ganavya - Daughter of a Temple - another of this year's bounty of excellent spiritual jazz albums, with a stellar cast of guests performing a slate of Coltrane covers (John *and* Alice) and originals
Described by the Wall Street Journal as “one of modern music’s most compelling vocalists,” New York-born and Tamil Nadu-raised singer and multi-instrumentalist ganavya shares an ambitious new album, "Daughter of a Temple", via LEITER. The album follows her performance at SAULT’s acclaimed live debut in London in 2023, where, according to The Guardian, her “voice had a delicate emotive heft that could turn stoics into sobbing wrecks.” Her first single for LEITER, "draw something beautiful," was released earlier this year in July. For "Daughter of a Temple", ganavya invited over 30 artists from various disciplines to a ritual gathering in Houston. The results—an innovative and deeply moving blend of spiritual jazz and South Asian devotional music—were initially recorded by Ryan Renteria and then further edited and mixed by Nils Frahm at LEITER's studio in Berlin in 2024. Daughter of a Temple includes the voices, sounds, efforts, and prayers of: ganavya (voice, double bass, kalimba), esperanza spalding (double bass, voice), Vijay Iyer (piano), Immanuel Wilkins (saxophone, voice), Shabaka Hutchings (wind instruments, voice), Wayne Shorter (voice, beads, bell), Carolina Shorter (voice, beads), Ganesan Doraiswamy (voice), Vidya Doraiswamy (voice), Charles Overton (harp, voice), Peter Sellars (voice), IONE (voice), Rajna Swaminathan (voice, mrudangam, kanjira), Kweku Sumbry (percussion, drums, voice), M.S. Krsna (guitar, voice), Bindhumalini Narayanswamy (voice), Rasika Shekar (flute, voice), Shanta Nurullah (sitar, voice), Viktor Laurent Ewing Givens (voice, dance, ritualist), Chris Sholar (electronics), Darian Donovan Thomas (violin, electronics), Jiordi Rosales (cello, voice), Eden Girma (voice), and brontë velez (voice, dance, prophesy). The gathering-at-large in Houston included the presences, dances, efforts, and prayers of: Alyssa Simmons (event production, voice), Andrew Wilson (textile - making of prayer clothes, voice), Amir George (cinematography), Anya Yermakova (piano, choreography, dance), Cean Geronimo (food, voice), Charlotte Brathwaite (stage direction, voice), Frewuhn (voice), Joy Harjo (voice), Larry Blumenfeld (voice, movement), Lucía Martinez (movement, voice), Michael Ewing (event production, voice), Ricky Weaver (photography, voice), Ryan Renteria (sound engineer), Shelly Travis (event production, voice), Shireen Hamza (movement, voice), Terence Price II (cinematography), and Zahra Baker (voice). All music produced by Ganavya Doraiswamy. Additional production by esperanza spalding, Rajna Swaminathan, Ryan Renteria, Nils Frahm and Felix Grimm. Mixed by Ryan Renteria, additional mixing by esperanza spalding and Nils Frahm. Recorded by Ryan Renteria at Moore’s Opera House, Houston, Texas. Mastered by Zino Mikorey, vinyl cut by Andreas Kauffelt at Schnittstelle. Tracks 1, 2, 6, 8, 9: Licensed courtesy of Jowcol Music / Universal Music Publishing. Tracks 2, 6 by Swamini Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda. Tracks 1, 8, 9 by John Coltrane. Cover image by Ricky Weaver, design by Studio Torsten Posselt.
