2011 CD, specially priced, $12, now available.
review by Greg Howard
Musicians:
Nima Rezai - Grand Stick, AcouStick, santour, Stick-controlled synths, electronic drums
Jesus Florido - violin, viper violin
Dan Heflin - flute, soprano and tenor sax
Christopher Garcia - drums, shaker, clay drum, tabla, djembe, kanjira, frame drum
Adam Darling - electric guitar, classical guitar, electronic drums
Delton Davis - cajon, shaker, triangle, chimes, bongos, vibes, Darabuka
Brad Ranola - Pocket pandiero, ribbon crash, surdo, talking drums
Houman Pourmehdi - Daf, Udu, bass drum
Harry Scorzo - violin
Milad Derakhshani - Taar
John Zeretzke - kamancheb
Michael Alvarez - cello
Kevin Goode- piano
Randin Graves - koto, guitar, ebow, didjeridu
Nima Collective is the new project from Bay Area Stickist and composer Nima Rezai.
Nima has expanded his Merge quartet into a full-blown world music orchestral ensemble, supplementing the core sound of Stick, drums, violin and saxophone with Persian string instruments (taar, santour and kamanche) koto, didjeridoo, and unusual percussion instruments like the Udu drum and darabuka, as well as synthesizers and electronic drums. With such a broad array of sound and musical traditions to draw from Nima collective spans not only the globe but also the centuries.
The orchestrations are deep. Each new listen reveals new sonic layers sounds. On some tracks, like the opener "Division", the mood shifts dramatically even with steady pulse — from mystical soundscape to ancient, percussion groove, through a contemporary World Beat melody and then into an "electronica" interlude, all in the space of five minutes.
Their version of what is arguably the first "world music" pop recording, the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood", takes its time, languidly laying the familiar melody over an "orchestra" of exotic acoustic and electric strings. Nima sounds out his roots on "Persia", with a majestic melody and an epic cadence that sounds like it could be have been played in Cyrus's court. The AcouStick prototype even makes a brief and powerful appearance at the center of "Memory On", which recalls John McLaughlin's foray into Indian music with the band Shakti.
VIDEO MONTAGE OF SELECTED TRACKS |
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Separate Worlds 2005 CD $15.
This new quartet truly "merges" many musical elements: Middle Eastern
melodies, harmonies and rhythms, and Western fusion and progressive rock
arrangements, and even some Latin and Celtic themes. Stickist Nima Rezai's
compositions explore all of these influences and his playing recalls
traditional instruments from these genres, while paying homage to his
teacher, Bob Culbertson, whose playing is frequently echoed in Rezai's own
technique and phrasing. A high-energy ensemble of drums (Brad Ranola), sax
(Dan Heflin), guitar (Randy Graves) and Nima's Grand Stick, Merge delivers
tightly performed, highly developed compositions, with the added sonic
dimension of guest performances on flute, violin, saz, tabla and many other
nonwestern instruments. Their unique sound is diverse and very accessible,
with an emphasis on the tunes and arrangements first, placed in lush
production setting and peppered with some fiery solos. Nima's EMG and
MIDI-equipped Grand Stick covers a lot of ground, but there's plenty of room
for his bandmates to explore. This is a Stick record that is all about
integrating the instrument into a band setting, with The Stick serving Rezai
as a compositional and performance focus simultaneously.