Aarhus Jazz Orchestra

Aarhus Jazz Orchestra

Aarhus Jazz Orchestra (AJO) is one of Scandinavia’s leading big bands with more than 70 concerts a year. AJO was founded in 1977.

The orchestra has toured throughout Europe and in the USA with Grammy Winner Kurt Elling. In addition, concerts with John Scofield, the drummer Bill Stewart and the pianist Mulgrew Miller, as well as drummer Jeff Ballard.

In recent years AJO collaborated with Dave Liebman and Marilyn Mazur who both featured on Lars Møller’s ReWrite of Spring (Dacapo, 2016).

The Danish Sinfonietta

The Danish Sinfonietta

The Danish Sinfonietta is led by artistic director and manager David Riddell.

The Danish Sinfonietta has among others released a premiere recording of Gustav Helsted’s Decet as well as Handel’s complete organ concertos.

The Danish Sinfonietta tours extensively at home and abroad and has cooperated with a number of prominent musicians such as José Carreras, Sir James Galway, Barbara Hendricks, Bo Skovhus and Nikolaj Znaider.

Recording design by Morten Buchert

Recording design
Morten Buchert

Danish Radio (DR), Studio 2

Recorded engineer DR Studio 2
Lars C. Bruun

Guitarist, producer, engineer Thor Madsen. Photo by Luisa Santosa.

Mix and Master
Thor Madsen and Lars Møller at Mazza Mansion

Related projects presented by Global Jazz Explorer Institute

Jazz Explorer Trio

Jazz Explorer Trio

RagaJazz

The group RagaJazz which features 2 of India's and 3 of Denmark's finest musicians

Rewrite of Spring

Lars Møller's Rewrite Of Spring

Raga Meditation

Raga Meditation
Presented by
Global Jazz Explorer Institute

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