The Joe Harriot John Mayer Double Quintet: Indo-Jazz Fusions

I took this record in a trade for my shop, and was a little iffy about it. The pressing was weird and so was the music. It sat around for $25 until one day I decided to give it a good hard listen, and it f*cking floored me. Some of the most beautiful playing imaginable. The album’s name is true to the character of the music: imagine a modal quintet meeting up with some raga guys and playing compositions written by an Indian man with a real ear for the jazz music. John Mayer is (allegedly) Indian. He composed and directed the entire deal. Joe Harriot is a Black man on an alto horn. The “Double Quintet” (ie, 10 people, ie, dectet? What’s one up from neuftet?) features alto, violin & harpsichord, trumpet & flugelhorn, flute, sitar, tamboura, double bass, tabla, piano, and trap drums. My top honors go to the first track, “Serenade”, which kind of lilts between a speedy raga and a modal ballad ala Dolphy & Waldron’s “Warm Canto” (another favorite). Highly, highly recommended and don’t be deterred by odd pressings like this one.