Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones

Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones

Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones pushes the boundaries of free jazz, composition, and electronic forms, with the raw riotous energy of “spiritual punk,” comprised of vocalist, composer, and keyboardist Amirtha Kidambi (Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl, Darius Jones), saxophonists Matt Nelson (Battle Trance, Flying Luttenbachers) and Alfredo Colon (Henry Threadgill, Moses Sumney), bassist Lester St. Louis (jaimie branch’s Fly or Die, Wendy Eisenberg’s Darlin’), and drummer Jason Nazary (Anteloper, Saint Abdullah).

The ensemble’s instrumentation, undergirded by the drone of the Indian pump organ harmonium, forms an intricate landscape for Kidambi’s voice to traverse; she battles against its mountainous heights before sliding speedily down its slopes. Truly making an instrument of her vocal cords, Kidambi’s syllabic, frenzied, and powerful utterances weave into the alluring, hypnotic, and confronting jazz melodies of the ensemble. Dealing with issues such as power, capitalism, colonialism, white supremacy, and fascism, Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones are not shy to confront and resist systems of oppression and control through their music. As such, a sense of ancestral energy pulses through their performances; it feels as though they are not alone on the stage, but are rather carried along by an old knowledge buried deep within the music.