Ancient Future will perform two concerts Jugalbandi Concerts in Arizona

On August 25, 2006, at 8 p.m., Ancient Future will play at Future Studios at 30 Hozoni Dr. in Sedona, AZ. Call 928-282-9139 for further information on Ancient Future’s first ever appearance in Sedona.

On August 26, 2006, 6 p.m., the Pakistani Information and Cultural Organization will host an Independence Day Celebration Event: Diversity through Fusion, at the Sheraton Crescent Hotel, 2620 W Dunlap Ave, in Phoenix, AZ. Ancient Future will perform in their Guitar/Sitar Jugalbandi ensemble variation in their first show in the Phoenix area since 1996. Tickets to the event are $60. For further information, call 480 515-2030 or email info@pakistaninformation.org.

The concerts feature Matthew Montfort on scalloped fretboard guitar, Pandit Habib Khan on sitar, and Arshad Syed on tabla performing fusion music based on Indian classical music.

Phonetic pronunciation guide:

Jugalbandi (pr: Joo*guhl*buhn*dee)

sitar (pr: sih*tawr)

tabla (pr: tuh*bluh)

Montfort (pr: Mawnt*fort)

Pandit Habib Khan (pr: Pun*dit Haw*beeb Khawn)

Arshad Syed (pr: Ar*shawd Sai*ed )

This ensemble is a version of the popular world fusion music group, Ancient Future, the world’s first and longest running ensemble dedicated to the creation of world fusion music. BILLBOARD calls the group “trendsetters” for contributing to the genre. Established in 1978 by musicians studying at the Ali Akbar College of Music, Ancient Future has grown to become a large chamber ensemble of 28 world music masters with many smaller ensembles within it. This allows for the ensemble to realize its core mission of creating many types of world fusion music.

“Jugalbandi” is a classical North Indian musical duet (literally “tied together”), in this case with the unusual configuration of sitar and guitar accompanied by tabla. Matthew Montfort is a pioneer of the scalloped fretboard guitar (an instrument combining qualities of the South Indian vina and the steel string guitar). This internationally
recognized musical team has enthralled audiences from California to Beirut, Lebanon, where Pandit Habib Khan was described as the “Jimi Hendrix of the sitar” by L’ORIENT LE JOUR, Beirut’s French language newspaper.

Matthew Montfort is the leader of the world fusion music ensemble Ancient Future. Montfort spent three months in intensive study with vina master K.S. Subramanian in order to fully apply the South Indian gamaka (note-bending) techniques to the scalloped fretboard guitar. He has performed concerts world wide, including at the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra on the golden coast of Spain near Barcelona.

Pandit Habib Khan is regarded as one of the best sitar players in the country today. He was born into a family of musicians and can trace his lineage back several generations to when classical music enjoyed the patronage of the nobility and royalty of India. He began his training at the tender age of five under the strict eye of his accomplished father, Ustad Hameed Jaffer Khan. Arshad Syed is an original member of the Diga Rhythm Band, which included tabla master Zakir Hussain and Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart. He also performs with the Zakir Hussain Rhythm Experience, and as an accompanist with top classical Indian music artists such as Ustad Sultan Khan.