Comments on: Iraqi Jazz Fusion! http://www.prex.com/blog/iraqi-jazz-fusion/ A Music Reviews and News Blog Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:58:23 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Anthony Medici http://www.prex.com/blog/iraqi-jazz-fusion/comment-page-1/#comment-1617 Anthony Medici Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:42:08 +0000 http://www.prex.com/blog/?p=642#comment-1617 Rudresh, thanks so much for writing. It's great to hear from the musicians we listen to and write about. I think right now you and El Saffar are on to something interesting and exciting. My comments about "orientalism" are inspired mostly by some of the commentary surrounding your music. I am glad you are aware of "the monster" (as you describe it), and I trust that you will continue to fend off "the monster." The thing about monsters, however, is that they sometimes slay the heroes who ride out to slay them. In other words, it's difficult to escape the history of this type of effort. Many have succumbed to the commodification of "exoticism." I wish you luck in your efforts to change the old rules. Rudresh, thanks so much for writing. It’s great to hear from the musicians we listen to and write about. I think right now you and El Saffar are on to something interesting and exciting. My comments about “orientalism” are inspired mostly by some of the commentary surrounding your music. I am glad you are aware of “the monster” (as you describe it), and I trust that you will continue to fend off “the monster.” The thing about monsters, however, is that they sometimes slay the heroes who ride out to slay them. In other words, it’s difficult to escape the history of this type of effort. Many have succumbed to the commodification of “exoticism.” I wish you luck in your efforts to change the old rules.

]]> By: Rudresh http://www.prex.com/blog/iraqi-jazz-fusion/comment-page-1/#comment-1615 Rudresh Sun, 08 Feb 2009 18:45:00 +0000 http://www.prex.com/blog/?p=642#comment-1615 Glad you were able to get into the show. Just a couple of things to note. Two Rivers, in all of its poetic connotation, quite literally refers to the Tigris & Euphrates. With regard to Said's work and "orientalism," one must understand that our work is actually a direct commentary on the pitfalls of exoticism. We don't conduct these explorations to feed the monster. We put forth this music to explore our respective ancestral roots while simultaneously defining our diasporic identites and establishing ourselves as significant entities within the American cultural landscape. Exoticism is what we staunchly avoid. If you look around the web, you'll see that this something that I discuss in several interviews. It is also something comes up to varying degrees in both my Masterclass article in the current issue of Downbeat and my guest post article on Destination Out. Thanks for your support. R. Glad you were able to get into the show. Just a couple of things to note. Two Rivers, in all of its poetic connotation, quite literally refers to the Tigris & Euphrates.

With regard to Said’s work and “orientalism,” one must understand that our work is actually a direct commentary on the pitfalls of exoticism. We don’t conduct these explorations to feed the monster. We put forth this music to explore our respective ancestral roots while simultaneously defining our diasporic identites and establishing ourselves as significant entities within the American cultural landscape. Exoticism is what we staunchly avoid. If you look around the web, you’ll see that this something that I discuss in several interviews. It is also something comes up to varying degrees in both my Masterclass article in the current issue of Downbeat and my guest post article on Destination Out.

Thanks for your support.
R.

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