Ancient Future North Bay Concerts
Hi-Res Photo of Matthew Montfort and Vishal Nagar at Recording Session by Michael Braden (858k)
Featuring World Guitar Pioneer Matthew Montfort and Tabla Virtuoso Vishal Nagar
One of the program variations of the trailblazing world fusion music ensemble, Ancient Future, this improvisatory duet features world guitar pioneer Matthew Montfort accompanied by renowned Indian tabla virtuoso Vishal Nagar. Strains of flamenco, Celtic music, and Indian raga emanate from this duet performing renditions of music from Ancient Future's ground breaking world music recordings as well as many new unreleased works!Dinner Concert at Gaia's Garden
Concert Poster (149k pdf)
Voted Best Vegetarian Restaurant in Sonoma County by North Bay Bohemian readers from 2011 to 2015, Gaia's Garden also hosts music and literature events. This intimate performance is part of a new exclusive dinner concert series on Sunday evenings when the restaurant is normally closed.
Sunday, August 30, 2015, 6 to 9 PM
Gaia's Garden
1899 Mendocino Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Adm: $30 includes vegetarian dinner.
Tix: Advance tickets highly recommended at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2043967 and in person at Gaia's Garden
Doors open: 5:30 PM and gourmet vegetarian buffet served through 6:45 PM
Show time: 7 PM
Info: Call 707-544-2491, email djmama@sonic.net, or visit gaiasgardenonline.com
Gaia's Garden features an international plant based buffet with vegan and gluten-free options. Included in the ticket price are two entrees, as well as all-you-care-to-eat salad, two soups, Lundberg's eco-farmed brown rice, a mild curry, non-GMO polenta, marinara sauce, roasted vegetables, steamed rainbow vegetables, house-made loaf bread and corn bread, house brewed uncaffeinated chai or iced hibiscus tea, and two desserts. Beers and wine, as well as organic French press coffee and a variety of teas and soft drinks are available for purchase. Free parking is available in the lot behind the building.
Free Educational Library Teaser Concerts
Hi-Res Photo of Matthew Montfort and Vishal Nagar by Devki (1 MB)
Matthew Montfort and Vishal Nagar perform and introduce the audience to musical concepts from world music such as Indian raga and tala in these hour long educational concerts at Sonoma County libraries.
Saturday, August 22, 11:30 AM
Central Santa Rosa Library
211 E Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Free. Info: www.sonoma.lib.ca.us
Saturday, August 22, 2:30 PM
Petaluma Regional Library
100 Fairgrounds Dr.
Petaluma, CA 94952
Free. Info: www.sonoma.lib.ca.us
'Yearning for the Wind' by Ancient Future
YouTubeVideo of Matthew Montfort and Vishal Nagar
Matthew Montfort (scalloped fretboard and fretless guitars)
Hi-Res Photo of Matthew Montfort by Julie Marten (2 MB)
The leader of the world music group Ancient Future, Matthew Montfort, released his first solo recording, Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar, in 2009. He is a pioneer among guitarists who have had their fretboards scalloped in order to play various forms of world music that require intricate note-bending ornaments while still being able to play chords. 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 is recognized as one of the world's 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists by DigitalDreamDoor.com, a curated "best of" site, along with such luminaries as Michael Hedges, Leo Kottke, Chet Atkins, John Fahey, Merle Travis, John Renbourn, Tommy Emmanuel, Doc Watson, Pierre Bensusan, Alex De Grassi, and Peppino D'Agostino. The December 2009 Les Paul issue of Guitar Player Magazine includes a full page feature on Matthew Montfort with a corresponding GuitarPlayer.Com video and lesson entitled “The Music of Jimi Hendrix Applied to Indian Raga.” He has performed concerts worldwide, from the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra on the golden coast of Spain to the Festival of India in Mumbai. He has performed live on national radio and TV shows such as the Echoes Living Room Concerts on Public Radio International, and the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. He has worked with many world music legends, including tabla phenomenon Zakir Hussain and Chinese zither master Zhao Hui. 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.
Vishal Nagar (tabla)
Hi-Res Photo of Vishal Nagar by Inni Singh (5 MB)
"He has magic in his hands" - Hindustan Times
Vishal Nagar is considered one of the most gifted tabla players of his generation. Born into a family of musicians, Vishal has been surrounded by music in an extremely musically creative and artistic environment. Since childhood, he has been fascinated by tabla and began to play at an early age. Vishal had his initial training for a very brief period with the late Ustad Latif Ahmed Khan of the Delhi Gharana. After his Ustad's untimely demise, Vishal continued his training under the guidance of Ustad Shamim Ahmed Khan of the same Gharana (school). Along with the dense and rare tabla repertoire taleem which was he received from his Ustad, he also has had intense rhythmic (layakari) training from his mother, the renowned and highly respected Kathak dancer and vocalist, Urmila Nagar. Vishal has been praised in the Indian press for his unique combination of melodic tabla sound production with masterful command of rhythm.
Vishal has had the privilege of performing with such renowned artists as Ustad Shujaat Khan, Guru Urmila Nagar, Vidhwan Trichur Ramachandran, Pandit Ramesh Misra and Miss. Kala Ramnath. Vishal has also had the honor of sharing the stage with some great world music masters such as African drum legend Babatunde Olatunji, Michel Shrieve, Evyind Kang, Carmona Flamenco, and Michael Wimberley. Vishal has also expanded his cultural boundaries and collaborated with musicians from around the world. Some of his memorable works have been with the Ghanaian Guitarist Koo Nimo with whom he also appeared in WOMAD USA (a leading world dance and music festival started by Peter Gabriel). Starting his performance career at the age of eight in Patna, Vishal has performed around the globe including performances in many cities in India, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Thailand and the United States. Vishal has also been awarded with the Ministry of Culture Scholarship from the Department of Culture.
Recent Recordings on Ancient-Future.Com Records
'The Archive of Future Ancient Recordings' by Ancient Future
The Archive of Future Ancient Recordings by Ancient Future. (Ancient-Future.Com AF-2030). Recording Newsletter Package (128 kbps MP3): $15. Download Supporter Package (320 kbps MP3): $25. Limited to 300 packages. Limited Edition CD Sponsor Package (CD quality .wav): $50. Limited to 200 packages. Honorary A & R Representative Package (Hi-res 24 bit .wav): $75. Limited to 100 packages.
During Ancient Future's 30th anniversary year, work started on the next project of the band: the Archive of Future Ancient Recordings (A.F.A.R.). To finance the project, a subscription system model is being employed to fund the recording through fans of world fusion music. There are already eight tracks in the archive available right now to subscribers, with more coming as money is raised for production.
'Yearning for the Wind' by Ancient Future
Yearning for the Wind by Ancient Future. Signed Audio/Video E-CD-R. List $17.98. (>audio.)
"Matthew Montfort has been sending us wonderful music for many years now… this newest EP is (without question) the best music I've ever heard him play! The 9:37 'Yearning For The Wind' is 'the' piece… Matthew is joined by Vishal Nagar on tabla, and they clearly show (sonically) the joy than can be achieved by well-placed and strictly focused music. The tabla percussion makes it far more than 'just another raga'… I'm very strongly impressed and moved by this single piece of music…. you'll find yourself spinning it over and over again." — Dick Metcalf, ZZAJ PRODUCTIONS
'Planet Passion' by Ancient Future
Planet Passion by Ancient Future (Ancient-Future.Com AF 2010) $17.98. (>audio.)
"If the members of the United Nations formed a world-fusion band, it might look and sound a little something like Ancient Future’s re-issue of their seventh recording. Featuring instrumentation from Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East, Planet Passion is a mythical story of love, flirtation, seduction, courtship, marriage and longing. Manose Singh’s bansuri flute and Matthew Montfort’s scalloped fretboard work stand out in this eclectic, visionary global village, where each track features its own unique set of players. At its best, 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." — Ryan Allen, LEO WEEKLY, Louisville, Kentucky
'Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar' by Matthew Montfort
Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar by Matthew Montfort. (Ancient-Future.Com AF 2008). $17.98. (>audio.)
"Because Montfort’s guitar has a scalloped fretboard, his fingers touch only the strings, enabling him to produce ornaments more characteristic of the sitar. This album reveals a thorough knowledge of Hindustani microtonal ornaments, transferred in ways that create one of the most distinctive guitar sounds in contemporary music. However, it also reveals a lifetime of exploration in world music, which can be immediately summoned in a flash of inspiration. 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, March 2009
'Sympathetic Serenade' by Matthew Montfort
Sympathetic Serenade by Matthew Montfort. (Ancient-Future.Com AF 2012). Signed Mini EP CD-R- $12.98. (>audio.)
"Both Matt Montfort and his band Ancient Future have been reviewed in FAME before, and the work is always superlative, but this one, a CD 11-minute single, is an expression of solo virtuosity on a variant axe which isn't employed by very many. Primarily a Spanish composition, there's nonetheless always a generous infusion of raga structures and riffs in Montfort's work as well as more Westerly rhythmatics. Sympathetic Serenade is no exception. Brilliant modern semi-neoclassical work with very strong ties to the traditional residing within progressive annals." – Mark S. Tucker, FAME
