As Is

Sunny Jain Collective | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 1, 2002)
• Original Release Date: August 1, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: NCM East Records
• ASIN: B00006JL2Q
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #932,481 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram

2. Horizontal Pathway

3. As Is

4. Masqualero

5. Longing to Know

6. Blu Vindaloo

7. Mango Festival

8. MTA

9. Aap Jaisa Koi (Somebody Like You)

Editorial Reviews

Nandini D'Souza, Women's Wear Daily, August 17, 2002

Jain loaded the album with jazz numbers, sprinkling in subtle hints of a traditional Indian rhythm and sitar picking.

Product Description

For a drummer as accomplished and inquisitive as SUNNY JAIN, music is something more than the sum of its parts, and his group’s music extends far beyond the restrictive borders of labeled genres. AS IS, the debut album by the Sunny Jain Collective for NCM East Records, is a joyous celebration and synthesis of the musical cultures from the East and West.

On AS IS, Jain weaves the multi-cultural threads of Indian and American cultures into a colorful musical tapestry, the common ground being the spirit of the drum. Jain’s unique sound is filled with subtlety, energy and versatility, reflecting a talent wise beyond his ears. His sense of originality transcends mere technical prowess and is instead captured in the overall picture of composition, musicality and group sound.

AS IS runs the gamut from jazz to free to breakbeats to Bhangra (Punjabi Indian) beats and tackles a gorgeous breadth of tunes, from the trippy "Horizontal Pathway" to the dancey "Aap Jaisa Koi." Mixed and mastered by Grammy nominee producer/engineer Paul Wickliffe [ERIC CLAPTON, MILES DAVIS, RAVI SHANKAR], AS IS truly captures the beautiful palate of sounds created by SJC.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely successful debut for Sunny Jain Collective, August 21, 2003

By 

Vangelis Aragiannis (Greece) - See all my reviews

This review is from: As Is (Audio CD)

Sunny Jain Collective: "As Is" (NCM East)
"As Is" is an absolutely successful debut for the four-member collective of 28 year old Indian-root Sunny Jain (his parents hail from New Delhi). During the last years drummer - leader Sunny Jain has performed with the likes of Kenny Barron, Kyle Eastwood, Norah Jones and Seamus Blake. Growing up in United States he had the privilege to keep up with two different cultures and his first album as a leader reflects this blending. Two more members of the quartet are of Asian origin too: guitarist Rez Abbasi (born in Karachi, Pakistan) and bassist Gary Wang and "As Is" is full of exotic colors and mystery. A large part of this traveling aura springs from the marvellous work of Rez Abbasi on sitar guitar. Abbasi's tone, the way he plays the chords, the triplets and the sixteenth notes, as well as the endings of some phrases are Pat Metheny reminiscent. Saxophonist Steve Welsh - the sole non-Asian rooted - finds no difficulty in matching his colrtanish sound with Indian rhythms and melodies in the traditional "Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram" or in "Aap Jaisa Koi", a song from a popular Indian movie of the `80s. When he lays his sax aside (for example after his solo on "Horizontal Pathway") he turns the sound towards a techno direction by using electronics. Listening to the music of Sunny Jain you feel like turning up the volume and letting its positive energy spread all around in order to share the pleasure with other people.

4.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely successful debut for the Sunny Jain Collective, August 7, 2003

By 

Vangelis Aragiannis (Greece) - See all my reviews

This review is from: As Is (Audio CD)

"As Is" is an absolutely successful debut for the four-member collective of 28 year old Indian-root Sunny Jain (his parents hail from New Delhi). During the last years drummer - leader Sunny Jain has performed with the likes of Kenny Barron, Kyle Eastwood, Norah Jones and Seamus Blake. Growing up in United States he had the privilege to keep up with two different cultures and his first album as a leader reflects this blending. Two more members of the quartet are of Asian origin too: guitarist Rez Abbasi (born in Karachi, Pakistan) and bassist Gary Wang and "As Is" is full of exotic colors and mystery. A large part of this traveling aura springs from the marvellous work of Rez Abbasi on sitar guitar. Abbasi's tone, the way he plays the chords, the triplets and the sixteenth notes, as well as the endings of some phrases are Pat Metheny reminiscent. Saxophonist Steve Welsh - the sole non-Asian rooted - finds no difficulty in matching his colrtanish sound with Indian rhythms and melodies in the traditional "Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram" or in "Aap Jaisa Koi", a song from a popular Indian movie of the `80s. When he lays his sax aside (for example after his solo on "Horizontal Pathway") he turns the sound towards a techno direction by using electronics. Listening to the music of Sunny Jain you feel like turning up the volume and letting its positive energy spread all around in order to share the pleasure with other people.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing!, September 8, 2002

By 

Ralph Ron (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: As Is (Audio CD)

I heard Sunny Jain once before at a festival in Ireland with Clint's son, Kyle and was impressed by his willingness to play outside of a "style." This CD and group is an incredible display of maturity and great music. The roots are definitely jazz, but these guys must be listening to other types of music, because it's not boring. My favorite songs on the album are "Horizontal Pathway" and "As Is." Great textures, melody and sound. Highly recommended!