Dazzle: Aakash Mittal Quartet CD Release Performance

Friday, November 13th, 7 & 9pm :: Aakash Mittal Quartet CD Release Performance :: $10 / $20 with CD.

The Aakash Mittal Quartet is excited to release their second independent recording, titled “VIDESH.” A twelve-movement suite performed continuously, Videsh was inspired by Mittal’s first trip to India, his father’s homeland. Each movement programmatically represents a different aspect of the experience and musically draws from an eclectic array of styles including jazz, modern grooves/effects, the avant-garde, and elements of Indian music. VIDESH will be a unique musical experience for Colorado audiences.

Hailed as a “talented young player” with “the skills to go far” by Westword (Denver), Aakash Mittal has been making a name for himself at home and abroad. His debut CD “Possible Beginnings” has been acclaimed as “ simply brilliant” (Colorado Music Buzz) and “an amazing lineup of all original music.” (Scene Magazine) Mittal has also been praised for having “ the same inventiveness [as author Peter Lavezzoli] ” by Hindustan Times (Kolkata, India). This stems from his approach to composition and improvisation, where Mittal seeks to create music that relates to his diverse background of both American and East Indian heritage, drawing inspiration as much from straight-ahead jazz and the avant-garde as from musical traditions of India and modern grooves.

Aakash Mittal’s primary ensemble, “The Aakash Mittal Quartet,” performs all original music at such Colorado venues as Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge, Bliss Café, Vita, the Ft. Collins Jazz Experience, the UNC Jazz Festival, the Boulder Creek Festival, the Grand Junction Jazz and Arts Festival, Bohemian Nights at New West Fest, and the Estes Park Jazz Festival. In 2009 the quartet toured and performed at the Cultural Center of Chicago, The Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, Box Awesome in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Studio 222 in Fargo, Minnesota. Mittal has also performed at the Oxford Bookstore in Kolkata, India with renowned *tabla* player Pandit Tanmoy Bose.

Aakash Mittal has composed over 30 pieces for Jazz quartet and was commissioned to write a piece for the “Ethos West” chamber orchestra series that combines the instrumentation of a Jazz sextet with Indian instruments *tabla*and *sitar*. To expand his knowledge of the Indian tradition, Mittal traveled to Kolkata, India in 2009 and studied Classical Indian music with world renowned artists Pandit Tanmoy Bose and Prattyush Banerjee.