Amirtha Kidambi

Amirtha Kidambi “takes a holistic approach to singing, which can mean treating every element as unfixed: Words can be opened up, rendered nonspecific. Melody can be repeated and frozen and stuck in place. Markings of rhythm can become utterly abstract, freed from cadence.” (New York Times).

Amirtha Kidambi is invested in the creation and performance of Creative Music, from free improvisation and avant-jazz, to experimental bands, Carnatic voice and new music. She is a composer, vocalist, scholar, educator, activist and organizer, informed by anti-racism, decolonization and anti-capitalism and is the co-organizer of Musicians Against Police Brutality and co-founder of South Asian Artists in Diaspora (SAAID). As a bandleader, she is the creative force behind the protest infused  band Elder Ones and vocal group Lines of Light, receiving critical praise from such publications as The New York Times, Pitchfork, Downbeat and Wire Magazine. Kidambi topped the categories of “Rising Star Vocalist”, “Rising Star Composer” and “Rising Star Jazz Group” in the Downbeat Critics Poll for 2019 and “Female Vocalist” in El Intruso’s International Critics Poll. Kidambi is a key collaborator in Mary Halvorson’s latest sextet Code Girl, Angels & Demons with Darius Jones, duos with Luke Stewart, Maria Grand and Matteo Liberatore, several projects with William Parker. Kidambi had the opportunity to collaborate with and receive mentorship from Muhal Richard Abrams and Robert Ashley before their passing. She has released records as a leader and collaborator on Northern Spy and Astral Spirits.

http://www.amirthakidambi.com