Indo-Jazz Master Shez Raja Releases “Spellbound”

The new album from Shez Raja features not one, but two highly celebrated guitarists in Guthrie Govan and John Etheridge.

The underlying spirit of East-meets-West is captured not only in the compositions but in the line-up itself. Paying tribute to his Asian roots – a passion deepened through trips to the Punjab region with his father – there are contributions from sitar virtuoso Roopa Panesar, renowned Pakistani bansuri master Ahsan Papu, seventh-generation sarangi player Zohaib Hassan, singing prodigy Fiza Haider, and Indian tabla maestro Gurdain Rayatt.

This dedication to the rich tradition of the Indian sub-continent is balanced deftly with the power of Western music: the fiery guitar work of Guthrie Govan and John Etheridge, the rhythmic mastery of Dennis Chambers on drums, and the soulful saxophones of Tony Kofi and Vasilis Xenopoulos. The core rhythm section draws us back to the UK jazz scene, which has for so long been a mainstay on Shez’s calendar: Sophie Alloway and Jamie Murray on drums, with Chris Jerome on keyboards, together uniting the two worlds into a dynamic, fluid fusion.

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