Rez Abbasi

Born in South Asia, removed at the age of four to Southern California, schooled at the University of Southern California and the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, and once a pilgrim to India studying under master percussionist Ustad Alla Rakha, Rez Abbasi makes music that’s a vivid synthesis of his life’s expriences.

Making New York home for the past 14 years, Rez Abbasi is considered to be one of the foremost modern jazz guitar players. With influence from the Indian sub-continent, Rez has developed a unique sound both as a composer and an instrumentalist.

Rez has honed his skills with performances throughout the world including multiple tours in Europe, Canada, the U.S. and India/Pakistan. He has performed or recorded with many jazz greats including Grammy-winner Ruth Brown, Peter Erskine, (Weather Report), as well as Victor Lewis, Kenny Werner, Rick Margitza, Barre Phillips, DD Jackson, Tim Hagans, Marc Johnson, Billy Hart, Michael Formanek, Gary Thomas, Kiran Ahluwalia, Sandip Burman, Christian Howes and a host of others.

Among Rez’s other creative projects is his long-standing association with bassist David Phillips, drummer Tony Moreno and alto saxophonist John O’Gallagher in the highly acclaimed collective ensemble Freedance. Rez is also an integral part of drummer Sunny Jain’s collective, Saxophonist Marc Mommaas’ Global Motion, violinist Christian Howes’ quintet and Indian/Canadian vocalist Kiran Ahluwalia’s ensemble, among others. — Courtesy Calabash Music