National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

Click Here To Launch Rez Abbasi's Picks

Guitarist Rez Abbasi was born in India, but was raised in Southern Californa and currently makes his home in New York City—and his music bridges the gap between those locales and beyond.

A highly acclaimed and sought-after session and sideman, Abbasi has recorded and performed with the such jazz greats as Ruth Brown, Dave Douglas, Greg Osby and others. But with five solo albums under his belt since his debut in 1999, Abassi is a force to be reckoned with in his own right. His music is a highly personal blend of jazz improvisation and South Asian tradition, putting him in the same class as fellow Indian-American jazzmen (and sometime collaborators) as Vijay Ayer and Rudresh Mahanthappa. Abbasi's next recording, Bazaar will hit stores on November 15th, 2006.

When NGWM asked Rez to share some of his favorites with us, he didn't disappoint—his list was full of eclectic choices, from Karnatic classical greats to Israeli and Chinese folk music.

1. Jaipur Kawa Brass Band/ "Sajanava"
"Indian vocals soaring alongside a brass band. This is a very unique sound rooted in folk culture, but with a jazz inflection."

2. Abed Azrie/ "Abeille"
"Arabic instrumentalists in a call and response with a children's choir done tastefully and organically."

3. Marwan Abado/ "Flotte Lotte"
"This particular track may or may not represent Marvan's full vision but the experimental quality is key."

4. Lei Qiang/ "Night Song"
"The erhu is an underappreciated instrument in the West, yet it is one of the most human sounding. Parallels can be made with the operatic singing styles of China."

5. L. Subramaniam/ "Hemavathi Raga Rupuka"
"One of the living masters of South Indian music. What else is there to say?"

6. Natalie MacMaster/ "Gravel Shore"
"Light, fun yet serious music from this Cape Breton fiddler and guest Bela Fleck."

7. Essev Bar/ "Miserlou"
"Hip, organic, melodic and experimental folk music from Israel."

8. Garikayi Tirikoti/ "Chinembiri Chil"
"A kind of rhythmical meditation music. Almost sounds like percussive water. Very joyful."

9. Mercan Dede/ "Semaname"
"Trans-like music but well crafted."