jazz2love

Music,  like a story or a painting, will many times be inspired by real life experiences and then the artist's imagination takes over, giving listeners a window into the artist's soul.  Composer, guitarist, leader, and Burlington, Vermont native Xander Naylor gives audiences a window into his soul, crossbreeding introspection with modern jazz improvisation and North Indian Hindustani classical music, drawing on over fifteen years of study with tabla maestro Samir Chatterjee. He reveals, "I’ve been studying with Samir since 2008.  I was magnetically drawn to him when I attended one of his masterclasses at The New School.  I had heard his tabla playing on a record and was immediately drawn to the sound and the depth of its spirit, which was unlike anything I had heard." "I couldn’t quite put my finger on it," he confesses.  "It’s interesting, he plays tabla, I play guitar; it doesn’t always happen like that.  The virtuosity of his playing is one (huge) th...

    Album:  Children of Sound Artist:  Xander Naylor Release Date:  April 21, 2026 Website:  https://www.xandernaylor.com Jazz fusion guitarist Xander Naylor presents his 2026 release Children of Sound, once again exploring the symbiotic bond of jazz, improvisation, and North Indian Hindustani classical music.  Making music that is both fluid and complex, spontaneous and lyrical, upbeat and meditative, capricious and calming, sparse and layered, Naylor's compositions capture a melodicism found in polarizing facets through in-depth exploration and concerted exchanges. Joining Naylor on the recording is his long-time mentor Samir Chatterjee on tabla, Utsav Lal on piano, Raphaël Pannier on drums, and Birsa Chatterjee on tenor saxophone.  Together, the quintet produces a lyricism laden with intriguing mysticism and cerebral magnetism.  The catchy motifs of "Future Curious" interpolate Indian accents into jazz-inspired expressions, as Lal's trickl...