VOLKER GOETZE QUARTET

UTHPALA EROSHAN

ORAN ETKIN

JONATHAN TOSCANO

VOLKER GOETZE

Volker Goetze’s brand-new quartet has a truly global focus. The music centers ancient Sri Lankan folktales inspired by Kandyan traditional dances. It highlights stories of reincarnation, sacrifice and selfless devotion. Goetze shares his latest musical vision by uniting prolific clarinetist Oran Etkin, versatile bassist Jonathan Toscano and Sri Lankan guru Uthpala Eroshan. Each musician brings his own richly informed cultural intelligence to the group's sound, which is especially distinguished by the unique timbre of the Gata Bera, a Sri Lankan ceremonial drum played by Eroshan. Compositions for the project are divided between arrangements of traditional melodies and original compositions by Volker Goetze. Goetze’s quartet takes the listener on magical voyages driven by the mesmerizing cadence of Eroshan's rhythms. Omitting a traditional drum set from this jazz quartet creates an unusually open field of opportunity for exciting horn solos and group improvisations over pulsing bass and Gata Bera grooves.

The quartet’s debut album will drop in fall 2024 and a concert is scheduled in March 2024 at the Staten Island Museum.

GAJAGA - Elephant

UKUSA - Eagle