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REVIEWS & YOUTUBES
PERCUSSION OF INDIA North Indian tabla South Indian ghatam South Indian kanjira dhol chimta ANADIS MUSIC
"A project devised and led by gifted multi-percussionist Christopher Garcia, an artist known equally for his accomplishments as both adept player of North and South Indian instruments such as tabla and driving American drum set player) with the likes of the Frank Zappa alumni band, The Grand Mothers of Invention and the Bobby Bradford Mo’tet), the group reflects Garcia’s ongoing interest in honoring, exploring, and blending different musical cultures and their unique instruments. In this case, Garcia combines his tabla, mbwata, frame drums, baa wehai, and Paiste metals with the pipa, ruan, and other Chinese string instruments of the wonderful Jie Ma and the sitar of the gifted and versatile John Stephens. With Garcia always successful in his role as multicultural musical ambassador as well as sensitive and tasteful manifestor of thoroughly enjoyable musical experiences, this trio is sure to fascinate and satisfy." OPEN GATE THEATER with l. Shankar composer, violinist, vocalist “I know Christopher Garcia ... he is an angel from above. We have been working over 3 years touring and everything else, and many times we rehearse, all the time, as music is not my profession, Music is my passion, Music is my LIFE, see…..We are always rehearsing so many times, and Chris used to come, he is one of the busiest percussions on earth, he is incredible, he also plays South Indian percussion, clay ghatam, kanjira and everything else......” L. SHANKAR "Garcia’s drumming cut through, complemented, and grounded the reverberating echoes of L. Shankar’s masterful slides on the violin throughout the hall. ... Highlights included Garcia’s percussion solo in the fifth composition, in which he built upon various rhythms for several uninterrupted minutes, beating tabla, kanjira and ghatam, including tapping his face to a fascinating effect..... " WESLEYAN ARGUS "Christopher Garcia is a critically acclaimed percussionist, composer, performer, ethnomusicologist, and multi-instrumentalist ……he is known in different circles for various reasons: either as a composer or performer either on drum set, percussion instruments of North and South India, marimba, or instruments of indigenous Mexico/Mesoamerica….. he had the privilege of receiving a full scholarship at California Institute of the Arts where he studied tabla with Pandit Taranath Rao, Leonice Shinneman, and Swapan Chaudhuri, and tabla , ghatam and kanjira with John Bergamo. In 1976, his mentor John Bergamo was asked to perform with Shakti in Canada and 40 years later Christopher was honored to be the first Westerner to be invited by L. Shankar (aka Shenkar) to perform Indian classical music with him. His compositions for woodwind quintet, pedal harp, classical guitar, pipa, piano, and percussion of India and Mesoamerica continue to be performed in the Americas and Europe." SCHIMMEL CENTER PACE UNIVERSITY "Christopher Garcia has deep roots in rock, but when L. Shankar wants Indian rhythms, he asks Christopher to fly east. Fusion, ancient Mesoamerican instruments, rarefied indigenous strings, Garcia approaches it all with equal practice and intuition. On this night, he tinkled bells, stroked tablas or crashed cymbals when he sensed a connection. Constant action......" METALJAZZ.COM with CHRISTOPHER GARCIA'S QUARTETO NUEVO "He's amazing to watch, talk about having a split personality, it's funny because his fingers are flying, and he has all of the syllables available and he's holding a stick with his right hand, a shaker with his toes, and hitting bells and cymbals and all sorts of things all at the same time." KPFK GLOBAL VILLAGE with IPALPITI ORCHESTRA AT WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL “Jaques Loussier CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN AND TABLA was given its United States premiere at Walt Disney Concert Hall An exciting piece full of unexpected timbres and rhythms marvelously played by the Rumanian violinist Alexandru Tomescu and his American partner on the Indian tabla, Christopher Garcia, who studied for many years with several master tabla players……I find it fascinating, the improvisational sounding lines of the violin given strong rhythmic impulse by the tabla….” WQXR.ORG “It is bluesy; there’s a tango and a dashing presto.... There are sections that sound like improvisation for the solo violin, but that appeared to be written out.... The tabla adds a welcome percussiveness and rhythmic drive……Romanian violinist Alexandru Tomescu gave the solo part a tidy, elegant and graceful account ....." OC REGISTER with ARPANA DANCE COMPANY "Christopher Garcia, a multi-faceted percussionist, added an eclectic array of musical instruments from Mexico, India, and other places creating an imaginative array of sounds along with the movement." NARTHAKI.COM "We hear a variety of percussion, including instruments from India, Mexico and MesoAmerica. They sing and throb to the pulse of a single person, Christopher Garcia. He produces an extraordinary array of sound and rhythms, effortlessly weaving in and out of familiar Indian patterns to those of traditional MesoAmerica........." SRUTI MAGAZINE INDIAS PREMIER MAGAZINE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS ONSTAGE with L Shankar @ WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY CLICK below for review The following pics are from the U.S. premiere of JACQUES LOUSSIER’s CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN AND TABLA @ WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL by the IPALPITI ORCHESTRA under the baton of Edward Schmieder guests soloists were Alexandru Tomescu - violin and myself - tabla, ghatam, kanjira PERCUSSION OF NORTH AND SOUTH INDIA with ANADIS MUSIC PERCUSSION OF NORTH AND SOUTH INDIA with ANADIS MUSIC PERCUSSION OF NORTH AND SOUTH INDIA with QUARTETO NUEVO MUSIC (1998 - 2015) PERCUSSION OF NORTH AND SOUTH INDIA with very special guest: LEONICE SHINNEMAN |
