Ireesh Lal

Some musicians are born to take listeners on a journey. Through their music, they bring alive other places, other times, other cultures, and other ways of seeing. Ireesh Lal is a musician like that – and the trip he's offering is unlike any you've ever experienced. The Venice, CA jazz and electronic composer is a voyager of inner space, and it's no exaggeration to call his latest album a spiritual pilgrimage. Journey Through The Chakras, a dazzling seven-song album – one track for each chakra – takes listeners on a sonic tour of the mystical energy centers of the human body. Lal is determined to ground you, center you, unlock your potential, and set you on a positive path.

"Mvmt VI: Third Eye Chakra," the lead single from the set, is a demonstration of the power, mystery, and pure transcendence that Ireesh Lal can generate. The song is dedicated to the sixth and penultimate chakra: the energy center between the eyes that few practitioners of yoga are ever able to open. Those who do open it gain the power to see into the invisible world and the ability to glean wisdom from what they perceive there. On the track, Ireesh Lal plays his trumpet with the clarity and expressive intonation of a true searcher. His performance is a call to attention – a flash of light in the darkness.

Lal is joined on the track and the album by sitar player Rajib Karmakar, whose brisk runs and deep note-bends echo his bandleader's unique phrasing; bassist Melvin Brannon, who anchors an otherworldly arrangement in the here and now; and percussionist Satnam Ramgotra, whose tabla dances between the machine beats. Together, they've created a unique style that Lal calls "ethnotronica" – music that combines the heat of North American jazz with the meditative cool of traditional Indian sounds and the tight, sleek, immediate delivery of smartly-programmed synthpop.

Aficionados of all three styles have taken notice. The Global Bass Experience suggested that the boldly adventurous music that Ireesh Lal is making is similar to what Miles Davis would be doing if he were still with us. NPR is another longtime supporter: Lal's music has been featured on PRI's international news program "The World." Lal Meri, the band he founded in Los Angeles with singer Nancy Kaye and multi-instrumentalist Carmen Rizzo, was featured on "All Things Considered" and brought its mesmerizing stage show to "Morning Becomes Eclectic." No matter where he's gone or who he's played with, Ireesh Lal has pushed boundaries, challenged listeners (and himself!), and reached for enlightenment. If you're ready for it, he's taking you along on the trip.