This local jazz duo is ready to try some things at Berlin

Twin Cities-based jazz musicians Kavyesh Kaviraj and Omar Abdulkarim are forging new sounds, and they’re including the audience on the soundtrack. After an exhilarating concert at the Dakota last month, the duo is set to record a live album on Dec. 28 at Minneapolis’ Berlin. 

The idea, Kaviraj said, is to model the recording in the style of 1960s and 70s performances where the audience became part of the sound’s texture. “It’s bound to be a kind of electric experience,” he said.

Though rooted in jazz, the musicians have eclectic influences. Kaviraj, a pianist, grew up studying classical music, including Carnatic music from South India, before learning jazz as an older teen. He also experiments in hip-hop, gospel, R&B and funk. The show with Abdulkarim will top off Kaviraj’s December residency at Berlin focused on collaboration, called Kavy Tries Things. 

Abdulkarim, who started learning trumpet from his father at 14 months old, has played with jazz legends, like Roy Hargrove and José James, and collaborated with R&B and hip-hop artists like Lauryn Hill. “And I’m blessed to still make music with my dad. He’s 90 years old. He’s still playing,” he said. 

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Even when playing the standards, Kaviraj and Abdulkarim “make it our own,” Abdulkarim said. “That’s the duty of the artist – to reflect what’s going on now.”

The recent engagement at the Dakota marked the first time the two performed together as a duo. Their set moved fluidly between touchstones from the jazz canon to originals, like Kaviraj’s poignant “Lullaby” – a piece inspired by the song his grandmother sang to his mother.

Kaviraj’s light, articulate improvisation gave Dizzy Gillespie’s “Con Alma” a bell-like, dreamy sound. Later, he offered a mournful interpretation of Benny Golson’s “I Remember Clifford.” 

Abdulkarim, dressed in a vivid top by local designer Ramadan Designs, shifted between breathy whispers and gritty growls, and played with a hybrid flugelhorn and trumpet designed by Swiss maker Thomas Inderbinen. “The flugelhorn is a little more conical and has a more mellow sound,” Abdulkarim said. “The trumpet is a little more brassy.” His instrument splits the difference.

“I think it was very vulnerable,” Kaviraj said after the Dakota show. Abdulkarim agreed, adding that the stripped-down format heightened the intensity. “There was nothing to cover up anything.”

In their live recording at Berlin, they’ll be joined by Atlanta-based drummer Terreon Gully, L.A.-based saxophonist Logan Richardson, and local collaborators Ted Olsen on bass and Kevin Washington on drums.

Kaviraj and Abdulkarim first met more than a decade ago and gradually realized their shared musical interests and instincts. Kaviraj recalls watching Abdulkarim playing music by brass great Roy Hargrove. “I realized not only is Omar musically brilliant and has a lot of prowess, but also his humanity shines through the music. And that was something that I wanted to do, too.”

Abdulkarim likens their musical collaboration to a romantic relationship. “Sometimes you just click,” he said. “It’s an energy that you feel. You don’t have to think about it. It’s just there.” 

Still, the effort never stops to get the music right. “When you’re learning these melodies, you have to learn the chord changes, and then you have to spend time exploring, trying different sounds. It’s very demanding,” Abdulkarim said.

Both musicians emphasized the oral traditions at the root of jazz. “It’s like in the church,” Abdulkarim said. “Somebody will sing you a melody and you learn it on your horn, or you learn on a keyboard.” 

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Kaviraj sees parallels with the Indian musical training of his youth. “It’s primarily taught by singing,” he said. “The little nuances are so incredibly precise that you have to listen to the music to know it.”

At Berlin, their lifetime of influences will be in conversation through their music, witnessed by a live audience. In a way, the work is a rebuke of music created by artificial intelligence. AI, said Kaviraj, can only create “based on what’s already been there.” he said. “But I think the role of an artist is to push the format forward.”

Omar Abdulkarim and Kavyesh Kaviraj’s Live Album Recording takes place Sun., Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. at Berlin, 204 North First St., Minneapolis ($20-$25). More information here. 

Additional ‘Kavy Tries Things’ December engagements: 

Kavy Tries Things (feat. MMYYKK & Omar Abdulkarim)

Kaviraj will play a solo set of acoustic and electronic music, followed by a trio with Abdulkarim and multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, and music producer MMYYKK (who will join Abdulkarim in January as part of the Great Northern Festival). Sun., Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. at Berlin, 204 North First St., Minneapolis ($15). More information here.  

Kavy Tries Things: Kavyesh Kaviraj Presents Fables

Accompanied by bassist Jeff Bailey, drummer Kevin Washington, saxophonist Pete Whitman, and Abdulkarim, Kaviraj shares his debut album, Fables. Sunday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m. at Berlin, 204 North First St., Minneapolis ($20-$25). More information here. 

Kavy Tries Things: KAVYTATIONAL 

Kaviraj performs with drummer Ben Ehrlich and bassist Graydon Peterson, plus special guests. Sun., Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. at Berlin, 204 North First St., Minneapolis ($15). More information here.

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