Ragas to Reels | Utsav Lal with Sam Comerford | Live at IAC New York

This video is from the live concert performance and recording of Utsav Lal’s Ragas to Reels at the Irish Arts Center, New York on Thursday, November 17, 2022 presented by the IAC in association with the Asian American Writers' Workshop and featuring Utsav Lal, Sam Comerford, Ganavya, Dana Lyn, Nitin Mitta, and Sahar Romani.
Lal’s genre collisions and collaborations here, with flute, whistle and sax player Sam Comerford, generate a riveting new sound, reflective of the complexities of identity-and connectivity of music-in a fluid world!
This piece celebrates the music of Tommy Potts, the great Irish fiddle player. It features a conversation between the traditional irish air "My Lagan Love" and unnamed reel played by Potts and a ragamala based around Raga Mishra Pilu.
Indian pianist and composer Utsav Lal is acclaimed for his original interpretation of Indian ragas on the piano. Ragas to Reels bring a deep and meaningful meeting of two living musical traditions-Indian Classical Music and Irish Traditional Music. After the resounding success of this groundbreaking project which premiered at The National Concert Hall, Dublin (2008), Lal has extensively performed several incarnations of this material in Ireland and UK. In 2014, Utsav Lal’s multi-city Ragas to Reels India tour (2014) received an overwhelming response, and this unique multicultural collaboration made its American debut at the Irish Arts Center, NY with a series of shows between Nov 17-19, 2022.
SAM COMERFORD- Sam Comerford is a musician and composer from Dublin, Ireland specializing in creative improvised music, playing saxophones, traditional Irish flute, and clarinet. Hailing from a family of musicians, Sam Comerford has from a very early age been an integral part of Comhaltas- the largest group involved in the preservation and promotion of Irish traditional music. Starting to play the tin whistle and Irish flute from the age of 9, he has carved an envious name for himself in the world of creative music, jazz, Irish traditional music and improvisation. Sam is currently involved in several projects including his own trio Thunderblender, Warm Bad, a septet with three guitars and Cuar, a creative traditional Irish/minimalist quartet with Neil O'Loclainn. Upcoming projects in 2020 include O'Loclainn's innovative Irish traditional large ensemble project “Emhain Abhlach” and the release of Thunderblender's debut album on WERF Records.
Ragas to Reels seamlessly stitches together classical Indian music and Irish traditional music. The culturally-fluid program blends long scale raga forms with reels, jigs, and airs, which complement each other and create a thrilling listening experience that’s greater than the sum of its parts.Ragas to Reels features a rotating ensemble cast, infusing a fresh repertoire in an energetic and colorful statement of unity.
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