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Sachal Vasandani
Friday, 22nd October @8:00 PM
"My music always starts off with jazz, but can end up in any number of places because of all my different influences. I guess I value the freedom to explore as much as the discipline of tradition." – Sachal Vasandani
Signed to Mack Avenue Records in 2006, Vasandani was born in Chicago and grew up in a household where all kinds of music were appreciated. His parents listened to a variety of jazz, from Duke Ellington to Keith Jarrett, which piqued his curiosity. In pursuing his love for music at the University of Michigan, he began to be recognized as a talent of the future, most notably by DownBeat magazine, which awarded him Collegiate Jazz Vocalist of the year in 1999.
After moving to New York, Vasandani quickly became a part of the jazz scene, and made a musical home in storied clubs like the Zinc Bar. He was also tapped for a number of guest performances and recordings, notably by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Eric Reed, T.S. Monk, and countless other peer and mentor musicians.
After Vasandani's break-through debut recording, he toured extensively supporting Eyes Wide Open. He opened for such disparate artists from jazz trumpeter Chris Botti to pop singer Joan Osborne, garnering respect from a diverse spectrum of audiences. "I played in the US as well as overseas," he says. "I played at jazz festivals as well eclectic venues, and it was humbling to see people with different backgrounds and tastes respond to what I do."
In addition, Vasandani was mentored by the veterans of the jazz vocal realm. He shared the stage with Jon Hendricks at a masters and mentors concert in Idaho ("Jon's honest spirit, intellect and improvising ability are such an influence"), and toured Japan with Sheila Jordan. "Sheila serves as a mother figure to a lot of us singers," he says. "Like Jon, Sheila sings powerfully and with so much love. To keep your voice, spirit, energy alive, night after night, for decades – what an instruction in longevity."
Vasandani's originals are among the standout tracks on We Move. The gem of the bunch, "Every Ocean, Every Star," features Wamble's layered guitar textures. "This is a song about expectations," says Vasandani. "It's a beautiful thing to try to give without expectations, but can we really? I wrote this song for the people I'm closest to."
Sachal will be joined this evening by The Graham Wood trio
