In New York — Rafiq Bhatia coasts into a Manhattan coffee shop with the easy gait of a man who refuses to carry 100 years of jazz history on his shoulders.
“I have other things to carry,” the 26-year-old guitarist says. “It’s not that jazz smells funny and that I’m trying to stay away from it. I just don’t see my output or my reference points that way. I’ve been really inspired by artists from the jazz community — past and present — and it’s part of what I do. But so are many other things.”
All those other things should come streaming from Bhatia’s fingertips when his quartet headlines the New Vintage Jazz and Wine Fest in Washington on Saturday. (Curated by Washington jazz booster-blogCapitalBop, the inaugural festival also includes performances from local players Kris Funn, Taurus Mateen, Donvonte McCoy, Todd Marcus and the Funk Ark.)
Bhatia’s music signals freedom, but it isn’t lightweight. Listening to him play the guitar can feel like sipping water from a pressure washer. Which is to say, it approximates life in the information age, an era that douses us with data. Which is also to say, the sounds Bhatia makes with his Telecaster can feel profuse, immersive and immense.
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/rafiq-bhatia-and-a-new-vintage-of-jazz/2013/08/23/d2b70bda-0b77-11e3-b87c-476db8ac34cd_story.html?wprss=rss_style
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