Django-shift: New Release from Rez Abbasi

Rez Abbasi’s guitar work shines with a whole new take on Django Reinhardt’s music.

His trio Django-shift features Abbasi on acoustic fretted and fretless guitars, Neil Alexander on organ/synths, and Michael Sarin on drums. The band’s self-titled debut recording is just out on Whirlwind Recordings. The ensemble re-interprets the gypsy jazz giant’s music in an entirely new way as Abbasi delivers his best playing ever.

Abbasi was born in Karachi, Pakistan, migrating to Southern California at the age of four, schooled at the University of Southern California, and the Manhattan School of Music. Undertaking a pilgrimage in India under the guidance of master percussionist Ustad Alla Rakha, Abbasi is a vivid synthesis of many influences. Making New York home for the past 25 years, he has developed a sound both as a composer and an instrumentalist.