Press
JamBands.com Review
(International Orange performance at The Blue Note)
Humbly taking the stage at the Blue Note for the clubs Late Night Groove Series on a late December night was the trio International Orange. A start time only minutes after three giants named Medeski, Martin and Wood shared the stage could prove to be an intimidating task for many musicians, and perhaps that was the case but you couldn’t tell by the sound of it. However, let’s give credit where credit is due. The unassuming musicians that make up International Orange are no strangers to the NYC music scene as each of them individually has been up to some big things locally and abroad in one form or another.
Interview
Jazz Improv Magazine
February 2008
By Eric Nemeyer
(Todd Isler)
JI: Tell us about some of the experiences you had visiting Africa that expanded your awareness about people, your sensitivity, and contributed to your artistic development?
TI: My trip to Africa was definitely eventful. I went in 2002 with a great musician, Stefan Bauer. He played vibes and on this trip, a big marimba. This trip was in some ways a test for me. Stefan had this music that was very through composed and intricate. Being a groove oriented player and being in Africa, I was having a tough time philosophically, getting with the repertoire. I had to swallow my pride and get with the program. Eventually I did, and things improved. We played in Ivory Coat, Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya. We drove through Benin and Togo and just outside of Abidjan, our driver fell asleep at the wheel. We wound up in a ditch. Very close call. The best thing that happened on that trip was that I got to play with a Fela Kuti-type band in Lagos – quite a highlight in my life.
JI: What recording or recordings initially sparked your interest in jazz, and inspired your desire to perform?
TI: I was introduced to a very wide range of stuff at an early age. I mean every thing from Errol Garner to Weather Report. I think the first jazz concert I saw was the VSOP Quintet around ‘77. I had no idea what was happening technically, but I was so blown away by the whole thing, especially Tony Williams. I didn’t leave the basement for a month after that.
JI: Tell us about the unique sounds you bring to performances, recordings, ensembles with a few of the instruments you play: Kanjira, Janoon, and Hadgini.
TI: Along with drum set, I play some hand drums from around the world. M friend Jamey Haddad invented a drum called Hadgini. This instrument was made with our technique in mind. It’s an udu drum with two connected chambers. The pitch can be changed by controlling the amount of airflow through the ports on top of each chamber. It can produce deep liquid sounds as well as percussive hits. Another drum that can change pitch is the Kanjira from South India. I use it more like a talking drum than a classical Indian instrument. I also play different frame drums, which can simulate a whole kit in some settings. My newest drum is an Uduboo. It was invented by John Neptune in Japan. It’s made from the widest bamboo found on earth. It has two ports on top and it’s a little more than two feet long. Like Mridangam, it is played with both hands on the ends.
JI: Tell us about the concept of your first CD back in 1999, and how the music developed from concept to sound, and your selection of personnel, and a bit about your current project.
TI: My first CD as a leader, Two Step, Duets And Beyond was more of a calling card than a concept. I did it to showcase my drumming and hand drumming. I had some incredible musicians on it including Dave Kikoski, the late great Sam Furnace, as well as Cidinho Texeira. My new CD, Soul Drums, has more of a concept to it. There are five original tunes and two covers – Stevie Wonder’s, “Bird Of Beauty” and Joe Zawinul’s, “Badia.” Between each tune there are percussion vignettes, utilizing all the instruments I play.
“
Joel Harrison, the festival’s curator, performed with Anupam Shobhakar on the sarod, a fretless Indian lute with sympathetic strings, and Todd Isler playing exotic percussion instruments. Mr. Harrison’s instrument was a National steel guitar, and his project with Mr. Shobhakar was a colloquy between two vocabularies full of bending, sliding notes: blues and Indian music. It was a fusion of equals, respecting differences as much as similarities: the liquid microtonal curves of the sarod lines and the twangy urgency of the steel guitar, the disparate modes of each idiom, the separate kinds of percussive acceleration each instrument could summon on the way to a big finish.””
— NY Times review, 2012
Reviews of “You Can Ta Ka Di Mi This”
“If you want to work on something to raise your skills, this is the book. Whether you use the info in the context Todd lays it out or creatively transfer these skills to any musical situation, you will have (so to say) ‘earned your keep’. An excellent workbook, not for the faint hearted.”
- David Liebman
“To expand your personal vocabulary beyond your instrument you have to study the world of music…..intervals, melodies, harmonies and rhythms have to vibrate in your body!! This book (You Can Ta Ka Di Mi This) will begin to help you focus and do just that.”
- Joe Lovano
“A great book! Todd has clearly and methodically opened the door into the mysteries and intricacies of South Indian Rhythm. Bravo!”
- Mark Feldman
“This book presents a clear and direct path to experiencing the FEEL of pulse and rhythm. The exercises are fun and mentally challenging while incorporating the use of our physical selves for a whole body experience of music. Todd Isler has found a way to illuminate the logic and beauty within even the most complex rhythmic system, and this guide will be invaluable for vocalists and instrumentalists alike.”
- Judi Silvano, Vocalist and Educator
To Order:
Venmo: send $25. to Todd-Isler. Price INCLUDES shipping/handling. Don’t forget your address!