About this project

Who are we?

The Rafiq Bhatia Collective is an emerging ensemble dedicated to creating, documenting, disseminating, and drawing attention to creative music. We've performed extensively throughout the eastern and midwestern United States, and our members have worked with a plethora of great artists ranging from jazz innovators such as Jason Moran and Steve Lehman to hip-hop icons like Mos Def and Ludacris. We also have a demonstrated interest in developing the future of our music in tandem with future audiences for jazz, and have reached out to young people through our outreach program in cities along the east coast.

Our Vision:

We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to record our debut album in collaboration with four of the most important voices in contemporary music: groundbreaking pianist/composer Vijay Iyer, who’s 2009 release Historicity was the critics consensus for “Best Jazz Album of the Year”, legendary jazz drummer Billy Hart, renowned for his work with Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, etc, as well as classical musicians Claire Chase and Peter Evans of the International Contemporary Ensemble , which has been described by the New York Times as “one of the most adventurous and accomplished groups in new music”.

Our vision is to build an album starting with the core of a strong ensemble sound (the Rafiq Bhatia Collective), strengthened by the contributions of two of the most innovative voices in jazz (Mr. Hart and Mr. Iyer), produced utilizing the full capabilities of the studio in the spirit of indie rock and hip-hop, and energized by a contemporary music score for members of one of the finest ensembles in the idiom (the International Contemporary Ensemble).

Recording this album will also generate momentum towards our efforts to reimagine the model for young ensembles in contemporary music. We have become increasingly aware of the shortage of development opportunities for creative jazz ensembles, as well as the overwhelming potential for engaging young audiences with this music. We hope to create an infrastructure that develops the future of jazz in tandem with its future audiences. We are committed to conducting outreach by day in areas in which we perform, and are looking for avenues to support our efforts. The attention paid to a successful and innovative debut would give us the exposure and opportunities to access support for our efforts, and inspire other young ensembles to join us in our efforts to attract young audiences to creative jazz.

Our Plan:

In June, we hope to record the jazz ensemble (featuring the Rafiq Bhatia Collective alongside Vijay Iyer and Billy Hart) at Systems 2 Studios in Brooklyn, NY. We will spend two days capturing live performances of the music in the studio, with the musicians improvising within the frameworks provided by the compositions.

Producer Alexander Overington and I will then spend July and August using the studio to add additional layers to the compositions, which will be inspired by the improvisations captured in the initial session. This will include composing additional parts for a classical chamber group featuring flautist Claire Chase and trumpeter Peter Evans of the International Contemporary Ensemble.

In early September, the album will be mastered by engineer Joe Lambert, who has mastered some of our favorite independent music recordings including Animal Collective's "Merriweather Post Pavillion" and Dirty Projectors' "Bitte Orca". Joe has also agreed to meet with us periodically throughout the summer to lend his expert advice to the production process.

Why We Need You:

We've managed to amass this group of incredible musicians, all of whom are committed to this project, but we won't be able to do it without your support. We've received an initial grant for $2,000 from the Oberlin College Creativity & Leadership Project, but we need to raise at least $10,000 more to make this dream a reality.

Thanks to Kickstarter, we have a way to reach out to all of you who have supported us in the past and helped us become who we are today, as well as those of you who have never heard of us but think this idea is as incredible as we do! In return for your support, we're offering the best rewards we could imagine, which are listed on the right. Every dollar counts, and we'll be eternally grateful for your support!

We can't tell you how much we appreciate you taking the time to read this, and we hope you will decide to support us and/or spread the word to anyone you think may be interested.

Thanks again for reading, and we hope to hear from you soon!

Best,
... ...
Rafiq & the Collective

visit us on the web at http://www.rafiqbhatia.com