Harish Raghavan In Tense LP

In Tense, from New York-based composer and bassist Harish Raghavan, following his 2019 debut, Calls for Action, this all-original output was recorded at the end of 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The album's six tracks were written especially for the exceptional band of drummer Eric Harland, guitarist Charles Altura, Joel Ross on vibraphone and marimba, and Morgan Guerin on woodwinds. Raghavan has forged an impressive reputation through his work with the likes of Ambrose Akinmusire, Kurt Elling, Taylor Eigsti, Vijay Iyer, Charles Lloyd, Walter Smith III, Logan Richardson and Eric Harland and is widely lauded for his work as leader.

Inspiration for this album came from responding to the monumental events of 2020, particularly the globally shared experience of the pandemic.

Harish Raghavan is a thoughtful composer and enigmatic musician, In Tense is a commanding and immersive oeuvre that enchants from start to finish. Harish says: "the album is called In Tense and for me that means trying to stay present and in the moment."

This record offers that mindful clarity through its captivating compositions and hypnotizing intensity.

Reflecting the tone of the period during which it was made (late 2020), In Tense is an altogether heavier record, with a reassuring earthbound heft and a number of sturdy low motifs that anchor its floor plan....That Raghavan and his bandmates were able to create such reflexively therapeutic and imaginative music during the overwhelming tumult of 2020's final months is a testament to the power of collaboration and to jazz as an art form. It was a period of global separateness and fear to the extent that, when these five souls came together in a room, a palpable sense of both relief and heightened intensity spilled into the proceedings.