Album songs：
Album Intro：
If you wanted to make a case for the new Indo-Pak jazz cartel, this record would make a perfect Exhibit A. Not only is its leader, guitarist and composer of Pakistani heritage (born there, raised in L.A.), but it includes the scene's two most prominent figures, alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa and pianist Vijay Iyer. But what makes Things To Come a prime piece of evidence is that it really doesn't sound like it's trying to put too sharp a point on its ethnic particularity. It's too natural to be that heavy-handed.
The logic of a South Asian music crossover with jazz is clear. They arguably represent the two most developed improvising systems in world culture. The challenge, since the period of the initial Indo-Jazz Fusion experiments in the '60s, has been to find a more integrated way to explore the musics' commonalities. Abbasi is extremely successful in this pursuit. He's an outstanding instrumentalist, no question, but the framework for the playing here is what really catches my ear. With great ease Abbasi creates arrangements with parts in overlapping but different rhythmic cycles, keeping them light and airy so they don't obscure one another. The result, on a track like 'Hard Colors,' is a constant set of shifting relationships between the fixed elements, which becomes a springboard for improvisations.
Whether on resonant, steel-string acoustic or compact-toned, rather compressed electric, Abbasi's playing is a pleasure. His little duet with Indian vocalist Kiran Ahluwalia (who also sings on three other tracks) on the title track offers one very intriguing version of the possible hybird, with unusual, evocative harmonic hues. The linear ideas on tracks like 'Why Me Why Them' and 'Insulin' remind me a bit of some of Henry Threadgill's writing, especially when articulated by Mahanthappa. His alto playing is out front here and there, as on the impassioned 'Realities Of Chromaticism,' and his playing always takes things up a notch.
Iyer is expert at finding the most unusual rhythmic morsels in a piece. He's got an ability to manage the thunderous chording left hand without having it plod, which is a hazard; hear him manage it with Prokofievian flair on 'Dream Suite.' But things To Come is a group realization of a very ambitious batch of compositional notions, and it's the band that brings it home. Bassist Johannes Weidenmueller and drummer Dan Weiss are evanescent, but gravitational, just the ticket for these tricky turns.
- John Corbett --DownBeat - Nov. 2009
Never mind the guitar chops. The highest compliment that can be paid Rez Abbasi's new release is that it can be recommended on the strength of the compositions alone.
Not that the Pakistan-born, American-bred virtuoso is going to disappoint those who want to hear him flex his fingers on Things to Come. Remarkable rhythmic and melodic facility, sophisticated harmonic conception, distinctive use of odd intervals to create tension and release, subtle acoustic shadings - those virutes are all on display here, along with the popping tone and fluid thrust that make the guitar improvisation on 'Why Me Why Them' worthy of repeat spins. But it's Abbasi's way with a pen, not a pick, that really holds your attention.
Consisting of eight original pieces, richly textured and often curiously orchestrated, Things to Come blends elements of jazz, funk, South Asian and classical music with engaging ingenuity. Funk-torqued fusion plays a big role on the album, from the surreal opener 'Dream State' to the dissonant closer 'Insulin.' Yet each piece has a distinct personality, whether it points to postbop influences ('Hard Colors'), reveals Abbasi's close rapport with saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa ('Why Me Why Them') or quietly showcases Indian vocalist Kiran Ahluwalia's haunting siren call ('Things to Come').
In his liner notes Abbasi mentions that he wrote most of this music 'away from the guitar,' which is no doubt one of the reasons why the album so fully accomodates the talents of his bandmates and guests: Ahluwalia, Mahanthappa, pianist Vijay Iyer, bassist Johannes Weidenmueller, drummer Dan Weiss and cellist Mike Block - a wonderfully cohesive and inventive lineup.
- Mike Joyce --JazzTimes - Nov. 2009
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