Thursday, December 13, 2012

Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble Performs at the Freight and Salvage, Berkeley, 1/20/2013

Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble

Photo of Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Quintet
Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Sextet (clockwise: Mariah Parker, Matthew Montfort, Paul McCandless, Kash Killion, Brian Rice, Ian Dogole). Hi-res collage by Mettagraphics (7' x 7' jpg, 3 MB)

Live Concert Recording Session and Birthday Celebration

Sunday, January 20, 2013, 8:00 PM
Freight and Salvage

2020 Addison Street
Berkeley, CA 94704
Tix: $20.50 adv. at Freight Box Office and Ticketweb.com, $22.50 door (doors open at 7:00 PM)
Info: (510) 644-2020, info@freightandsalvage.org
Facebook Event. Download Poster.

Mariah Parker's multi-faceted approach to music blends the driving rhythmic syncopations of Latin jazz, the uplifting spirit of Eastern music, and the soul of flamenco. On the evening of January 20, 2013, Mariah and her world-class Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble collaborate for a live CD recording session at the Freight & Salvage, Berkeley's premier music performance space. That evening, which is Mariah's birthday, the band will present compelling new pieces Mariah composed for a live album following up on Sangria, her critically acclaimed debut release on Ancient-Future.Com Records.

The concert features Mariah Parker (composer, piano, santur) and a stellar lineup of musicians including Paul McCandless (Grammy award-winning woodwind virtuoso with the groups Oregon and Paul Winter Consort), Matthew Montfort (pioneering guitarist with Ancient Future), Ian Dogole (global percussion), Brian Rice (Latin percussion), and Kash Killion (bass, cello, bolong).

"Parker and friends blend the rhythmic syncopations of Latin jazz music with the entrancing, asymmetrical meters of East Indian rhythms resulting in first-class world music. Intriguing melodies that draw musical inspiration from the tempos of Brazil, Cuba, India and Spain make for an uplifting serene yet passionate musical journey into an ideal world." - LATIN BEAT MAGAZINE

"Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble packed Yoshi's in Jack London Square, and the incredible live performance had the audience screaming for more of the Indo-Latin jazz rhythms filling the celebrated jazz club." - BERKELEY DAILY PLANET

"Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble creates voodoo... when I saw them live at Kuumbwa Jazz Cafe they were purely raw and fearless." - JOHN SHELTON IVANY, TOP 21 (former editor of Hit Parader and Rock and Soul national magazines)

Ancient-Future.Com Recording Artist Mariah Parker and Her Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble

Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Sextet
Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Sextet (from left: Mariah Parker, Fred Randolph, Matthew Montfort, Paul McCandless, Brian Rice, Ian Dogole). Hi-res photo by Ted Cohen (8 x 4 jpg, 1.6 MB)

Mariah Parker (composition, piano, santur)

Photo of Mariah Parker
Mariah Parker. Hi-res photo by Ross Pelton (5 x 7 jpg, 2.3 MB)

www.mariahparkermusic.com
Mariah Parker is a composer and multi-instrumentalist whose main instruments are santur and piano. Her first instrument was the piano which she began playing at age 5. Later in music school, she fell in love with the sound of the santur when she heard it drifting across campus. The transition was a natural one given that the santur, along with its Western offspring, the hammered dulcimer, is the ancestor of the piano. The strings of the santur are played directly with delicate hammers, creating a beautiful shimmering sound, while the strings of the piano are mechanically triggered by striking the keys.

While completing her degree in music at UC Santa Cruz, she worked with ethnomusicologist Fred Lieberman and Mickey Hart on the Planet Drum project. She has performed in the US and Europe, and worked with many musicians of note including acoustic guitar icon Alex de Grassi, composer Pauline Oliveros, the late Zimbabwean composer Dumisani Maraire, and the innovative world music group Ancient Future.

Photo of Mariah Parker on piano
Mariah Parker with santur. Hi-res photo by Ross Pelton (5 x 4 jpg, 1.6 MB)

Matthew Montfort (Scalloped Fretboard Guitar)

Recently recognized as one of the world's 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists, Montfort is a pioneer of the scalloped fretboard guitar (an instrument combining qualities of the South Indian vina and the steel string guitar). The leader of the seminal world fusion music ensemble Ancient Future, Montfort's first solo guitar recording, 'Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar,' debuted at #8 on the 2009 ZMR World Radio Chart. He has performed world wide, including at the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra in Spain and the Mumbai Festival at the Gateway of India.

Paul McCandless (Reed Virtuoso)

During a distinguished career spanning three decades, Paul McCandless has brought a soaring lyricism to his playing and composing that has been integral to the ensemble sound of two seminal world music bands, the original Paul Winter Consort and the relentlessly innovative quartet, Oregon. A gifted multi-instrumentalist and composer, McCandless has specialized in an unusually broad palette of both single and double reed instruments that reflect his grounding in both classical and jazz disciplines.

Brian Rice (Latin Percussion)

Brian Rice is a freelance percussionist with a B.M. in Percussion Performance and Ethnomusicology from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. A well-rounded musician, Brian is a highly acclaimed performer, educator and recording artist adept at numerous musical styles including Latin, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and contemporary music. Brian currently performs with several groups including Mike Marshall with Choro Famoso and the Antionio Calogero Quartet (featuring Paul McCandless and Mike Manring).

Ian Dogole (Global Percussion)

For three decades, Ian Dogole has articulated his vision of Global Fusion Music as a multi-percussionist, bandleader, educator, recording artist, composer and producer. He is a member of Ancient Future, and has recorded and performed with artists such as Hamza el Din, Tito La Rosa, and Alex de Grassi on a wide variety of percussion instruments, including udu, cajon, hang, African talking drum, kalimbas, cymbals and dumbek. Ian has received numerous grants, including a Jazz Performance Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Kash Killion (Bass, Cello, Bolong)

Kash Killion has played extensively with such icons as Cecil Taylor, John Zorn, Sun Ra, Butch Morris, and George Lewis. His interest in avant-garde jazz was ignited by Sun Ra in 1978, and further heightened by meeting and playing with Pharoah Sanders. Playing cello, bass and assorted Middle Eastern stringed instruments such as sarangi and esraj, Kash's concert history includes performances with Donald Byrd, George Cables, Billy Higgins, and Reggie Workman as well as the Sun Ra Arkestra.

Videos

www.youtube.com/mariahparker

Youtube Video of Affinity Minus One
Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble performs 'Affinity Minus One' at Yoshi's

Youtube Video of Sangria by Mariah Parker
Ancient Future performs 'Sangria' by Mariah Parker at 30th Anniversary Concert at Freight & Salvage

Sangria by Mariah Parker

Sangria CD CoverHi-res CD cover art of Sangria (3.2 MB)


Sangria by Mariah Parker (Ancient-Future.Com AF 2017). $17.98: Buy 1 Now. audio. Mariah Parker - Sangria

Mariah Parker's debut recording on Ancient-Future.Com Records, Sangria, features her original compositions that draw musical inspiration from Brazil, Cuba, Spain, and India. Her Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble accompanies her and includes musicians from the bands Ancient Future, Oregon, Sun Ra, and Herbie Hancock's Headhunters.

To date, Sangria has received airplay on over 408 New World, Jazz, and Latin radio programs including two tracks on the Smooth Jazz Now Top 100 Songs of 2009 Chart, and earned rave reviews such as the following:

"Dazzling debut.... Parker’s subtle and sensuous sounds reflect exotic flavors of India, the Middle East and Latin America." - PALO ALTO DAILY NEWS

"Spicy tantalizing flamenco melodies cross pollinate with East Indian rhythms." - MAXIMUM INK MUSIC MAGAZINE

Thursday, November 22, 2012

End of the Beginning of the Ancient Future Celebration

End of the Beginning of the Ancient Future

World Without Walls CD Cover Art
World Without Walls

World Without Walls by Ancient Future. (Capitol/Sona Gaia 163). Reconditioned CD - $24.98: Buy Link. audio.

End of the Beginning (Matthew Montfort. 5:15). audio.

Celebrate the End of the Mayan 'Time of No-Time' with the Music of Ancient Future!


There's been much ado concerning the end of the current 5125 year cycle of the Mayan Long Count calendar on December 21, 2012. Legend has it that the first of seven Mayan prophecies refers to the last 20 years of this cycle (1992-2012) as the 'The Time of No-Time.' But far from being the end of the world, evidently the end of the 'Time of No-Time' is party time! According to USA TODAY, Sandra Noble of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies says, "For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle." What more appropriate way to celebrate and shape the new era to follow than with the music of Ancient Future?

With that in mind, Ancient Future announces the 'End of the Beginning.' Says Ancient Future leader Matthew Montfort, "In 1990, I wrote this piece to capture a feeling of something ending to create hope for a new beginning in which the environment would be thought of as the giver of all life that must be protected rather than something simply to be exploited. It suddenly seems very appropriate for this moment in time. Now that I know about the Mayan 'Time of No-Time, I can see that I wrote the 'End of the Beginning' near the beginning of the end of the beginning!"

To celebrate the composition's coming of age as a perfect fit for the end of this era, from now through December 21, 2012, a complimentary media promo copy of World Without Walls by Ancient Future, which includes 'End of the Beginning,' will be sent to anyone who spends $51.25 or more on music from the Ancient-Future.Com store.

As its name suggests, World Without Walls by Ancient Future depicts a musical world without borders. This 1990 recording features Ancient Future members Matthew Montfort (guitars), Jim Hurley (violin), Doug McKeehan (keys), and Ian Dogole (percussion), plus special guest performances by world music legend and tabla master Zakir Hussain. The inviting melodies and ingenious use of ethnic textures make World Without Walls one of Ancient Future's most accessible and broadly appealing releases ever.

Long out of print, by 2011World Without Walls had become a collector's item, with a rare unopened original CD copy going for over $200 on Amazon.com. Then, on June 7, 2011, the exact lineup of Ancient Future that performed on World Without Walls reunited to perform for the first time in over 15 years at Yoshi's San Francisco. To celebrate the reunion, and capitalize on pent up demand, Capitol Records released the first ever digital download version of World Without Walls on iTunes and all major digital retailers. The reissue debuted at #39 on the October 2011 ZMR Airplay Chart, which covers many different radio genres, from Ambient to Folk, Jazz, and World, and at #34 on the CMJ New World Chart in November 2011. In 2012, World Without Walls was nominated by broadcasters worldwide as ZoneMusicReporter's top 5 Best World Albums of 2011.

For those who prefer CDs (the audio quality is much better, and the ritual of actually listening to music is preserved), a limited number of rare collectible original 1990 edition copies reconditioned and signed by Ancient Future leader Matthew Montfort are on sale exclusively at Ancient-Future.Com. So while there are no new CD copies in stores, Ancient Future does have a stash of media promo copies left over from the promotion campaign. This sale is a once-in-an-era chance to get ahold of a new CD copy of this rare release free with a music purchase of $51.25 or more at Ancient-Future.Com.

Plus, the four latest releases on Ancient-Future.Com Records are on sale for only $11 each with any other purchase at Ancient-Future.Com. Just purchase any book, CD, or make a donation to support the Archive of Future Ancient Recordings (the fan funded project to produce the eighth Ancient Future release), and have the option of purchasing any of the CDs below for only $11!

Planet Passion CD CoverPlanet Passion

Planet Passion by Ancient Future (Ancient-Future.Com AF 2010). Digipak CD - $17.98 (End of the Beginning Sale: $11 with any other purchase): Buy Link. audio.

"If the members of the United Nations formed a world-fusion band, it might look and sound a little something like Ancient Future. Planet Passion strives to preserve the world’s vast musical heritage via international collaboration: the idea that one protects the old by creating something new. This is at the heart of fusion music and the heart of Ancient Future’s global aesthetics, too: a diverse, unified world without borders, a multicultural community, a new, reconstituted sonic reality." - LEO WEEKLY

Sympathetic Serenade Cover Art
Matthew Montfort - Sympathetic Serenade

Sympathetic Serenade for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar by Matthew Montfort. (Ancient-Future.Com EP AF-2012). EP CD-R $12.98 (End of the Beginning Sale: $11 with any other purchase): Buy Link. audio (Excerpt)

In response to the release of this new EP, Matthew Montfort was honored as one of the world's 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists.

"Anyone whose ever been taken with the inventions of Fahey, Basho, etc. when they wander off the beaten, song structured path will enjoy this instrumental, raga flavored diversion. A fine work that extends the guitar vocabulary." - MIDWEST RECORD

Seven Serenades CD Cover
Matthew Montfort


Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar by Matthew Montfort. (Ancient-Future.Com AF 2008). Digipak CD - $17.98 (End of the Beginning Sale: $11 with any other purchase): Buy Link. audio.

"This unusual guitar album brings together world instruments to complement the scalloped fretboard guitar. I must admit that sometimes ragas played by guitar players seem to wander on forever, changing a note here and there and weaving a kind of slow, hypnotic journey. However, this guitar work is stunning, intricate and wonderfully melodic. If you are looking for good listening and something different for your CD shelf, this is it." - VICTORY REVIEW ACOUSTIC MUSIC MAGAZINE

Sangria CD Cover
Mariah Parker - Sangria


Sangria by Mariah Parker (Ancient-Future.Com AF 2017). Digipak CD - $17.98 (End of the Beginning Sale: $11 with any other purchase): Buy Link. audio.

"Parker and friends blend the rhythmic syncopations of Latin jazz music with the entrancing, asymmetrical meters of East Indian rhythms resulting in first-class world music. Intriguing melodies that draw musical inspirations from the tempos of Brazil, Cuba, India and Spain make for an uplifting serene yet passionate musical journey into an ideal world." - LATIN BEAT MAGAZINE

World Without Walls Reunion Concert

14 Steps youtube video
Since this performance at Yoshi's San Francisco on June 7, 2011, Ancient Future has been invited to perform their World Without Walls Reunion program at festivals from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Bangalore, India.

Ancient Future Band Biography

Ancient Future Photo Circa 1990 by Irene Young (Links to 864 x 570 Screen Version)
Sepia photo for print (14.7" x 9.7" sepia jpg, 7.2 MB). Ancient Future circa 1990. Photo by Irene Young. Pictured: Matthew Montfort (guitars), Jim Hurley (violin), Doug McKeehan (keys), Ian Dogole (percussion).

BILLBOARD calls the group "trendsetters" for contributing to the emerging movement known as world fusion music, a term Ancient Future leader Matthew Montfort coined at the band’s inception for music that blends musical ideas from many different cultures. Formed in 1978, Ancient Future is the world's first and longest running ensemble dedicated exclusively to the mission of the creation of world fusion music. Their original music is an exhilarating fusion of exciting rhythms and sounds from around the globe that combines contemporary jazz and rock with the irresistible rhythms of African, Balinese, Indian, Middle Eastern and South American percussion, the rich harmonies of Europe, and the beautiful melodies of Asia.

In the years since the initial CD release of World Without Walls, Ancient Future has expanded from its core lineup through collaborations with noted masters of various world music traditions who are now an integral part of what is today more than just a band. Ancient Future has grown to become a large chamber ensemble of more than thirty performers from around the world with over a dozen smaller ensembles within it, enabling Ancient Future to realize its core mission of creating world fusion music.

Tabla master Zakir Hussain
Tabla master Zakir Hussain

Quotes

World Without Walls CD Cover Art
Hi-Res Square Cover Art (3 MB)

"What's an album like World Without Walls doing in the GEPR (Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock)? 'That's not prog!' I hear you say. Well, in my view it's definitely progressive, in the true sense of the word, rather than the 'sounds like Yes, Genesis or King Crimson' sense. Ancient Future coined the phrase 'World Fusion' to describe their music. World Without Walls is a remastered re-release of their 1990 classic, and doesn't sound dated at all. World Without Walls is a fusion of musical stylings, scales and rhythms from around the world. A careful listen will reveal that this is way beyond the usual health-food store 'World Music' offerings and is instead a high-energy, very experimental fusion of styles from around the world. Highly recommended." - GIBRALTAR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PROGRESSIVE ROCK

"It's hard to remember — with the plethora of World Fusion albums currently available — a time when this sort of music was the new kid on the block. It showed up when much of the music on the radio was pretty much disposable (something that, unfortunately, hasn't changed so much), when the new jazz at the time was still inspired by polyrhythms rather than melody, and the alt music scene was . . . well, kind of grungy. This classic album by Ancient Future was a breath of fresh air at the time of its release in 1990. With inspired skill and a great respect for the other cultures from which they took much of their inspiration, the band blended western music with that of pretty much every other continent, weaving magic with their melodies and rhythms. And you know what? World Without Walls sounds as fresh and invigorating today as it did all those years ago upon its initial release. There's not a single bad moment on the album." - SleepingHedgehog.com

"When one listens to the melodies and musical textures of the fifth release 'World Without Walls' by the group Ancient Future, words like exotic, elegant and sublime immediately come to mind. World-class musicians including award-winning guitarist, Matthew Montfort, composer/violinist Jim Hurley and Zakir Hussain, master of the North Indian Tabla have blended these various musical styles and phrasings into a musical fusion that honors and yet transcends the cultural and political boundaries. Check out the group on YouTube and see if you are not drawn into their hypnotic enchantment." - BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS

"Ancient Future was all about 'world fusion' before world music was even a genre. Violinist Jim Hurley came on board for this long-out-of-print 1990 outing, joining the core group of guitarist Matthew Montfort, keyboardist Doug McKeehan and percussionist Ian Dogole and remaining as a member for the rest of the group's seven studio albums. Tabla player extraordinaire Zakir Hussain was recruited for three songs. Other highlights are 'Lakshmi Rocks Me,' a tribute to south Indian violinist L. Shankar; 'End of the Beginning,' a mashup of ancient Celtic and Indian influences; 'Turkish Taffy,' boasting a triple-lead attack comprising guitar, piano and acoustic violin; 'Indra's Net,' inspired by Hindu mythology and featured in the soundtrack for the drift-net fishing documentary 'Closing the Curtains of Death'; and 'Gopi Song,' a tip of the hat to Pandit Ram, master of a north Indian bowed string instrument called the sarangi." - GOOD NEW MUSIC

"Bloody hell, get me some Alzheimer's drugs, will you? Ancient Future was on Narada's Sona Gaia subsidiary with a world beat album that was ahead of it's time and they were hanging out with Zappa's world beat buddies and I don't remember any of it? Each track has a different taste and a different texture making this a world beat travelogue that gleefully genre bends whatever the crew felt like with a merger of hillbilly and Indian music, the sound of an African traffic jam and more stuff that tastes good without the over riding vibe of being good for you. And it's not empty calories either. No wonder the group labored so long and so hard to get Capitol to reissue this, it's time. More bloody hell, new copies of this are going for over $200 on Amazon! How did I miss this? This is the world beat/jazz/pop album for people that shy away from things called world beat and jazz. Fun stuff throughout that still sounds fresh and in the moment today." - MIDWEST RECORD

World Without Walls Media Report
MediaWorldWithoutWalls.pdf(7.9 MB Media Report)

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Scalloped Fretboard Guitar Pioneer Matthew Montfort Added to DigitalDreamDoor.com List of 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists

Scalloped Fretboard Guitar Pioneer Matthew Montfort Makes 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists List

Photo of Matthew Montfort

DigitalDreamDoor.com's 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists

DigitalDreamDoor.com is a website featuring Greatest 100 Music, Movie, and Book lists. On August 12, 2012, scalloped fretboard guitar pioneer Matthew Montfort was added to their 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists list. Inclusion on the list is based on originality, innovation, technique, and influence on other acoustic guitarists. The list is intended for musicians whose primary instrument is the acoustic guitar, but not including the pioneers of jazz, classical, or flamenco, as DigitalDreamDoor.com maintains separate lists for those genres. Matthew Montfort joins luminaries such as Michael Hedges, Leo Kottke, Chet Atkins, John Fahey, Adrian Legg, Merle Travis, John Renbourn, Tommy Emmanuel, Doc Watson, Pierre Bensusan, Toni Rice, Alex De Grassi, Stefan Grossman, Artie Traum, Joni Mitchell, and Peppino D'Agostino in receiving this honor.

Biography

Matthew Montfort on Youtube

Video of 'Soul Serenade' from Matthew Montfort's Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar

As leader of the world music group Ancient Future, Matthew Montfort has devoted himself to the scalloped fretboard guitar since 1978. Montfort immersed himself in an intensive study with vina master K.S. Subramanian in order to fully apply the South Indian gamaka (note-bending) techniques to the guitar. He has worked with many world music legends, including tabla phenomenon Zakir Hussain and Chinese zither master Zhao Hui. He has performed hundreds of concerts worldwide since 1978, from New York City's Carnegie Recital Hall to the Atlantis nightclub in Beirut, Lebanon. His scalloped fretboard work was featured in 2003 and 2005 at the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra on the golden coast of Spain, which showcases top guitarists from all over the world. He toured India in 2006 and 2008, performing at the prestigious Festival of India in Mumbai with sitar master Pandit Habib Khan and tabla maestro Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. He has performed live on national shows such as the Echoes Living Room Concerts on PRI, and the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. He holds a B.A. in World Music and Composition and an M.A. in Arts and Media Technology from Antioch University. For his M.A. thesis, Montfort wrote the book Ancient Traditions — Future Possibilities: Rhythmic Training Through the Traditions of Africa, Bali, and India, which has been used by many musicians to improve their rhythm skills. Matthew Montfort teaches all styles of guitar along with music theory and repertoire for all instruments. He offers private lessons, music tutorials, and group classes in the San Francisco Bay Area and online via Skype, and is available to teach master classes and workshops worldwide.

Scalloped Fretboard Guitar

Photo of Scalloped Fretboard Guitar

In late 1978, luthier Ervin Somogyi carved out the wood between the frets of Montfort's Gibson SJ Deluxe so that the pads of his fingers touch only the strings, reducing friction while bending them to produce ornaments more characteristic of the sitar. While visually subtle, the difference in sound is striking. Montfort had his fretboard scalloped in order to play various forms of world music that require intricate note-bending ornaments while still being able to play chords. He uses the South Indian vina method of bending notes: the strings are pulled across the frets in order to raise the pitch.

Sympathetic Serenade for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar by Matthew Montfort (Ancient-Future.Com Records EP AF-2012)

Sympathetic Serenade Cover Art

Sympathetic Serenade for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar by Matthew Montfort. Ancient-Future.Com EP AF-2012. iTunes. >audio (Excerpt)

Matthew Montfort was added to the 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists List partly in response to the release of his new EP. When Montfort was working on his 2009 debut solo recording for scalloped fretboard guitar, he recorded a number of spontaneously improvised serenades. Were it not for some serendipitous sequencing coupled with the allure of alliteration, it's likely that 'Sympathetic Serenade' would have been released as the eighth improvisation on what became Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar. Instead, this evocative Spanish serenade/raga hybrid receives a mini EP treatment on Matthew Montfort's Sympathetic Serenade for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar. The nearly 11 minute long track is now available as a download complete with nine pages of digital liner notes at digital retailers such as iTunes, and as a signed CD-R exclusively at Ancient-Future.Com.

Quotes

Photo of Matthew Montfort

"I first realized Matthew Montfort was a true guitar wizard when he called me on the phone and played me one flawless Hendrix riff after another. We were in the seventh grade. By the time we escaped high school, Matt had gone acoustic, turning coffee house basements into his own planet with fierce improvisations. Now a pioneering master of world fusion, his knowledge and depth are staggering, yet he doesn't let it get in the way of the joy and spirit and soul that we like about music in the first place." — Jello Biafra, Dead Kennedy singer turned spoken word artist

"Matthew Montfort is an American Ravi Shankar on guitar." —Pandit Habib Khan, sitarist

"Matthew Montfort's synthesis of styles and sounds isn't superficial — he plucks the essential musicality of several traditions without discounting them. Beautiful world fusion music." — Roger Carlberg, ELECTRONIC MUSICIAN

"The most beautiful, soulful guitar I have ever heard!!"— Chandi Devi, Editor-in-Chief, KARMACAFE.COM

"Master of the scalloped fretboard guitar." — J. Poet, EAST BAY EXPRESS

"Matthew Montfort plays a special, scalloped fretboard acoustic instrument that lets him get the bends of an Indian sitar. He uses it to weave seductive melodies." — John Diliberto (host of ECHOES, syndicated on PRI stations)

"Thorough knowledge of Hindustani microtonal ornaments, transferred in ways that create one of the most distinctive guitar sounds in contemporary music. When this level of mastery is reached, there is no need to rewrite. The first improvisation has the depth of a reworked composition." — Teed Rockwell, INDIA CURRENTS

"This guitar work is stunning, intricate and wonderfully melodic." — J.W. McClure, VICTORY MUSIC

"The mind-bending playing abilities of guitar virtuoso, Matthew Montfort, stem from the note-bending capabilities of the scalloped fretboard guitar." — Matthew Forss, INSIDE WORLD MUSIC

"Matthew Montfort conjures lovely Asian zither-like inflections with a scalloped fretboard guitar." — GUITAR PLAYER

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Ancient Future Nominated for North Bay Bohemian 2012 NorBay World Music Award

Ancient Future Artist Photo
Ancient Future Artist Photo. Pictured: Emam (tabla), Doug McKeehan (keys), Irina Mikhailova (vocals), Matthew Montfort (guitars), Pandit Habib Khan (sitar).

The world music group Ancient Future is a finalist in the NORTH BAY BOHEMIAN 2012 North Bay Music Awards in the World/Reggae category. There are five finalists in each category. Reader's votes will determine who wins the 2012 NorBay Gold Record Award. Bohemian.com readers and fans of Ancient Future can vote for the band in the World Music category at:

http://posting.bohemian.com/northbay/Survey?survey=2295166

Voting closes July 11 at 5 PM. The rules appropriately only allow for one vote per reader.

The BOHEMIAN 2012 North Bay Music Award is Ancient Future's third world music award nomination of the year. On February 12, 2012, 'World Without Walls' by Ancient Future with special guest Zakir Hussain was nominated by ZoneMusicReporter.com broadcasters worldwide for Best World Album of 2011, and then on February 21, 2012, About.com readers nominated Ancient Future for the About.com World Music Trailblazer Award.

Ancient Future Band Biography

Photo of Scalloped FretbAncient Future Reunion Band circa 1990oard Guitar
Ancient Future Reunion Band circa 1990. Pictured: Matthew Montfort (guitars), Jim Hurley (violin), Doug McKeehan (keys), Ian Dogole (percussion).

Formed in 1978, Ancient Future is the world's first and longest-running band dedicated to the creation of world fusion music! BILLBOARD calls the group "trendsetters" for contributing to the emerging movement known as world fusion music, a term Ancient Future leader Matthew Montfort coined at the band's inception for music that blends musical ideas from many different cultures. Their original music is an exhilarating fusion of exciting rhythms and sounds from around the globe that combines contemporary jazz and rock with the irresistible rhythms of African, Balinese, Indian, Middle Eastern and South American percussion, the rich harmonies of Europe, and the beautiful melodies of Asia.

Over the years, Ancient Future has expanded from its core lineup through collaborations with noted masters of various world music traditions who are now an integral part of what is today more than just a band. Ancient Future has grown to become a large chamber ensemble of more than thirty performers from around the world with over a dozen smaller ensembles within it, enabling Ancient Future to realize its core mission of creating world fusion music.

Ancient Future has released seven full length studio albums selling over 150,000 units: 'Visions of a Peaceful Planet,' 'Natural Rhythms,' 'Quiet Fire,' 'Dreamchaser,' 'World Without Walls,' 'Asian Fusion,' and 'Planet Passion.' Over one million legal mp3 files from three of these releases on Ancient-Future.Com Records have been distributed commercially. Ancient Future is also featured on samplers selling millions of units on labels such as Putumayo and Narada. They are currently working on their eighth release, the fan supported 'Archive of Future Ancient Recordings.' Fans can participate in the process by subscribing at http://www.ancient-future.com/afar.html. There are already seven tracks in the archive totaling more than fifty minutes, available immediately to subscribers. More tracks will be added as additional funds are raised for recording.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Matthew Montfort Releases New Solo Scalloped Fretboard Guitar Recording

Ancient-Future.Com Records Releases Mini EP by World Music Guitar Pioneer Matthew Montfort on May 22, 2012

Sympathetic Serenade for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar by Matthew Montfort (Ancient-Future.Com Records EP AF-2012)

Sympathetic Serenade Cover Art
Hi-Res Cover Art by Matthew Montfort (2 MB, 300 dpi 5" x 5")

Sympathetic Serenade for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar by Matthew Montfort. Ancient-Future.Com EP AF-2012. >audio (Excerpt)

When Matthew Montfort was working on his debut solo recording for scalloped fretboard guitar (a special guitar modified to enable ornaments characteristic of the sitar), he recorded a number of spontaneously improvised serenades. Were it not for some serendipitous sequencing coupled with the allure of alliteration, it's likely that this recording would have been released as the eighth improvisation on what became Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar. Instead, this evocative Spanish serenade/raga hybrid receives a mini-EP treatment on Matthew Montfort's Sympathetic Serenade for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar. The nearly 11 minute long track, entitled 'Sympathetic Serenade,' is available May 22, 2012, as a download complete with nine pages of digital liner notes at digital retailers such as iTunes, and as a signed CD-R exclusively at Ancient-Future.Com.

Scalloped Fretboard Guitar

Photo of Scalloped Fretboard Guitar
Hi-Res Instrument Photo by Teja Gerken taken for article in ACOUSTIC GUITAR (5 MB, 300 dpi 6" x 12.2")

Already well known as the leader of the trailblazing world music group Ancient Future, Matthew Montfort's solo recordings showcase his pioneering work on the scalloped fretboard guitar. In late 1978, luthier Ervin Somogyi carved out the wood between the frets of Montfort's Gibson SJ Deluxe so that the pads of his fingers touch only the strings, reducing friction while bending them to produce ornaments more characteristic of the sitar. While visually subtle, the difference in sound is striking. Montfort had his fretboard scalloped in order to play various forms of world music that require intricate note-bending ornaments while still being able to play chords. He uses the South Indian vina method of bending notes: the strings are pulled across the frets in order to raise the pitch.

Biography

Photo of Matthew Montfort
Hi-Res Artist Photo by Julie Marten (2 MB, 300 dpi 4.3" x 6.5")

As leader of the world music group Ancient Future, Matthew Montfort has devoted himself to the scalloped fretboard guitar since 1978. Montfort immersed himself in an intensive study with vina master K.S. Subramanian in order to fully apply the South Indian gamaka (note-bending) techniques to the guitar. He has worked with many world music legends, including tabla phenomenon Zakir Hussain and Chinese zither master Zhao Hui. He has performed hundreds of concerts worldwide since 1978, from New York City's Carnegie Recital Hall to the Atlantis nightclub in Beirut, Lebanon. His scalloped fretboard work was featured in 2003 and 2005 at the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra on the golden coast of Spain, which showcases top guitarists from all over the world. He toured India in 2006 and 2008, performing at the prestigious Festival of India in Mumbai with sitar master Pandit Habib Khan and tabla maestro Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. He has performed live on national shows such as the Echoes Living Room Concerts on PRI, and the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. He holds a B.A. in World Music and Composition and an M.A. in Arts and Media Technology from Antioch University. For his M.A. thesis, Montfort wrote the book Ancient Traditions — Future Possibilities: Rhythmic Training Through the Traditions of Africa, Bali, and India, which has been used by many musicians to improve their rhythm skills. Matthew Montfort teaches all styles of guitar along with music theory and repertoire for all instruments. He offers private lessons, music tutorials, and group classes in the San Francisco Bay Area and online via Skype, and is available to teach master classes and workshops worldwide.

Digital Release Specifications

Sympathetic Serenade Digital Liner Notes

Title: Sympathetic Serenade for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar
Track List: 1. Sympathetic Serenade (Montfort. 10:58)
Artist: Matthew Montfort
Label: Ancient-Future.Com Records EP AF-2012.
Mini EP Download with 9 Page Digital Liner Notes: $2.99 list at iTunes and other digital stores.
Mini EP CD-R Signed by Artist: $12.98 list exclusively at Ancient-Future.Com.
Genres: World Fusion, World Music, Acoustic Guitar.
Release Date: May 22, 2012.
Radio Add Date: June 19, 2012.
Artist Website: www.matthewmontfort.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/matthewmontfort

Quotes

"I first realized Matthew Montfort was a true guitar wizard when he called me on the phone and played me one flawless Hendrix riff after another. We were in the seventh grade. By the time we escaped high school, Matt had gone acoustic, turning coffee house basements into his own planet with fierce improvisations. Now a pioneering master of world fusion, his knowledge and depth are staggering, yet he doesn't let it get in the way of the joy and spirit and soul that we like about music in the first place." — Jello Biafra, Dead Kennedy singer turned spoken word artist
"Matthew Montfort is an American Ravi Shankar on guitar." —Pandit Habib Khan, sitarist
"Matthew Montfort's synthesis of styles and sounds isn't superficial — he plucks the essential musicality of several traditions without discounting them. Beautiful world fusion music." — Roger Carlberg, ELECTRONIC MUSICIAN
"The most beautiful, soulful guitar I have ever heard!!"— Chandi Devi, Editor-in-Chief, KARMACAFE.COM
"Master of the scalloped fretboard guitar." — J. Poet, EAST BAY EXPRESS
"Matthew Montfort plays a special, scalloped fretboard acoustic instrument that lets him get the bends of an Indian sitar. He uses it to weave seductive melodies." — John Diliberto (host of ECHOES, syndicated on PRI stations)
"Thorough knowledge of Hindustani microtonal ornaments, transferred in ways that create one of the most distinctive guitar sounds in contemporary music. When this level of mastery is reached, there is no need to rewrite. The first improvisation has the depth of a reworked composition." — Teed Rockwell, INDIA CURRENTS
"This guitar work is stunning, intricate and wonderfully melodic." — J.W. McClure, VICTORY MUSIC
"The mind-bending playing abilities of guitar virtuoso, Matthew Montfort, stem from the note-bending capabilities of the scalloped fretboard guitar." — Matthew Forss, INSIDE WORLD MUSIC
"Matthew Montfort conjures lovely Asian zither-like inflections with a scalloped fretboard guitar." — GUITAR PLAYER

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Hilary Rosen's Uncomfortable Truths About Politics and the Music Industry

Is Hilary Rosen an Uncomfortable Truth Vortex?


By Matthew Montfort


On April 11, CNN pundit Hilary Rosen commented that the wife of presidential candidate Mitt Romney had never worked a day in her life. This of course gave the Republicans an opening to use their patented moral outrage smokescreen to counter their low poll numbers among women voters. Democrats, they maintain, don't appreciate the hard work of stay-at-home moms such as Ann Romney.


More than a decade before Hilary Rosen stubbed her toe on the truth and ignited a Twitter firestorm that made her a household name, she helped me put my foot in my mouth so that the truth could set me free in a legal dispute. As one might expect, this is a bit of a long story. But I'm beginning to think that Hilary Rosen may be an uncomfortable truth vortex.


Before being a pundit, Ms. Rosen was the President of the Recording Industry Association of America, which was how our paths crossed. There was a major hearing in the Napster case, and I was the proposed Class Representative for Independent Musicians versus Napster. I was selected for that role because my world music band, Ancient Future, had an unusually high number of illegal downloads on Napster. I was to meet my attorney, Hannah Bentley, Esq., at the hearing, and afterwards I had a deposition to do at Napster headquarters. When I arrived at the courthouse, my attorney was not there yet, so I asked the court bailiff where I should sit. He sat me down on a front row bench. Soon thereafter, Hilary Rosen came over, introduced herself to me, and then congratulated me on how I had presented the issues facing independent musicians regarding file sharing in an interview on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle business section. I had no idea that there was a story about me in the paper that day. I had been interviewed and photographed weeks before, but nothing had come of it, and so I was suspecting that the interview had been shelved because it wasn't about a major pop star. So I was quite surprised to find out that it had been published the day of this first major hearing in the case.


I thanked Hilary Rosen for her encouraging words. Immediately after that, the man sitting next to me asked me who I was. I launched into my speech about how I was an independent musician who was suing Napster. I told him that I felt the debate was not being properly presented by the media, as they were framing it as the major labels and big rock stars against the advancement of the Internet and poor college students. If that were really the case, I would've been on the side of the Internet and poor college students. But those who were really going to be hurt were the artists who were just getting by, not the big media conglomerates and the major rock stars. The rich or famous would find other ways to make money. But great artists who were not household names, but were doing important work nonetheless, would likely find that although they might have 10 times as many people download their recordings for free, their paid sales would decrease by the same factor. As a result their records would no longer recoup their recording costs, much less produce royalties for the musicians themselves.


At this point, the man sitting next to me said, "I'm Hank Barry, the CEO of Napster. Nice to meet you." This is a very interesting way of meeting someone that you are suing. Nonetheless, recovering from my shock of having just given my whole spiel directly to the opposing side, I immediately explained that I was not against Napster existing, but that I just wanted musicians to be paid for their work. He told me that he originally wanted to charge for downloads and pay the artists, but the major labels wouldn't play ball, so he decided to force the issue by promoting the idea that file sharing was good for the advancement of the Internet and would not harm artists. Little did he know that this would become a popular myth that changed the public's attitude about paying for music permanently, causing the collapse of the entire music industry, making even Napster's business plan obsolete. I explained that I had a whole plan to create a statutory rate for downloads, just as the recording industry had a statutory rate that it could use to simplify publishing agreements. I handed him a paper that detailed my proposal. He read the proposal, and then told me that he agreed with much of it and would read some of it in his CNN interview after the hearing.


About then, my attorney showed up, catching me fraternizing with the enemy. But it was too late, as we were having an exciting conversation, and he actually confided to me how nervous he felt being at the hearing. It was then that I offered him my humorous short science fiction story about music on the Internet 30 years into the future: The Adventures of Ustad Global Loopmaster Yahoo in the 21st Century. He read my story right there, a lot of which has actually come true, and appreciated it so much that he immediately passed it around to Napster's very large legal team, which included the famous David Boies of Bush versus Gore fame. This was all very surreal.


I could write a book about everything that happened in this court case after this moment. But what is relevant to Hilary Rosen's uncomfortable truth vortex is that her introduction was the catalyst for a very interesting interaction. Hank Barry went on to lobby Congress to create a system very similar to my statutory rate proposal. Ironically, Napster not only stole my music, but also my solution to their problem. Unfortunately, that solution was opposed by the major labels. Sen. Orrin Hatch was at first intrigued by the proposal, but after the major media companies called it government price-fixing, he opposed it. Never mind the fact that the same companies love statutory rates when they benefit from them in negotiations with publishers. I made another proposal, Open Market Digital Distribution, which would have allowed copyright holders to set their own rates for statutory licenses, but the major labels opposed that as well, likely because it would have given the artists more power than they had at the time.


The major labels won their battle against Napster, but lost the war against illegal downloads, perhaps partly because they held on to their power over artists at the expense of creating a business model for downloads that would have worked for everyone. Perhaps the Republicans have just won their faux battle over the value of stay-at-home moms, but they still might lose a few elections due to their war on the reproductive rights of women. Perhaps that is how a truth vortex functions.


Ancient Future band leader and scalloped fretboard guitar pioneer Matthew Montfort has over 30 years of experience in every aspect of the music business. He received widespread media coverage for his role as a class representative for independent musicians in the Napster court case. He has recorded with legendary world music figures such as tabla master Zakir Hussain. He has performed concerts world wide, including at the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra on the golden coast of Spain near Barcelona and the Mumbai Festival at the Gateway of India in Bombay. He has performed live on national shows such as the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Ancient Future Nominated for World Music Awards from About.com and ZoneMusicReporter

Ancient Future Nominated for Two World Music Awards

About.com World Music Trailblazer Award and ZoneMusicReporter World Music Album of the Year

Ancient Future Receives About.com Reader's Choice Award Nomination

Vote for Ancient Future for the About.com World Music Trailblazer Award

On February 21, 2012, About.com announced that their readers had nominated Ancient Future for an award that seems tailor-made for the pioneering world fusion music ensemble: the About.com World Music Trailblazer Award!

To quote About.com, "This award is the second of our two artist's awards, intended for a band or artist who is breaking new territory in the realm of world music. That could mean an artist combining ancient instruments with modern recording techniques, a band who fuses multiple genres of ethnic music into something completely new, a pair of artists who've made a cross-cultural CD together, or any number of other things."

Formed in 1978, Ancient Future is the world's first and longest-running band dedicated to the creation of world fusion music, and as such it has been doing all of these things for over three decades! About.com readers and fans of Ancient Future can vote for the band in the World Music Trailblazer category at:

http://worldmusic.about.com/b/2012/02/21/2012-about-com-world-music-readers-choice-awards-vote-now.htm

Readers can vote once daily in each category. Voting closes March 21.

Ancient Future Receives Best World Music Album of the Year Nomination

World Without Walls CD Cover Art

The About.com Reader's Choice Award was Ancient Future's second world music award nomination of the month. On February 12, 2012, ZoneMusicReporter announced that World Without Walls by Ancient Future with special guest Zakir Hussain was nominated by broadcasters worldwide for Best World Album of 2011. The record debuted at #39 on the October 2011 ZMR Airplay Chart, which covers many different radio genres, from Ambient to Folk, Jazz, and World, and at #34 on the CMJ New World Chart in November 2011. Final award winners will be announced by ZoneMusicReporter on March 11th, 2012.

On June 7, 2011, the exact lineup of Ancient Future that performed on the band's influential World Without Walls recording reunited to perform for the first time in over 15 years at Yoshi's San Francisco and other venues. To celebrate the reunion, Capitol/EMI Records released the first ever digital version of Ancient Future's classic 1990 World Without Walls recording. Downloads are now available at all major digital retailers (iTunes, etc.). For those who prefer CDs, a limited number of rare collectible original 1990 edition copies signed by Ancient Future leader Matthew Montfort are on sale exclusively at Ancient-Future.Com.

14 Steps youtube video
Youtube Video of 'Turkish Taffy' Recorded at Yoshi's, San Francisco, 6/7/11

Ancient Future Band Biography

Ancient Future Photo Circa 1990 by Irene Young (Links to 864 x 570 Screen Version)
Ancient Future circa 1990. Pictured: Matthew Montfort (guitars), Jim Hurley (violin), Doug McKeehan (keys), Ian Dogole (percussion).

BILLBOARD calls the group "trendsetters" for contributing to the emerging movement known as world fusion music, a term Ancient Future leader Matthew Montfort coined at the band’s inception for music that blends musical ideas from many different cultures. Their original music is an exhilarating fusion of exciting rhythms and sounds from around the globe that combines contemporary jazz and rock with the irresistible rhythms of African, Balinese, Indian, Middle Eastern and South American percussion, the rich harmonies of Europe, and the beautiful melodies of Asia.

In the years since the initial CD release of World Without Walls, Ancient Future has expanded from its core lineup through collaborations with noted masters of various world music traditions who are now an integral part of what is today more than just a band. Ancient Future has grown to become a large chamber ensemble of more than thirty performers from around the world with over a dozen smaller ensembles within it, enabling Ancient Future to realize its core mission of creating world fusion music.

Media Links

About.com Reader's Choice Award Voting:
http://worldmusic.about.com/b/2012/02/21/2012-about-com-world-music-readers-choice-awards-vote-now.htm

ZoneMusicReporter Best of 2011 Nominated Records:
http://www.zonemusicreporter.com/admin/nominees.asp

'World Without Walls' CD:
http://www.ancient-future.com/world.html

'World Without Walls' on iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/world-without-walls/id438014498?uo=4

Video of 'Turkish Taffy' Recorded at Yoshi's, San Francisco, 6/7/11:
http://youtu.be/e0YyuM7YTIo

'World Without Walls' Hi-Res Square Cover Art (3 MB):
http://www.ancient-future.com/images/world1500sq.jpg

Ancient Future circa 1990. Hi-Res photo by Irene Young (14.7" x 9.7" sepia jpg, 7.2 MB):
http://www.ancient-future.com/images/1990ancientfuture300dpi15x10sepia.jpg

 

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

PRESS RELEASE: World Without Walls by Ancient Future with Zakir Hussain Nominated ZMR Best World Album of 2011

Ancient Future Receives Best World Music Album of the Year Nomination from ZoneMusicReporter

World Without Walls CD Cover Art

World Without Walls by Ancient Future with special guest Zakir Hussain was nominated by broadcasters worldwide as ZoneMusicReporter's Best World Album of 2011. The record debuted at #39 on the October 2011 ZoneMusicReporter Airplay Chart, which covers many different radio genres, from Ambient to Folk, Jazz, and World, and followed that up with a debut at #34 on the CMJ New World Chart in November 2011.

Radio broadcasters who report to the ZoneMusicReporter charts are eligible to vote. Final award winners will be announced on March 11th, 2012.

ZoneMusicReporter Best of 2011 Nominated Records

'World Without Walls' by Ancient Future featuring Tabla Master Zakir Hussain on Capitol Records

14 Steps youtube video
Youtube Video of 'Turkish Taffy' Recorded at Yoshi's, San Francisco, 6/7/11

On June 7, 2011, the exact lineup of Ancient Future that performed on the band's influential World Without Walls recording reunited to perform for the first time in over 15 years at Yoshi's San Francisco and other venues. To celebrate the reunion, Capitol/EMI Records has released the first ever digital version of Ancient Future's classic 1990 World Without Walls recording. It is available now for download purchase at all major digital retailers (iTunes, etc.). For those who prefer CDs, a limited number of rare collectible original 1990 edition copies signed by Ancient Future leader Matthew Montfort are on sale exclusively at Ancient-Future.Com.

As its name suggests, World Without Walls by Ancient Future depicts a musical world without borders. This classic 1990 recording features Ancient Future members Matthew Montfort (guitars), Jim Hurley (violin), Doug McKeehan (keys), and Ian Dogole (percussion), plus special guest performances by world music legend and tabla master Zakir Hussain. The inviting melodies and ingenious use of ethnic textures make World Without Walls one of Ancient Future's most accessible and broadly appealing releases ever.

Tabla master Zakir Hussain
Tabla master Zakir Hussain

Ancient Future Band Biography

Ancient Future Photo Circa 1990 by Irene Young (Links to 864 x 570 Screen Version)
Ancient Future circa 1990. Photo by Irene Young. Pictured: Matthew Montfort (guitars), Jim Hurley (violin), Doug McKeehan (keys), Ian Dogole (percussion).

BILLBOARD calls the group "trendsetters" for contributing to the emerging movement known as world fusion music, a term Ancient Future leader Matthew Montfort coined at the band’s inception for music that blends musical ideas from many different cultures. Formed in 1978, Ancient Future is the world's first and longest running ensemble dedicated exclusively to the mission of the creation of world fusion music. Their original music is an exhilarating fusion of exciting rhythms and sounds from around the globe that combines contemporary jazz and rock with the irresistible rhythms of African, Balinese, Indian, Middle Eastern and South American percussion, the rich harmonies of Europe, and the beautiful melodies of Asia.

In the years since the initial CD release of World Without Walls, Ancient Future has expanded from its core lineup through collaborations with noted masters of various world music traditions who are now an integral part of what is today more than just a band. Ancient Future has grown to become a large chamber ensemble of more than thirty performers from around the world with over a dozen smaller ensembles within it, enabling Ancient Future to realize its core mission of creating world fusion music.

Quotes

"What's an album like World Without Walls doing in the GEPR (Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progessive Rock)? 'That's not prog!' I hear you say. Well, in my view it's definitely progressive, in the true sense of the word, rather than the 'sounds like Yes, Genesis or King Crimson' sense. Ancient Future coined the phrase 'World Fusion' to describe their music. Not insipid easy-listening 'World Music', though it might make you think of that if you aren't listening closely. World Without Walls is a remastered re-release of their 1990 classic, and doesn't sound dated at all. World Without Walls is a fusion of musical stylings, scales and rhythms from around the world. The main influences I hear are Middle Eastern, Indian and South American, though there's also Jamaican 'Island Music' sounds, Balinese and probably dozens of other influences too subtle for me to notice. The instruments run the gamut of acoustic instruments like violins, piano, tuned percussion instruments and tablas (by renowned master Zakir Hussain) and also electric guitar synths and synthesizers. Leader Matthew Montfort plays (along with other guitars) a unique scalloped-fretboard acoustic guitar which allows for subtle pitch-bending and timbre-modulation effects. A careful listen will reveal that this is way beyond the usual health-food store 'World Music' offerings and is instead a high-energy, very experimental fusion of styles from around the world. Highly recommended, and now offered as a digital download for the first time." – Fred Trafton, Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progessive Rock (Nov 2011)

"It's hard to remember — with the plethora of World Fusion albums currently available — a time when this sort of music was the new kid on the block. It showed up when much of the music on the radio was pretty much disposable (something that, unfortunately, hasn't changed so much), when the new jazz at the time was still inspired by polyrhythms rather than melody, and the alt music scene was . . . well, kind of grungy. This classic album by Ancient Future was a breath of fresh air at the time of its release in 1990. With inspired skill and a great respect for the other cultures from which they took much of their inspiration, the band blended western music with that of pretty much every other continent, weaving magic with their melodies and rhythms. The core lineup played acoustic and electric guitars, violin, keyboards and percussion, with guests stepping in on bass, Chinese flutes, and the genius of Zakir Hussain on tabla.​And you know what? World Without Walls sounds as fresh and invigorating today as it did all those years ago upon its intial release. There's not a single bad moment on the album." – Charles de Lint, SleepingHedgehog.com (Nov 2011)

"When one listens to the melodies and musical textures of the fifth release 'World Without Walls' by the group Ancient Future, words like exotic, elegant and sublime immediately come to mind. Within the offerings one clearly hears the ethnic influences of China, India, Africa, South America, Indonesia and the Middle East to name a few. World-class musicians including award-winning guitarist, Matthew Montfort, composer/violinist Jim Hurley and Zakir Hussain, master of the North Indian Tabla have blended these various musical styles and phrasings into a musical fusion that honors and yet transcends the cultural and political boundaries. Check out the group on YouTube and see if you are not drawn into their hypnotic enchantment. Ancient Future offers a musical vision of a 'world without walls' which is both appealing and accessible to the average listener and is highly recommended for anyone wishing to explore the amazing genre of World music." – Jack Montgomery, Amplifier, Bowling Green Daily News (Sept 2011)

"San Francisco Bay Area-based Ancient Future was all about 'world fusion' before world music was even a genre. Violinist Jim Hurley came on board for this long-out-of-print 1990 outing, joining the core group of guitarist Matthew Montfort, keyboardist Doug McKeehan and percussionist Ian Dogole and remaining as a member for the rest of the group's seven studio albums. Tabla player extraordinaire Zakir Hussain was recruited for three songs. Several exotic instruments spice up this instrumental stew, including electric violin and synthesized thumb piano ('Dance of the Rain Forest'), steel drums ('April Air'), and Balinese gamelan and Chinese flute ('Nyo Nyo Gde'). Other highlights are 'Lakshmi Rocks Me,' a tribute to south Indian violinist L. Shankar; 'End of the Beginning,' a mashup of ancient Celtic and Indian influences; 'Turkish Taffy,' boasting a triple-lead attack comprising guitar, piano and acoustic violin; 'Indra's Net,' inspired by Hindu mythology and featured in the soundtrack for the drift-net fishing documentary 'Closing the Curtains of Death'; and 'Gopi Song,' a tip of the hat to Pandit Ram, master of a north Indian bowed string instrument called the sarangi." – Peter Hund, Good New Music (Sept 2011)

"Bloody hell, get me some Alzheimer's drugs, will you? Ancient Future was on Narada's Sona Gaia subsidiary with a world beat album that was ahead of it's time and they were hanging out with Zappa's world beat buddies and I don't remember any of it? Each track has a different taste and a different texture making this a world beat travelogue that gleefully genre bends whatever the crew felt like with a merger of hillbilly and Indian music, the sound of an African traffic jam and more stuff that tastes good without the over riding vibe of being good for you. And it's not empty calories either. No wonder the group labored so long and so hard to get Capitol to reissue this, it's time. More bloody hell, new copies of this are going for over $200 on Amazon! How did I miss this? This is the world beat/jazz/pop album for people that shy away from things called world beat and jazz. Fun stuff throughout that still sounds fresh and in the moment today." – Chris Spector, Midwest Record (July 2011)

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Sympathetic Strings & Resonant Reeds: A Benefit Concert for Matthew Montfort

Financially Supporting his Recovery from a Wrist Injury

Sympathetic Strings and Resonant Reeds Benefit

Featuring Acoustic Guitar Icon Alex de Grassi, Reed Virtuoso Paul McCandless, Classical Guitar Virtuoso Jon Mendle, Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble, and an Acoustic Guitar Round-Robin with Teja Gerken and Ronnie Ray Padilla

Wednesday, February 29, 7:30 PM
142 Throckmorton Theatre
142 Throckmorton Avenue
Mill Valley, CA 94941
Tix: $20 general, $30 reserved seating.
Info: 415-383-9600
Venue Website: http://www.142ThrockmortonTheatre.com
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/215454935212972/
Press Release: http://www.ancient-future.com/pr_2_29_12.html
Poster (401k pdf): http://www.ancient-future.com/pdf/2_29_12benefit.pdf
Wrist Recovery Donations: http://www.ancient-future.com/donation.html#injury.

Sympathetic Strings & Resonant Reeds Benefit Concert Program

'Sympathetic Strings & Resonant Reeds' is a multi-artist bill featuring sets by acoustic guitar icon Alex de Grassi; Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble featuring Grammy-winning reed player Paul McCandless, Ancient Future percussionist Ian Dogole, and bassist Fred Randolph; classical guitarist Jon Mendle, who has performed with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble; and an acoustic guitar round-robin with Teja Gerken and Ronnie Ray Padilla. There will be some collaborations between the performers as well. For example, Paul McCandless will be adding his resonant reeds in concert with the sympathetic strings of some of the other artists, such as Alex de Grassi, with whom he has a history of performing.

Matthew Montfort

Matthew Montfort
Hi-Res Photo by Julie Marten. 5" x 3" 600 dpi jpeg (2 MB)

The concert is a benefit for guitarist Matthew Montfort of the world fusion music band Ancient Future. Funds go to support his recovery from a wrist injury that resulted in the cancellation of several months of performances. Wrist injury recovery donations are also accepted online at ancient-future.com.

Montfort is a pioneer of the scalloped fretboard guitar (an instrument combining qualities of the South Indian vina and the steel string guitar). In 2009, he released his first solo guitar recording, 'Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar,' which debuted at #8 on the ZMR World Radio Chart. He has performed concerts world wide, including at the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra on the golden coast of Spain near Barcelona and the Mumbai Festival at the Gateway of India in Bombay. Montfort wrote the book 'Ancient Traditions – Future Possibilities: Rhythmic Training Through the Traditions of Africa, Bali, and India,' which has been used by many musicians to improve their rhythm skills. He teaches music privately at his studio in San Rafael, California, and online via Skype.

Performers

Alex de Grassi (Acoustic Guitar Icon)

Alex de Grassi
Hi-Res Photo. 5" x 8" 300 dpi jpg (2.4 MB)

Though born in Yokosuka, Japan, Alex de Grassi grew up in San Francisco, California, where his grandfather played violin for the San Francisco Symphony and his father was a classical pianist. At age thirteen he learned to play the trumpet but soon taught himself the guitar, the instrument for which he is now famous. He has performed at such notable venues as the Montreux Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, Belfast International Festival, Telluride, and Wolftrap. Alex is the subject of a PBS concert/interview television show, Alex de Grassi: The Artist's Profile, and is both a Grammy Award and Indie award nominee. He performed as a guest artist on Ancient Future's 1986 release, 'Quiet Fire,' on Montfort's composition, 'Caged Lion (Escapes).'

Paul McCandless (Reed Virtuoso)

Paul McCandless
Hi-Res Photo. 6" x 4" 300 dpi jpg (1.7 MB)

During a distinguished career spanning three decades, Paul McCandless has brought a soaring lyricism to his playing and composing that has been integral to the ensemble sound of two seminal world music bands, the original Paul Winter Consort and the relentlessly innovative quartet, Oregon. A gifted multi-instrumentalist and composer, McCandless has specialized in an unusually broad palette of both single and double reed instruments that reflect his grounding in both classical and jazz disciplines.

Performing with Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble

Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble
Hi Res Photo. 4" x 2" 300 dpi jpg (1 MB)

"Parker and friends blend the rhythmic syncopations of Latin jazz music with the entrancing, asymmetrical meters of East Indian rhythms resulting in first-class world music." — LATIN BEAT MAGAZINE

Mariah Parker (Composer, Pianist, Santurist)

While completing her degree in music at UC Santa Cruz, Mariah Parker worked with ethnomusicologist Fred Lieberman and Mickey Hart on the 'Planet Drum' project. She has performed in festivals in the US and Europe, and worked with many musicians of note including composer Pauline Oliveros, the late Dumisani Maraire (renowned composer from Zimbabwe). She has studied with jazz great Art Lande and Latin jazz pianist extraordinaire Rebeca Mauléon, and performs regularly with the innovative world music group Ancient Future. She released her first solo recording of her compositions, 'Sangria' (Ancient-Future.Com AF 2017), in February of 2009. Her CD release party and debut of her Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble drew a full house at the famous Yoshi's Jazz Club in Oakland.

Ian Dogole (Global Percussion)

For nearly 30 years, Ian Dogole has articulated his vision of Global Fusion Music as a multipercussionist, bandleader, educator, recording artist, composer and producer. He is a member of Ancient Future, and has recorded and performed with artists such as Hamza el Din, Tito La Rosa, and Alex DeGrassi on a wide variety of percussion instruments, including udu, cajon, hang, African talking drum, kalimbas, cymbals and dumbek. Ian has received numerous grants, including a Jazz Performance Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and grants from the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music (SFFCM).

Fred Randolph (Bass)

While working on his Masters Degree in Composition at CSU Hayward, Fred Randolph fell under the spell of the bass, captivated by its endless possibilities. An accomplished performer, composer, arranger, and educator, Fred is a first-call bassist for many of the Bay Areas finest jazz ensembles, including the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra and Sandy Cressmans Homenagem Brasileira, Marcos Silva, and Frank Martin.

Jon Mendle (Classical Guitar Virtuoso)

Jon Mendle
Hi Res Photo. 10" x 7" 300 dpi jpg (1.1 MB)

Since making his Carnegie Hall debut at age 19, classical guitarist Jon Mendle is rapidly building a career as a performer, teacher, arranger, and composer. He has since gone on tour with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. Jon began studying the guitar at the age of 12, and recently finished his graduate studies at the San Francisco Conservatory under the tutelage of renowned guitarist Sergio Assad, earning a Master of Music degree in Classical Guitar Performance. In 2009, he won the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's biennial Guitar Concerto Competition, playing Heitor Villa-Lobos' Concerto for Guitar and Small Orchestra. He performed this work with the San Francisco Conservatory Orchestra in May 2010.

Acoustic Guitar Round-Robin

Teja Gerken
Hi Res Photo. 4" x 6" 300 dpi jpg (2.7 MB)

This format is well-known to Bay Area acoustic guitar fans. Teja Gerken, an editor of Acoustic Guitar Magazine, has hosted round-robins at venues such as San Francisco's Bazaar Cafe, the Sleeping Lady Cafe, and Freight and Salvage for over a decade now, performing over 100 shows with over 100 players!

Teja Gerken (Fingerstyle Guitar)

Born in Germany in 1970, Teja Gerken began his journey on the guitar at the age of six and became a serious student of the instrument after his family moved to California in the mid '80s. Weaving together influences of folk, jazz, classical, and world music, Teja's playing reflects his diverse musical interests. Teja has shared the stage with guitar visionaries such as John Renbourn, Alex de Grassi, Peter Finger, and Henry Kaiser, as well as with his mentors, Duck Baker and Peppino D'Agostino. He has been a featured guest at the International Guitar Night, and in 2004, he participated in a ten-city tour of Hungary.

Ronnie Ray Padilla (Guitar, Vocals)

A San Francisco Bay Area musician, Ronnie Ray Padilla is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and vocalist whose style spans pop, funk, jazz, afro and several global styles. He has recorded with Billy Young (formerly of Earth, Wind and Fire), Kenneth Nash (formerly with Herbie Hancock, Weather Report and many more), Lion of Juda (Jamaican reggae band), Rocker-T (dance-hall recording artist), and many other artists.

105 Word Radio Announcement

On Wednesday, February 29, at 7:30 PM the 'Sympathetic Strings and Resonant Reeds' concert to benefit pioneering scalloped fretboard guitarist Matthew Montfort, who is recovering from a wrist injury, will be held at 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, California. The show features sets by acoustic guitar icon Alex de Grassi, Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble featuring Grammy-winning reed player Paul McCandless and Ancient Future percussionist Ian Dogole, classical guitarist Jon Mendle who has performed with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, and an acoustic guitar round-robin with Teja Gerken and Ronnie Ray Padilla. For more information, call 415-383-9600 or visit www.142ThrockmortonTheatre.com.

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Sunday, January 8, 2012

PRESS RELEASE: Online Private Lessons with Ancient Future Guitarist Matthew Montfort

Ancient-Future.Com Records

Ancient Future Guitarist Matthew Montfort Offers Online Music Lessons

Student PerformingStudent PerformingStudent PerformingStudent PerformingStudent PerformingStudent Performing
(Shown: Photos of recent student recital featuring students of Matthew Montfort performing on the backyard stage.)

Via Skype

Skype online music lesson guitar pick icon carved in Bali for Matthew Montfort

Or Other Web cam Chat, Video Conferencing, and Multimedia File Exchange Services

Matthew Montfort, bandleader and pioneering scalloped fretboard guitarist with the innovative world music group Ancient Future, is now offering all styles and levels of guitar instruction as well as lessons on any of the subjects on the Ancient-Future.Com world music education web site via private Skype lessons. The lessons can also be conducted through other webcam chat and conferencing services, through audio and video correspondence, or in person at his studio in the Gerstle Park area of San Rafael in Marin County, California for those in the San Francisco Bay Area. Instruction is tailored to the individual needs of the student.

Guitar instruction is available in any style ranging from folk, jazz, blues, rock, and classical, to world music forms including flamenco, Indian, Arabic, and African music. Instruction including instrumental technique is also available for bass, fretless bass, mandolin, ukulele, sitar, charango and other unusual plucked instruments.

For those who already have technique on their instrument of choice, instruction and coaching is also available on improvisation, solo development, reading Western notation, reading Indian notation, composition, music theory, record production, rhythm training, and world music forms such as Balinese gamelan, West African polyrhythms, Indian raga and tala, Arabic maqam, and Latin rhythms such as rumba, bossa, samba, and choro.

Music lessons make an excellent gift, and the launch of this service is being celebrated with introductory sale rates on individual lessons, starting as low as $45.

For further information, visit matthewmontfort.com or send an email to info@ancient-future.com.

Lesson Links

45 Minute Lesson. $45. Buy 1 Now. 60 Minute Lesson. $60. Buy 1 Now. Lesson prices include email or phone consultation prior to first Skype session, custom .pdf of lesson plan with written music if desired in Western notation, guitar tablature, drum tablature, Indian sargam, or other appropriate system, related audio or video files if needed, private Skype session, and follow up consultation if needed.

45 Minute Lesson Buy Link: http://www.ancient-future.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=BASK&Store_Code=AWMC&Product_Code=LESSON45&Attributes=Yes&Quantity=1&Action=ADPR

60 Minute Lesson Buy Link: http://www.ancient-future.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=OINF&Store_Code=AWMC&Product_Code=LESSON60&Attributes=Yes&Quantity=1&Action=ADPR

Matthew Montfort Teaching Link: http://www.matthewmontfort.com/teaching.html

Skype Lesson Link: http://www.ancient-future.com/skype.html

World Music Education Link: http://www.ancient-future.com/education.html

World Rhythm Training Book Link: http://www.ancient-future.com/atfp.html

5 Page Guitar Player Magazine Lesson (1.4 MB pdf): http://www.ancient-future.com/pdf/MatthewMontfortGuitarPlayerMag.pdf

Matthew Montfort Bio

Photo of Matthew Montfort
Hi-Res Artist Photo by Julie Marten (2 MB, 300 dpi 4.3" x 6.5"): http://www.ancient-future.com/images/matthewmontfort600.jpg

Born in Colorado, Matthew Montfort was initially attracted to the guitar due to the work of Jimi Hendrix. As a teenager, he performed in jazz and rock bands as well as solo classical guitar recitals. As leader of the world music group Ancient Future, Matthew Montfort has devoted himself to the scalloped fretboard guitar since 1978. He holds an M.A. in music from Antioch University and spent years of study with some of the world's best musicians, including North Indian sarod master Ali Akbar Khan and vina master K.S. Subramanian, with whom he did an intensive study of South Indian note-bending techniques. He has performed concerts worldwide, from the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra in Spain to the Festival of India in Mumbai. He has worked with many world music legends, including tabla phenomena Zakir Hussain and Swapan Chaudhuri, sitar master Pandit Habib Khan, Carnatic saxophone legend Dr. Kadri Gopalnath, and Chinese zither master Zhao Hui.

Ancient Traditions – Future Possibilities

Ancient Traditions--Future Possibilities Book

Ancient Traditions – Future Possibilities is the "world beat bible" by Matthew Montfort. The book takes the student on a musical voyage through these great ancient rhythmic traditions with a series of exercises that require no instruments to perform. Interesting, imaginative and fun, these rhythm exercises will be of immense help to all musicians, useful for both home study and in the classroom.

Ancient Traditions -- Future Possibilities: Rhythmic Training Through the Traditions of Africa, Bali and India. By Matthew Montfort. Mill Valley: Panoramic Press, 1985. ISBN 0-937879-00-2. Spiral Bound Book/Enhanced 2 Audio CD Set with MIDI Soundfiles: $52.95 (SALE! Normally $69.95): Buy 1 Now.

Matthew Montfort's "Purple Raga"

Download Guitar Player Magazine Story on Matthew MontfortDownload Guitar Player Magazine Story on Matthew Montfort
5 Page Guitar Player Magazine Lesson (1.4 MB pdf): http://www.ancient-future.com/pdf/MatthewMontfortGuitarPlayerMag.pdf

The December 2009 collectible commemorative Les Paul issue of Guitar Player Magazine includes a full page feature with a photo of Matthew Montfort superimposed over psychedelic artwork portraying Jimi Hendrix and an interview with Montfort about the scalloped fretboard guitar, Indian raga, and his thoughts about the relationship of Indian raga to the music of Jimi Hendrix with links to related material on GuitarPlayer.com, which also hosted a video of Matthew Montfort performing his "Purple Raga" composition on a Godin Glissentar, an 11 string fretless guitar endorsed by Montfort.

Guitar Player Video

Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar

Seven Serenades CD Cover

Matthew Montfort (>audio)

Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar by Matthew Montfort. (AF 2008). $17.98: Buy 1 Now.

The debut recording by Ancient Future leader Matthew Montfort showcases his pioneering work on the scalloped fretboard guitar, a special modified instrument able to produce ornaments characteristic of the sitar.

 

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