Shane Shanahan – Audacity (Live) (Bright Shiny Things, 2025)
With Audacity (Live), virtuoso percussionist Shane Shanahan presents a striking document of global musical dialogue recorded live. The album seamlessly combines Indian, Middle Eastern, Japanese, jazz, rock, and minimalist influences into a cohesive musical statement on unity, resilience, and creativity across cultures.
A longtime member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Grammy-winning Silkroad Ensemble, Shanahan has built a career on cross-cultural musical fluency. He served as Co-Artistic Director of Silkroad from 2017 to 2020 and has performed with artists ranging from Aretha Franklin and Philip Glass to Chaka Khan and Deep Purple. Audacity (Live) is his solo debut as a composer and bandleader, drawing on decades of experience in global percussion traditions.
The ensemble features a stellar cast: vocalist Roopa Mahadevan; composer and fue player Kaoru Watanabe; violinist Megan Gould; guitarist Brad Shepik; and bassist Edward Perez.
According to Mahadevan, “Shane’s familiarity with numerous world traditions and his composing vision is the connective tissue. Under his gentle guidance, we create new worlds—the music speaks for itself.”
Throughout the album, Shanahan uses rhythm as a unifying force. The title track, “Audacity,” pays tribute to Barack Obama’s multicultural legacy by integrating Indonesian scales, African rhythms, jazz, and Japanese taiko. “9 to 5″ explores shifting meters inspired by Balkan traditions, while “Khanda Jog” fuses South Indian ragas with Japanese flute and Middle Eastern frame drums.
“Oil Field Fires” responds to wartime environmental destruction, using aggressive rhythmic interplay to convey urgency. “Invocation” contrasts earthy percussion with ethereal vocal overtones, and “Heavy Heart,” written during the COVID-19 pandemic, juxtaposes relentless grooves with soaring vocals in a search for hope amid crisis.
As Bright Shiny Things’ Louis Levitt notes, Audacity (Live) is “a bold, transformative work” that expands the possibilities of international collaboration.
Author: Tyler Bennet
