EFG LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL

Blow the Fuse celebrate 25 years with an afternoon reflecting world influences and music written and led by women of all generations

Baluji Shrivastav/Deirdre Cartwright Ensemble

Baluji Shrivastav sitar, Deirdre Cartwright guitar,  Alison Rayner bass, Linda Shanovitch vocals, foot percussion, Ilias Khan tabla

Baluji Shrivastav is one of the greatest instrumentalists India has produced playing sitar, surbahar, dilruba, pakhavaj and tabla.

“Virtuoso multi-instrumentalist” The Times

Firmly established in the Hindustani classical tradition he delights in exploring music in all its forms – recently entertaining the world at the closing ceremony of 2012 Paralympic Games with Chris Martin and Coldplay. He composes for film, dance, theatre and original works for Western orchestras and Indian ensembles. He has recorded with Massive Attack, Madness, the Doves, Amorphous Androgynous, and performed with great artists such as Stevie Wonder.  He has his own Jazz ensemble Jazz Orient/Re-Orient and has recorded several albums.

London based guitarist Deirdre Cartwright is regarded as one of only a handful of great international women jazz guitarists. Her early music training on piano, following in the footsteps of her grandmother who was an opera singer and pianist, took second place when she fell in love with the guitar at a young age. Almost entirely self taught, she discovered the sound of glam rock before jazz and in her quest to explore the possibilities of the guitar began to play in a different tuning (all 4ths).

She first became well known in the 80s as the guitar presenter of the BBC TV series ‘Rockschool’.  She also recorded three albums and toured the world with The Guest Stars. Forming her own group in the early 90’s, Cartwright has toured extensively in the UK and Europe and has released five albums with the Deirdre Cartwright Group.