Your album is more than music, it's an experience- every bit as transformative as the last performance I saw you guys do”

— Jarod Facknitz

Sitarsys

Shanta Nurullah’s Sitarsys brings together western and eastern instruments played by a stellar group of creative musicians in a variety of groupings, from trio to octet. Ms. Nurullah plays the Indian sitar and an African mbira. Musicians who have performed and/or recorded with the Sitarsys collective include guitarists Andrea Bunch and Alex Wing, who doubles on oud; saxophonist Fred Jackson and pianist Justin Dillard; bassists Yosef Ben Israel, Harrison Bankhead, and Junius Paul; trumpeter Jack Cassidy and drummer Avreeayl Ra; and vocalists Zahra Baker and Keewa Nurullah. Since its inception in December 2015, Sitarsys has performed around Chicago at Elastic Arts, the Washington Park Incubator Jazz series, the Artists of the Wall Festival, and Old Town School of Folk Music’s 77 Beats series. 

Shanta’s signature sitar style elicits the stomps, moans, and rhythms of blues and jazz, as well as the lyrical, dreamlike sounds most often associated with this East Indian instrument. Her unique approach has been heard over the years in Shanta’s work with the all women’s groups Sojourner, Samana, and Gemini, as well as bands led by Kelan Phil Cohran, Dee Alexander, Nicole Mitchell, David Boykin, Tomeka Reid, and Saalik Ziyad. In 2015 Shanta was a featured soloist in AACM 50th anniversary concerts at Chicago's Mandel Hall, the DuSable Museum, and Millennium Park. 

Shanta Nurullah’s Sitarsys released a debut CD, Sitar Black, in February 2017. Album release events have been held at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music and at the University of Chicago’s First Monday Jazz series.

 sitarsys@gmail.com            773-986-7858

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