CONTEMPORARY FUSION REVIEWS, Dick Metcalf"I seldom get “that” excited by a new album these days ( I’ll be 77 next month, if the chemo don’t get me first, lol), but the absolutely scorching guitar originality that guitarist brings to this new album will have you RAWKin’ from the opening notes to the end of the 11 superb tunes offered up (think Santana at Woodstock – yeah, THAT KIND of excitement, people)…"
ROOTS MUSIC REPORT, Robert Silverstein
"Seattle-based Origin Records is one of the most prolific jazz-centric recording labels in the world today and they keep the hits coming with the 2023 CD release of Spellbound, the seconds album to date by NYC-based guitarist Bobby Rozario. Drawing on the melting pot of incandescent sounds that is New York City, the 11-track album makes for an enthusiastic fusion romp that often sounds very influenced by guitar giants like Al DiMeola and even Carlos Santana. To help execute his musical vision, Bobby has drawn on some of the finest fusion sidemen including Dennis Chambers (drums) along with a wide range of musicians adding drums and percussion, bass, keys, horns with singers adding backing vocals on several tracks. Spellbound has a kind of Latin and South Asian feel to it, yet for the most part, it’s very guitar-based instrumental music that combines hard driving grooves layered with a definite jazz-rock fusion vibe on several tracks. Produced, arranged and composed by Bobby Rozario".
PRESS RELEASE
2. Spellbound 6:26
3. Escaping Alcatraz 6:29
4. Carmen's Lover 6:02
5. Heal Me 5:42
6. Gi Tana 5:29
7. Freedom 3:37
8. Sun Will Shine 5:43
9. Beat the Devil 7:49
10. Rudra 7:07
11. Stronger Together 5:06
All music composed by Bobby Rozario, ASCAP, except:
(2) Bobby Rozario, Ismael Kouyaté; (6) Bobby Rozario, José Pepito Gomez;
(11) Bobby Rozario, Chris Alfinez
Most recently Bobby Rozario has been part of a US tour with acclaimed Indian playback singer and Hindustani Classical Vocal maestro Suresh Wadkar and the foremost maestro of Tabla Ustad Zakir Hussain on a recent US Tour in September of 2022 with performances taking place at the Crest Theater, Sacramento CA, Eldorado Musical Theater in Placentia CA, and San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, San Jose CA to name a few. In November of 2017, Bobby Rozario composed and produced his debut solo album Rudra with a record release show at the Rubin Museum Theater in New York followed by a number of performances. The album featured original compositions based on Hindustani Classical Raagas, Carnatic Polyrhythms, performed by percussionists Swaminathan Selvaganesh, Ghatam Rajaram from South India alongside saxophonist Premik Russel Tubbs. Bobby Rozario has also been a part of other notable performances, including the Great India Festival in 2018 in Ottawa ON, where Bobby Rozario & his band Rudra performed with band members Swaminathan Selvaganesh, Steve Sandberg, Premik Russel Tubbs, Patrick Carmichael and V. Selvaganesh from the legendary fusion group Shakti followed by a performance by violin maestro L. Subramaniam. In the summer of 2018, Bobby was a part of a live broadcast performance with sitar maestro Pandit Krishna Mohan Bhatt at TV Asia Studios in New Jersey. He also performed at the Coltrane Day Festival in New York and at the TD Niagara Jazz Festival in St. Catharines, ON with his reimagined band Rudra in 2019 featuring Latin drum master Robby Ameen, bassist Melvin Gibbs, and alto saxophonist Premik Russel Tubbs.
Recently, Bobby completed production on his highly anticipated second solo album, "Spellbound," which features a diverse range of world-class Grammy winning musicians, including drum icons such as Dennis Chambers and Robby Ameen, and bass wizards Gary Grainger and James Genus, Melvin Gibbs along with Puerto rican jazz pianist Edsel Gomez, organist Radam Schwartz and keyboardist Neil Alexander.
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