Artist description The Four Directions is an award-winning and critically-acclaimed Minneapolis Jazz and New Acoustic Music Group. Namaste, their latest release, was produced on the ensemble's independent music label, Ahimsa Music. Namaste means "I salute the God in you" and is used throughout India as a greeting. Fusing world folk music and contemporary jazz, the group's recordings and live performances have earned them several awards during the last decade including:MINNESOTA MUSIC AWARD for Best New ArtistsJAZZ COMPOSERS AWARDNACA CAMPUS ENTERTAINMENT AWARDAFFILIATED ARTISTS AWARDLong before the terms "world beat" and "new age" became standard jargon in the music industry, The Four Directions demonstrated innovative composition skills on a variety of unusual instruments. The group blends voice, guitar, winds, and piano with Chinese Harp, Indian Tablas, Persian Harp, Tibetan Singing Bowls, African Udu (drums), and other instruments to forge a new tradition of acoustic music created by Western and Eastern influences. This CD, Namaste, was recorded by The Four Directions at Minnesota Public Radio's Grammy-Award-Winning Studio_M, in St. Paul, Minnesota. The ensemble has recorded all new pieces, written by pianist, vocalist, and flutist Marilyn Allysum, guitarist JB McLain, and David Wolfe, who performs on Santoor. Digitally Mastered at BERNIE GRUNDMAN STUDIOS, Hollywood, CA.

Music Style World Jazz Fusion

Musical Influences East West Traditions

Similar Artists Pat Metheny, Oregon, Acoustic Alchemy

Artist History Child Prodigy on classical accordion and the group's primary composer, Marilyn Allysum began her musical career at seven and picked up the flute at nine. She won the New York State, National, and International Accordion Competitions for her playing of Beethoven, Bach, and New Avant Garde pieces before switching to the piano at age 16. Her classical training continued in New York under Michael Tilsen-Thomas and Jean Pierre Rampal, with a subsequent scholarship to the Toronto Conservatory of Music. After a stint in Atlanta where she played in the jazz ensemble Reynardyne and in jazz clubs with Paul McCandless and others, she began a world travel program that would lead to the eventual forming of The Four Directions. Allysum's name is synonymous with innovation, being influenced greatly by the cultural roots of world musical traditions.David Wolfe has created a musical niche all his own, combining Indian Classical Tradition and Jazz elements. His rare ability to express his conception of the santoor's role in an ensemble creates improvisational forays that intertwine, weaving a hypnotic ambiance. He studied at Naropa Institute, Boulder, Co. and recorded Cloudpatterns with Kurt Shlaefer. He also studied under Collin Walcott and Pundit Shiv Kumar Sharma, two primary influences in the development of his style.A virtuoso guitarist, JB McLain captures the excitement inherent in the music of The Four Directions. McLain's creative music reflects the lyric side of jazz tradition. His fluid style is rich with resonance and full of delicate harmonics. McLain is an alumni of the Guitar Institute of Technology in Los Angeles and recorded with the Natural People's League. His mentors included Joe Diorio, Pat Metheny, Ron Eschete, Pat Martino, and Lee Ritenour.Mike Hurley has received critical acclaim for creating a sound that is clear and spacious; full of poise and spontaneity. Adventurous, fresh and a skilled improviser, he has performed and recorded with a host of musicians including: Prudence Johnson, Samoa, Northcoast, African music with Mazonk Afrique & Les Anglos, and Middle Eastern music with the Electric Arab Orchestra.Charles Fletcher attended the Jamie Aebersold Jazz Clinic where he studied under the renowned bassist Rufus Reid, and also attended Boston's Berklee School of Music. The lyric bass of Charles Fletcher continues to shape new vistas for world music. His extensive performance experience includes such diverse venues as the Lamont Cranston Band, the Stud Brothers, Glen Helgeson, Shangoya and Northcoast. He is currently on the faculty at Music Tech of Minneapolis.

Group Members Marilyn Allysum, David Wolfe, JB McLain, Charles Fletcher, Mike Hurley

Instruments piano, flute,Gu Zheng( Chinese harp), acoustic guitar, Santoor (Persian harp), vocals, bass, world percussion, Tibetan Singing Bowls

Albums Namaste

Press Reviews "The group's blending of Eastern and Western musical traditions and instruments yields intricate rhythmic patterns, lovely melodies, music that flashes with colors, like a prism spinning in the sun." Minneapolis Star Tribune."Your music sounds wonderful!" Bob Jones KOOL JAZZ FESTIVAL

Location Minneapolis, MN - USA

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