Ancient Future Performs Summer Solstice Serenades at Garden Gate, Berkeley, June 21, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, Calif. - May 22, 2013 - PRLog -- Summer Solstice Serenades at Garden Gate
Ancient Future Duet Featuring World Guitar Pioneer Matthew Montfort and Tabla Virtuoso Vishal Nagar
Friday, June 21, 8 pm
Garden Gate Creativity Center
2911 Claremont Ave. @ Ashby Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94705
Tix: $25 at the door and www.brownpapertickets.com/event/388073
Info: Call Rebecca Trujillo at 510-472-2834 or Diana Rowan at 510-717-7148
Email: gardengatecenter@gmail.com
Venue Website: www.gardengatecreate.com (http://www.gardengatecreate.com/calendar.cfm?calyear=2013&calmonth=6&caltype=full)
Artist Website: www.ancient-future.com (http://www.ancient-future.com/bandmain.html)
Poster: www.ancient-future.com/pdf/6_21_13garden.pdf

Summer Solstice Serenades with strains of flamenco, ancient Celtic music, and Indian raga will emanate from this improvisatory duet featuring world guitar pioneer Matthew Montfort accompanied by renowned Indian tabla virtuoso Vishal Nagar. The program will feature music from the groundbreaking world music recordings of Ancient Future along with serenades from Matthew Montfort's solo guitar releases: Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar and Sympathetic Serenade, for which he was lauded as one of the world's 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists.

One of the variations of the virtuoso world fusion music ensemble, Ancient Future, this guitar and tabla duet has performed in a variety of settings, from the huge audience (police estimate of 35,000 people) at the Summer of Love 30th Anniversary Celebration in San Francisco, to a standing room only three hour bar gig in Southern Oregon, to the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra on the golden coast of Spain near Barcelona.

"It was heart-warming to see teenage girls in swirling dresses swaying and twirling to the Indian themes (almost like morning ragas) of Ancient Future, one of the morning performing groups."--Philip Elwood, SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER (review of Summer of Love performance, that according to the San Francisco Chronicle, was famed concert promoter Chet Helm's "crowning achievement")

Matthew Montfort

The leader of the world music group Ancient Future, Matthew Montfort, released his first solo recording, Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar, in 2009. He is a pioneer among guitarists who have had their fretboards scalloped in order to play various forms of world music that require intricate note-bending ornaments while still being able to play chords. Montfort immersed himself in an intensive study with vina master K.S. Subramanian in order to fully apply the South Indian gamaka (note-bending) techniques to the guitar. He is recognized as one of the world's 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists by DigitalDreamDoor.com, a curated "best of" site, along with such luminaries as Michael Hedges, Leo Kottke, Chet Atkins, John Fahey, Merle Travis, John Renbourn, Tommy Emmanuel, Doc Watson, Pierre Bensusan, Alex De Grassi, and Peppino D'Agostino. The December 2009 Les Paul issue of Guitar Player Magazine includes a full page feature on Matthew Montfort with a corresponding GuitarPlayer.Com video and lesson entitled “The Music of Jimi Hendrix Applied to Indian Raga.” He has performed concerts worldwide, from the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra on the golden coast of Spain to the Festival of India in Mumbai. He has performed live on national radio and TV shows such as the Echoes Living Room Concerts on Public Radio International, and the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. He has worked with many world music legends, including tabla phenomenon Zakir Hussain and Chinese zither master Zhao Hui. Montfort wrote the book Ancient Traditions – Future Possibilities: Rhythmic Training Through the Traditions of Africa, Bali, and India, which has been used by many musicians to improve their rhythm skills.

Vishal Nagar (tabla)
"He has magic in his hands" - Hindustan Times

Born into a family of musicians, Vishal has been surrounded by music in an extremely musically creative and artistic environment. Since childhood, he has been fascinated by tabla and began to play at an early age. Vishal had his initial training for a very brief period with the late Ustad Latif Ahmed Khan of the Delhi Gharana. After his Ustad's untimely demise, Vishal continued his training under the guidance of Ustad Shamim Ahmed Khan of the same Gharana (school). Along with the dense and rare tabla repertoire taleem which was he received from his Ustad, he also has had intense rhythmic (layakari) training from his mother, the renowned and highly respected Kathak dancer and vocalist, Urmila Nagar. Vishal has been praised in the Indian press for his unique combination of melodic tabla sound production with masterful command of rhythm.

Vishal has had the privilege of performing with many renowned artists: Ustad Shujaat Khan, Guru Urmila Nagar, Vidhwan Trichur Ramachandran, Pandit Ramesh Misra and Miss. Kala Ramnath, to name a few. Vishal has also had the honor of sharing the stage with some great world music masters such as African drum legend Babatunde Olatunji, Michel Shrieve, Evyind Kang, Carmona Flamenco, and Michael Wimberley, to name few. Vishal has also expanded his cultural boundaries and collaborated with musicians from around the world. Some of his memorable works have been with the Ghanaian Guitarist Koo Nimo with whom he also appeared in WOMAD USA (a leading world dance and music festival started by Peter Gabriel). Starting his performance career at the age of eight in Patna, Vishal has performed around the globe including performances in many cities in India, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Thailand and the United States. Vishal has also been awarded with the Ministry of Culture Scholarship from the Department of Culture.

In his journey as a musician, Vishal feels that music and art are truly an ocean of knowledge and an expression of feelings and emotions. He aspires to serve the Indian music and arts through his medium of expression, the language of tabla, and hopes that he will be able to give due respect, dedication, and devotion to this great art form of his country, India.