The group has an expansive musical background. Tabla master, Badal Roy was instrumental in bringing the sound of tabla to the jazz idiom and has recorded and performed with Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders, Herbie Mann, John McLaughlin and Ornette Coleman. Ken Wessel was a member of Ornette Coleman's Prime Time from 1988-2000 and can be heard on Coleman's acclaimed Tone Dialing. He has also worked with Arthur Prysock, Gloria Lynne, David Leibman, and slide guitarists, Debashish Bhattacharya and V.M Bhatt. Stomu Takeishi, a ubiquitous fixture in New York City's downtown scene, has performed with Henry Threadgill as well as with Cuong Vu, Myra Melford, Dave Tronzo and Paul Motian.

Badal and Ken met in Ornette's band and started Alankar with bassist Stomu Takeishi over 10 years ago. Employing some ideas from Ornette's harmolodics, with elements of jazz and Indian raga, Alankar has managed to forge a truly unique and compelling sound over the years. Guests who have played with the trio include trombonist, Steve Turre, bansuri master, Steve Gorn, saxophonists Tim Ries and Billy Drewes, santur player Tarun Bhattacharya and others.

About their CD, Daybreak (included in Top Ten Critics' Picks of 1998 in Jazziz magazine), Guitar Player magazine said "...sublime beauty can be powerful too, and in that sense, this is one of the finer power trio discs in recent memory." The band has been performing to enthusiastic houses both in clubs, festivals and concert halls. They have performed at numerous venues including the Vermont Jazz Center, Tonic, Rutgers Summerfest, World Music Institute, Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival, and the Guggenheim Museum WorldBeat Jazz Series. This is Alankar's first performance in New York City in over a year and it should be an exciting show.

Satalla is located at 37 W. 26th St. in Manhattan (between Broadway and 6th ave.). For information, call 212-576-1155. [www.satalla.com] Tickets are $15. There will be two sets of music starting at 9:30 pm.

ALANKAR

Badal Roy - tabla, percussion
Ken Wessel - guitar
Stomu Takeishi - bass

Wednesday, July 13
9:30 PM at Satalla
37 W. 26th St. (Broadway/6th Ave.)
info: 212-576-1155 www.satalla.com