Caravansarail

Caravansarail
Ethno/World/Jazz

The Musical Journey
The musicians of Caravansarail beckon us to join them on a far-reaching musical journey.

Caravansarail is a meeting place for the sounds and rhythms of the world, inspired by the musical universe of jazz and traditional Oriental, African, and Celtic music.

Created around guitarist Eric Sempé and percussionist and vocalist Gérard Kurdjian, the group has since been enriched by the addition of the whistles and saxophones of Neil Gerstenberg, the Indian sarod and Afghan rebab of Daoud Khan, and the African percussion and vocals of Félix Sabal-Lecco. Marked by the music of the world – from India, Afghanistan, Armenia, Africa – the musicians of Caravansarail paint harmonic and rhythmic landscapes tinted with jazz, where time immemorial meets the present.

A magical tour of melodies and traditions of the world, Caravansarail is also a journey into the universe of instruments and tonal colors.
The harmonies of the guitars, the gentle, sinuous sounds of the sarod and rebab, the poignant breath of the whistles, the deep thrumming of the bass, the crystalline percussion of the tablas, the crackling of the gatam, and the call of voices and chants from the four corners of the earth create a multicolored musical universe. Music to dream by, with roots reaching for sustenance to tradition and to systems of secular music, calling forth emotions from distant horizons, unearthing feelings buried in the depths of memory.




THE MUSICIANS:

Eric Sempe: Guitars - Programming
Born November 9, 1962, Eric Sempe began playing rock guitar at the age of 12 before moving on to jazz, ethno-jazz, and experimental music. He has produced and participated in many recordings covering all these styles, and has recorded, performed live, or appeared on television with Jean Paul Ceccarelli, François Jeanneau, Félix Sabal-Lecco, the Cannes Philharmonic Orchestra, John McLaughlin, Liz McComb, and countless other prestigious names in music.

He holds a first-class award from France’s Nice Conservatory, a national diploma as Jazz Professor, and has been teaching at a variety of academies and music institutions since 1988. That year, Eric also became a founding member of the group Synopsis, with whom he has performed at many international festivals and recorded four albums, the last of which features David Sanborn as special guest.


Gérard Kurdjian: Tablas, Gatam, Percussion - Vocals
Percussionist Gérard Kurdjian has specialized in the study of oriental percussion, with particular emphasis on tablas and the Indian gatam.

He was taught by highly-respected musicians in India during his frequent study trips abroad, first in Benares, then Lucknow, where he met renowned tablaist Ustad Hafaque Hussein Khan - an encounter which would subsequently determine his path.

Gérard is also a narrator and storyteller; he has performed many children’s musical productions in national tours of the Jeunesses Musicales de France, the nation’s benchmark youth music and culture program. He is the creator of the 1997 musical production Caravanes de Lunes (“Moon Caravans”), where the music and mystics of the Christian, Muslim, and Hindu worlds meet, and L’Oiseau de Feu: Musique Persane et Poèmes Soufis” (“The Fire Bird: Persian Music and Sufi Poems”) in 1999 with santur player Hassan Tabar and Iranian percussionist Bijan Chemirani.


Daoud Khan: Afghan Rebab, Sarod - Vocals
Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1955, Daoud Khan was first the disciple of Afghan rebab Master Ustad Muhammad Umar, the country’s most brilliant musician in both traditional and popular styles.

Daoud Khan also plays the sarod, a direct instrumental descendant of the Afghan rebab. On this instrument, so emblematic of Indian music, he performs the classical music of Northern India and is the disciple of great Master Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.

Now living in Cologne, Germany, Daoud Khan appears in concert throughout Europe and participates in numerous international festivals. He has also frequently performed for German radio and television.

Twice a recipient of the Hafiz Ali Khan Award (1988 and 1995), an honor bestowed on the most eminent sarod players in India, Daoud Khan is director of Cologne’s Academy of Indian Music, founded by his Master, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.


Neil Gerstenberg: Saxophone, Whistles
Born June 11, 1968, Scotsman Neil Gerstenberg studied clarinet and saxophone from the age of 9. He started playing semi-professionally at 17 with invaluable guidance and tuition from Paul Dunmall. He went on to study with Alan Skidmore, Stan Sultzman, and Geoff Simpkins while pursuing his studies at Cambridge University.

After graduation, Neil spent a year playing jazz in Asia. A few years later, an encounter in New York with John Purcell (World Saxophone Quartet, Jack DeJohnette, David Murray Group) was to prove a turning point in his musical evolution. After several years’ further study with Purcell, he began performing with many world-class groups including Synop-sis (album “Home” featuring David Sanborn), Jean-Marc Jafet (album “Douceur Lunaire” 1998), Thierry Maillard (CD “Entre Deux Mondes” released 2005 on Crystal Records), his own traditional Celtic ensemble MacLellan's Celtic Caravan, Nice Touch featuring singer/songwriter Scott Allen, the Amaury Filiard Group, and NadiaMori (CD “ElectroJazz” 2005).

Neil has performed worldwide at major festivals including Edinburgh, Islay, Brecon, and Cimiez.


Félix Sabal-Lecco: Percussion - Vocals
Cameroonian Félix Sabal-Lecco of is one of the world’s most in-demand drummers in the world music and pop genres. He has played with such artists as Sting, Youssou N'Dour, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Sade, and many others….







Guest Artists:

Ikram Khan: Sarangi
Born to a family of musicians in India, in the Rajasthan capital of Jaipur, Ikram Khan was introduced to music by his father, Ustad Nizamuddin Khan, at a very early age, first learning the tablas, then the sarangi.

Student of one of the Masters of this instrument, Ustad Sultan Khan, he was the appointed musician for All India Radio and officiated for many years on Ahmedabad Radio, over which he gave numerous broadcast concerts.

An artist of a subtle and refined talent and an open perspective, he has given a great number of Indian classical music concerts in his country with great musicians such as Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Ustad Rashid Khan, Ustad Sultan Khan, Pandit Kumar Bose, and Pandit Kishan Maharaj.

Ikram Khan has been performing regularly in Europe and the United States since 1994, appearing in classical music tours as well as experimental collaborations with Western musicians, such as the Ensemble Moussafir, Kathak-Flamenco dance, and the Gandharva Ensemble.