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 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.Radio broadcasters who report to the ZoneMusicReporter charts are eligible to vote. Final award winners will be announced on March 11th, 2012.
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,' will be available starting 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 GuitarAlready 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.BiographyAs 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.
On 6/16/16, six new pieces and a video make their debut in the the fan funded Archive of Future Ancient Recordings, which gives supporters access to Ancient Future recordings as they are created. There are four new tracks, two of which feature two compositions, the first serving as an introduction to the second. There are now 13 tracks totaling 86 minutes and 51 seconds of music in the archive. Two of the new tracks are live versions of pieces originally recorded during Ancient Future's major label days, and two are brand new studio tracks, including Ancient Future's first ever cover of a popular song, a world fusion version of Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze showcasing Bui Huu Nhut on Vietnamese dan bau, a one string instrument with a whammy bar! The piece also features Uzbeki percussion master Abbos Kosimov, who performs frequently with tabla phenom Zakir Hussain, and it is the very first studio recording featuring Matthew Montfort on his Godin Glissentar fretless guitar.
Tres Tarantas Tres (Montfort. 4:32). Based on the flamenco form Tarantas, but with a rhythmic structure of three groups of three, this piece also makes a foray into impressionism ala Eric Satie. Lineup: Matthew Montfort (flamenco guitar).
Gamarock (Montfort. 12:10). Recorded live 4/29/15, this piece from Dreamchaser fuses Balinese gamelan with rock and roll. Lineup: Matthew Montfort (scalloped fretboard guitars), Vishal Nagar (tabla), Jason Everett (7 string fretless bass).
Prelude/Bookenka (Montfort/Doug McKeehan 6:50). Recorded 10/16/13 at the World Without Walls Reunion Concert at the Freight & Salvage. Lineup: Matthew Montfort (scalloped fretboard guitar), Doug McKeehan (piano), Kash Killion (bass), Ian Dogole (percussion), Mariah Parker (santur), Jim Hurley (violin).
Purple Nam/Purple Haze (Montfort/Jimi Hendrix. 4:44). A Vietnamese version of Montfort's Purple Raga sets up an adventurous excursion into Hendrix's classic rock piece with Vietnamese dan bau instead of electric guitar. Lineup: Bui Huu Nhut (dan bau), Matthew Montfort (Godin Glissentar fretless 11 string guitar, fretless bass), Abbos Kosimov (Uzbeki percussion), Mariah Parker (keys).
In 2009, Mariah Parker launched her Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble with a sold-out debut concert at Yoshi's in Oakland, California. Mariah’s new release for AncientFuture.com records, “Indo Latin Jazz Live in Concert,” captures the magic of that first performance, as well as subsequent Northern California concerts at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, the Throckmorton Theater in Mill Valley and a studio session at Bob Weir's TRI Studios in San Rafael. These multi-track live recordings were painstakingly mixed and mastered over a seven-year period by veteran Ancient Future producer Matthew Montfort. “Indo Latin Jazz Live in Concert” is a follow-up recording to “Sangria,” Mariah's debut CD, which received airplay on over 468 New World, Jazz, and Latin radio programs, and earned over 365 reviews and media placements, including two songs that ascended to the Smooth Jazz Now Top 100 Songs of 2009 Chart.
According to Latin Beat Magazine, Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble "blends 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."
Mariah’s musicians on this new release are all virtuoso performers and some are bandleaders and composers of international acclaim. Mariah's ensemble includes: Paul McCandless, Grammy Award-winning woodwind virtuoso and co-founder of the chamber jazz ensemble Oregon; Matthew Montfort, founder and leader of the world fusion ensemble Ancient Future and pioneer of the scalloped fretboard guitar; Kash Killion, bassist with the Sun Ra Arkestra, cellist and performer on African and Indian string instruments; Ian Dogole, world percussionist, bandleader and collaborator with Ancient Future and Hamza el Din; Brian Rice, versatile percussionist specializing in Brazilian music, collaborator with Mike Marshall and Jovino Santos Neto; Duru Demetrius, Latin percussionist with jazz icons such as Joe Henderson and Herbie Hancock; Debopriyo Sarkar, tabla virtuoso who recently toured with the Kronos Quartet; and Fred Randolph, bandleader, composer and in-demand bassist who has performed with Maria Muldaur.
Release Date: January 20, 2017
Radio Add Date: March 13, 2017
Label: Ancient-Future.com Records
Copyright: © 2016 Third Journey Music, BMI
Genres: Jazz/Latin Jazz/World
Reporting Charts: Jazz Week, CMJ Jazz, Roots Music Report Jazz
Total Running Time: 52:22
Track List (all compositions by Mariah Parker):
1. Affinity Minus One (7:40)
2. Close Passage (6:55)
3. For the Waters (6:30)
4. Torredembarra (5:36)
5. Song for Satie (4:35)
6. Sangria (6:12)
7. Jaguar Dance (5:09)
8. Milo's Moment (9:28)
Subscribers to the Ancient Future Times wrote to suggest that Ancient Future offer virtual concerts during the pandemic and beyond. A new series of Alternate Reality Concerts from the Ancient Future was created in response, and Matthew Montfort was the inaugural performer on his birthday, February 12, 2021.To sign up for upcoming shows, simply send your email address to [email protected]. Put "Alternate Reality Concert" in the subject. You will receive a link to participate before each performance. There's currently no charge, but donations are very much needed to support the music, especially in this time of uncertainty as to when concerts will again be safe and potentially economically viable.
Exactly four months later, Ancient Future will perform a live streaming concert on June 12 at 3:30 PM PST. It's the first Ancient Future performance since the end of their 40th anniversary season in late 2019, when the band performed at the Kentucky Mine Amphitheater in Sierra City, California. Tabla master Aditya Kalyanpur was on that date and handed his iPhone to audience members to take videos of the performance. He shared the results with Jhankar, an Indian arts organization in Cincinnati, and they came forth to sponsor this streaming concert. The concert features a trio program consisting of Matthew Montfort on scalloped fretboard guitar, Aditya Kalyanpur on tabla, and Frank Martin on keyboards. The set list features compositions by Matthew Montfort and Frank Martin.
Saturday, June 12 , 3:30 PM PDT
Ancient Future Trio
Matthew Montfort (Guitar), Aditya Kalyanpur (Tabla), and Frank Martin (Keys)
Free Streaming Concert Sponsored by Jhankar:
https://www.jhankar.org/events/2021/AncientFuture.html
Facebook Live:
https://www.facebook.com/events/261356152436413
YouTube Live:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdP2ueIgM_JpvTSJ1iivHhg
Guitarist Matthew Montfort was the inaugural performer of a series of online Alternate Reality Concerts from the Ancient Future on his birthday in February 2021. Ancient Future’s last pre-pandemic performance was in September 2019 at the Kentucky Mine Amphitheater in Sierra City, California. Indian tabla master Aditya Kalyanpur shared a video of that concert with Jhankar, an Indian arts organization in Ohio, and they came forth to sponsor a virtual concert featuring Kalyanpur, Montfort, and keyboard wizard Frank Martin in June 2021.
L.E.T.S. Live on Endangered Species Day
The first release from the Alternate Reality concerts is set for Endangered Species Day (5/20/2022). Lustful Elephants Trumpet Spring (L.E.T.S.) was composed by Matthew Montfort after studying Rag Basant, a springtime raga that captures the feeling of separated lovers longing to unite. The caption on an associated ragamala painting read: "Bound with a peacock's feathers...his face is as a flower. Elephant-like, he joyfully wanders in the forest among the gopis. Such is Basant raga." Montfort woke up in the middle of the night dreaming of a melody that conjures elephants in mating season. It begins with a low riff that depicts an elephant's legs, and then moves to a jump from low to high like an elephant trumpeting in excitement. The piece quickly became a part of Ancient Future's live repertoire, and a studio version is in production.
L.E.T.S. Save the Elephant for Earth Day
Save the Elephant Day (4/16/22) aims to raise public awareness about the dangers elephants face, such as ivory traders and loss of habitat. The public can show their support by sharing useful information on social media and by contributing to elephant conservation organizations such as the Elephant Crisis Fund.
There's another meaning for "save the elephants." Digital music platforms use pre-save data to determine which new releases to feature on their official release dates. So, after folks do their part to save the elephants, they can then pre-save musical elephants at their favorite digital music platforms now by following this link: https://orcd.co/letslive. L.E.T.S. will then appear in their accounts starting on Earth Day (4//22/22)!
Pre-Save: https://orcd.co/letslive
L.E.T.S. Watch from A.F.A.R.
A shortened preview video of L.E.T.S. is on YouTube. The full video with hi-res audio is currently available exclusively to supporters of the Archive of Future Ancient Recordings, Ancient Future's fan funded recording project.
