Guitarist and composer Rez Abbasi is one of the most original voices on the international jazz circuit. Born in Karachi, Pakistan, but removed aged four to the vastness of Southern California, Abbasi eventually made New York his home, where he has lived for the past 25 years. He has honed his skills with performances throughout Europe, Canada, the US, Mexico and India and has performed and recorded with many jazz greats including, Ruth Brown, Peter Erskine, Kenny Werner, Barre Phillips, Tim Berne, Michael Formanek, Billy Hart, Gary Thomas, Dave Douglas, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Ronu Majumdar, Kadri Gopalnath, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Vijay Iyer.

Over the course of fifteen albums, Abbasi has charted a level of musical path that reflects his unique artistry. Unfiltered Universe was one of 2017’s top releases, the concluding statement on a triology of albums infused by the music from his Indian/Pakistani homeland. This theme continued on A Throw of Dice, Abbasi’s first film score, written for The Silent Ensemble to accompany an Indian-German silent film of the same name from 1929. Django-shift moves on an entirely different tack, celebrating the legacy of Django Reinhardt through a series of highly abstracted new versions of hidden Django classics.