Within the Festival au Désert Florence
11th edition

A world class, virtuoso percussionist, Trilok Gurtu has attracted a world class set of collaborators over a long career; these started with John McLaughlin in whose trio, Trilok flourished as the featured soloist for 4 years, other jazz greats continued this path – Joe Zawinul, Jan Garbarek, Don Cherry, Bill Evans, Pharoah Sanders, Dave Holland were all attracted to Trilok’s burning sense of rhythm. Of course he is deeply rooted in the Indian tradition, so it is no surprise to see that collaborations also took place with Indian artists – his mother Shobha Gurtu, Zakir Hussain, L. Shankar, Shankar Mahadevan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, The Misra Brothers and Sultan Khan.

With his unique genius which has played a major role in creating some of the finest works of his fellow master musicians, amongst others, John Mclaughlin, Joe Zawinul, Dave Holland and Jan Garbarek, Trilok Gurtu continues to define and redefine his position as one of the percussive art’s greatest innovators of all time. Although his approach to playing and composing is non-stylistic, it is built upon a solid and deep understanding of many global styles. His drumming and composing are universal, personal and fuelled by tremendous love and discipline.

in collaboration with River to River Florence Indian Film Festival and MATRA Network – Indian Rhythm Experience

The Festival au Désert Florence is a multicultural music project that since 2010 has created a network for contemporary creation between Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe, starting from the collaboration between the Festival au Désert in Essakane (Mali) and Fondazione Fabbrica Europa. The festival hosts the great names of the world music, in particular from Mali, North Africa, the Mediterranean and the Middle East, in open dialogue with the ambassadors of artistic “nomadism” from all over the world.The 2020 edition is realized in partnership with Italian World Beat.

Project realized with the support of Fondazione CR Firenze

[photo: Boris Breuer]