Asha Puthli
Asha Puthli, the trailblazing pioneer of jazz, funk, soul, and disco is touring again for the first time in 40 years with a band of stellar musicians put together by Shawn Lee.
From Bombay to London to New York to space. It’s no exaggeration to describe Asha Puthli’s journey as incomparable and an inspiration that is still very much alive.
Very few people can say they recorded with Ornette Coleman whilst also starring in films by Andy Warhol, Louis Malle and Merchant–Ivory. Even fewer people could be attributed to being the pioneer of sensuous disco, directly influencing Donna Summer with her most famous hit ”Space Talk”, a song that was included in a NASA launch to mark 40 years since Apollo 11. If we also include the fact that Jay-Z, 50 Cent and P. Diddy have all sampled her music, Salman Rushdie was inspired to base an entire character on her life, she has been photographed by David Bailey AND dressed by Manolo Blahnik and suddenly we realize that Asha truly stands on a list of exactly one. Utterly unique and truly worthy of the term legend.
Perhaps best known for her stirring vocals on free jazz legend Ornette Coleman’s Science Fiction album, which won her the Downbeat Critics’ Poll award for ”Best Female Jazz Vocalist,” alongside Ella Fitzgerald, Asha has recorded ten solo albums for labels like EMI and CBS/Sony. A quick glance at some of the artists with whom she has recorded, or shared the stage with, is a tribute to her eclecticism: Alice Coltrane, Roy Ayers, Grace Jones, Bill Laswell, Patti Smith, Nina Hagen, Don Cherry, and Django Reinhardt to name a few.
The last few years have seen a huge resurgence in Asha’s status as a groundbreaker like no other. From the Mr Bongo re-releases of her highly regarded albums, to her first critically acclaimed official remix album Disco Mystic: Select Remixes Volume 1 on Naya Beats, now on its 3rd pressing, a whole new generation of fans and music lovers have found her!
Finally the time has come to see the diva live! This year will see her embark on an extended European & Australian tour, her first since the eighties, and it will include performances at Gilles Peterson’s We Out Here Festival and Glastonbury Festival. Her seven piece band, formed specifically for these performances, is headed up by music virtuoso, and multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lee, who has worked with Lana Del Rey, Amy Winehouse, Alicia Keys, UNKLE, St. Etienne, Jeff Buckley, and many more.
Promoter: Stockholm Jazz Festival
Lineup:
Asha Puthli - vocals,
Shawn Lee - drums,
Paul Elliot - percussion,
Ernie McKone - bass,
Carl Hudson - keyboards,
Terry Lewis - guitar,
Val Etienne - choir