Brooklyn Raga Massive is proud to present the latest musical offering by percussionist Sameer Gupta alongside his longtime musical collaborators Marc Cary (keys), Pawan Benjamin (winds) and Rashaan Carter (bass). JUPITER is a shoe-gazer inspired free jazz experiment with visions of Indian classical music and universal consciousness joining epic improvisational journeys set across a luscious landscape of long-sample warping and shimmering dynamics. Born of loss and grieving for loved ones now departed, JUPITER sets a luminous tone through its interstellar raga-inspired improvisations woven throughout a cosmic drone landscape. The music flies towards the farthest reaches of outer space searching to ease our suffering and acknowledge the ever increasing desire for liberation. 

This night is extra special in that, back at our longtime home at Art Cafe, we will have a farewell celebration for Sameer as he and his family leave Brooklyn to embark on a new adventure in the Bay Area. As one of the Co-Founders of BRM, Sameer has been a mainstay of our community, an outstanding artist, and a tireless contributor to BRM. We are honored to present his new project, Jupiter, as the featured artists as well as the anchors for the jam session.  We hope you will join us to hear some great music and raise a glass as we wish Sameer and his family well on their new endeavors! 

Musicians, bring your instruments for the jam session and entry is free!

About the Artists

Sameer Gupta (b. 1976) has created a unique musical sound by combining traditional and modern improvisational styles drawing from his dual Indian and American heritage, and has already established himself as an original voice in music today. Gupta did not begin the tabla until well into his jazz career in the early 2000s, and now from bebop to avant-garde jazz, and European classical percussion to North Indian classical tabla, he continues to compose and perform music from a true multi-cultural perspective that now bridges several continents.

In a jazz world brimming with brilliant and adventurous pianists, Marc Cary stands apart by way of pedigree and design. None of his prestigious peer group ever set the groove behind the drums in Washington DC go-go bands nor are any others graduates of both Betty Carter and Abbey Lincoln’s daunting bandstand academies. Cary remains one of the progenitors of contemporary jazz, evident in his influence on peers. Live gigs with vibraphonist Stefon Harris and bandmate Casey Benjamin began the genesis of Robert Glasper’s recording Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and Cary’s record “Taiwa” from Focus in 2006 evolved into “For You” on Glasper’s Double Booked and Harris’ Urbanus. Cary collaborator Roy Hargrove exalted him with “Caryisms” on 1992’s The Vibe, an album whose title track is one of two Cary originals including “Running Out of Time”–now part of the lexicon of live repertoire among jazz stalwarts Hargrove, Dr. Lonnie Smith and Igmar Thomas’ Revive Big Band. As New York Times jazz critic Nate Chinen observed recently, “There isn’t much in the modern-jazz-musician tool kit that Marc Cary hasn’t mastered, but he has a particular subspecialty in the area of groove…with a range of rhythmic strategies, from a deep-house pulse to a swinging churn.” Mr. Cary richly embodies the spirit of diverse streams that feed into the ample body of what we consider jazz history today.

As both an accomplished Saxophonist and Bansuri flute player, Pawan Benjamin stands at the intersection of profound musical traditions. Rooted in Jazz and Improvisation, his pursuit of learning later led him to the Bansuri Flute and a deep study of Nepali Folk and Indian Classical Music. His unique perspective into these legacies of music has allowed him to work with a myriad of world-class artists, and perform and teach around the world. Pawan has performed alongside artists such as Roscoe Mitchell, Reggie Workman, Ranjit Barot, Bill T. Jones, Taufiq Qureshi, Rez Abbasi, Marc Cary, and others. Performance credits include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Newport Festival, the Kennedy Center, the Rubin Museum of Art, Lincoln Center, the Mondriaan Jazz Festival, the Bimhuis, the NCPA in Mumbai, Goa International Jazz Festival, and more.

Rashaan Carter grew up in the Washington D.C. area. It was there, with the nurturing of his father, a saxophonist, and his mother, a jazz radio programmer, Rashaan forged an interest in music. After stints with various instruments, the bass became the voice for his musical expression. Rashaan worked and gained experience in the local scene in Washington D.C. and after high school, moved to New York City to attend the New School University. At the New School, Rashaan studied with Buster Williams and Reggie Workman. While attending the New School he also began to work with many of the faculty including Joe Chambers and Jimmy Owens, among others. Since moving to New York Rashaan has become entrenched in the jazz scene and has worked with Benny Golson, Curtis Fuller and Louis Hayes, Wallace Roney, Marc Cary, Cindy Blackman, Doug and Jean Carn, Antoine Roney, Sonny Simmons, and many more. He’s also studied with one of his prime influences, Ron Carter. Rashaan regularly performs with a myriad of artists in and outside of New York and can be found on various recordings as well.