Sangeeta Michael Berardi
Earthship
Reviews
Saturday, March 5, 2011 - Vern
I think we can all name at least ten musicians who have been lost in record rackes of time for one reason or another. It's a shame because a lot of these artists created some stellar and in many cases unbelievable pieces of art. One such musician is Sangeeta Michael Berardi.
Berardi's career has encompassed being a promoter, painter, poet and performing with the likes of Rashied Ali, Archie Sheep, Roswell Rudd, Sonny Simmons among others in the '60s, '70s avant garde. The strange thing is Berardi's playing isn't necessarily avant garde. Berardi also didn't record many albums (two from what I can find) as leader although he did perform allot as sideman. So what we have is one highly sought after debut from the '80s and his most recently released Earthship (Sunjump Records).
Earthship was actually recorded in 1996 but not officially released until 2008. Sangeeta Michael Berardi as you will hear was highly influenced by the latter works Coltrane but crafted his own vision of that Far Eastern spiritual sound into dreamlike soundscapes that are truly phenomenal. Berardi's style might be somewhere between Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin's work on their Coltrane inspired collaboration, Love, Devotion and Surrender and McLaughlin's work on Bitches Brew. But the difference here is his raw quality that runs throughout Earthship.
The opening title track is a real full throttle journey in sound as Berardi weaves a nice thread between mood setting groove and electric firestorm. Finn and Esposito both rise to challenge with some nice improvised moments throughout the piece. "Coltrane Lights Our Way" really highlights Sangeeta's mastery on the guitar. The tune sways onward and upward with some fierce assistance from John Esposito on drums. This might be the closest Sangeeta comes to sounding like Santana without the overbearing theatrics. But there are also some rock elements running inside this piece that really set Berardi's style apart.
"Trane's Church" is another display of Berardi's blistering sound world while the gentle tandem of Berardi and Finn (this time on flute) on "Evening, Woodstock" add a gentle and soothing element to the high spirited tracks that proceed it.
Probably the head-turner of the session is the closing number, the legendary "My Favourite Things". While John Coltrane's version of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic has become a benchmark in jazz circles, Berardi's version certainly needs to be recognized as completely different take that is rich, inventive and stellar in its execution. It's pulsating, passionate and modern while all wrapped in a divine layer spirituality. It would make Coltrane proud and probably have Rodgers & Hammerstein cringe. I love it.
Earthship is a work similar to Berardi's debut that is seeking a much higher devotion than just the one in the studio or the one coming out of your speakers. It is truly hard to believe that this record was recorded in 1996. Considering the time period there were very few albums like it at the time (the closet I could think of was David S. Ware's Wisdom Of Certainty). And listening to Earthship now you would have thought it was recorded two months ago.
Sangeeta Michael Berardi has been ill for quite some time now and it would be great for people to discover his music now. Earthship contains the kind of thinking music people actually crave but can't find. A real treasure.
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Earthship
Sangeeta Michael Berardi | Sunjump Records (2008)
By Dan McClenaghan
There's a lot of talent vying for our ears in jazz, which translates to many top rate artists falling into the underappreciated category. Guitarist Sangeeta Michael Berardi (b. Sept. 2, 1939, in Waterbury, Conn.) is one of those singular musicians who hasn't gotten his due.
Berardi, who was primarily based in Woodstock, N.Y. during his most productive years, has worked with Archie Shepp, Joe Diorio, Sonny Simmons, Perry Robinson and Roswell Rudd—something of a who's who in the avant garde genre.
Earthship was recorded in 1996 in Woodstock. The disc was released on a limited basis—what might be called a bootleg—in 2007. It has now been officially released on pianist John Esposito's Sunjump Records.
Berardi's guitar is a soaring, swooping, melodious jet turbine of an instrument, owing as much perhaps to Jimi Hendrix as to any jazz guitarist. The atmosphere of Earthship is one of deep spirituality, much like John Coltrane during the saxophonist's Impulse! Records years.
Berardi is joined here by John Esposito on piano and multi-reed player James Finn, along with Hilliard Greene on bass and Peter O'Brien on drums. The group opens with the monumental, Coltrane-esque title tune, a searing fire-in-the-belly fourteen minutes of song. The tune throbs in on a meditative groove, but soon enough everybody's wailing—Finn on tenor sax, Esposito, and especially Berardi, backing Finn with ice crystal chords beside Esposito's dense, McCoy Tyner-like sound. And when Berardi takes his solo, it's as if he is diving in from the stratosphere.
"Trane's Church" has that same warp drive sound, but in a trio setting—turbulent drums and scorching guitar licks bookended by some Art Ensemble of Chicago-like bells. "Six for Rashied" explores more of the Coltrane Impulse! sound, with James Finn's tenor sax reaching for outer space.
"My Favorite Things" (the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic that was redefined by Coltrane) gets another redefinition here, with Berardi bringing a radioactive shimmer of brash spirituality to the tune—an American songbook jewel soaring toward Nirvana.
It's a shame there is so little of Sangeeta Michael Berardi's music available on CD. The release of the excellent—from start to finish—Earthship is a step towards introducing his singular sound to the audience he deserves.
Track listing: Earthship; Sahara Song; Coltrane's Love Lights Our Way; Six for Rashied; Eleutheria; Trane's Church; Evening, Woodstock; Onedaruth; My Favorite Things.
Personnel: Sangeeta Michael Berardi: guitar, pedals; John Espoito: piano, drums (3, 6, 8); James Finn: tenor sax, flute, bass clarinet, bells; Hilliard Greene: bass; Peter O'Brien: drums.
Style: Free Improvisation/Avant-Garde
Published: November 21, 2008
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New from Sunjump..
SANGEETA MICHAEL BERARDI With JOHN ESPOSITO/JAMES FINN /HILLIARD GREENE/PETE O'BRIEN - Earthship (Sunjump CD 04; USA) Featuring Sangeeta Michael Berardi on guitar, James Finn on tenor sax & flute, John Esposito on piano & drums, Hilliard Greene on bass and Peter O'Brien on drums.
I hadn't heard of Mr. Berardi before he did a duo disc with Joe Giardullo on Boxholder a couple of years ago. It turns out that Sangeeta has a rare album out from 1980 where he collaborates with Archie Shepp, Roswell Rudd, Eddie Gomez, Mario Pavone and Rashied Ali.
Sangeeta's main inspiration is John Coltrane and most of the titles of the original compositions here refer to Trane. The title track is first and has a lovely Trane-like melody and vibe with the dark, robust, warm-toned tenor of James Finn over the top. Sangeeta takes a great solo on this piece, which in some ways reminds me of Tisziji Munoz, only much slower [both have been musician's musicians since the '70s]. Esposito also plays a swell McCoy Tyner-like solo here as well. "Coltrane's Love Lights Our Way" is mostly a duo for guitar and (Elvin Jones-like) drums. It sounds even more Munoz-like (tone-wise) and has a fine, spiritual quality that warms the heart. I dig the way that Sangeeta's guitar swirls on "Eleutheria" giving it a more sax-like tone. I also like the way the sax and piano play in different tempos that still seem to connect on another level. This wonderful offering concludes with the one standard that made Coltrane famous, "My Favorite Things". Sangeeta layers a couple of different guitar parts here, one with a shimmering, echoed quality. The main guitar line has one of those studio distortion tones that were so popular during the fusion heyday of the 70's, which does give me some nostalgia for the days before jazz/rock sped up too much and became somewhat excessive.
A second disc from these sessions will be released next year (2009), I can hardly wait! - BLG
CD $14
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CD Review: Sangeeta Michael Berardi
Earthship
by Erik Lawrence, March 26, 2009
Sunjump Records, 2008
Although I have never met or heard him live, I admire guitarist Sangeeta Michael Berardi. His dedication to art through music, poetry, prose, and drawing has often been a challenging journey. But the music he makes on Earthship belies the depth of his vision, his truth. Teamed on this album with advanced Woodstock- and New York-based players saxophonist/flutist James Finn, pianist John Esposito, bassist Hilliard Green, and drummer Peter O’Brien, Berardi delivers uncompromising expression, melody, energy, and communication. This recording is pure and honest, deeply from of the Coltrane mold, but filled with unique individual thought and original ideas. Berardi’s voice rings most true, he is a seasoned storyteller with invention and wisdom to bestow along the way. Yet there is also plenty of room for the band members to have their say. There is seamless weaving between composition and group improvisation, structure and group invention.
This is a tradition that can only be handed down from master to master. Berardi, almost 70 now, was on the free-jazz scenes with his own Manhattan loft in 1980, the East Village in the ’70s, Chicago in the ’60s. In 1996 he took musicians who honored this tradition, produced this masterwork, then sent his sidemen off to continue their own ascensions. Often I question reviewing a CD that was not recently recorded. The moment I pressed Play my questions were set aside and I just listened. What more could you ask of a CD?
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"...dark-toned electric musings... might serve as a good antidote for listlessness or general malaise." --Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz