Melodies and grooves from Africa and the Antilles meet the intensity and freedom of contemporary improvisation.

Based in Brattleboro, Vermont, Zabap features seven of New England’s master improvisors: Eugene Uman, keyboards; Derrik Jordan, violin and guitar; Dan Rostov, trumpet; Jamie MacDonald, bass; Doug Raneri, drums; Steve Ferraris and Julian Gerstin, percussion. The ensemble’s members have worked with a vast array of musicians from Sun Ra to Bo Diddley, from salsa star Chocolate Armenteros to punk legend Richard Hell, African bands Habib Koité and Kotoja, as well as with such jazz luminaries as Charlie Haden, Lee Konitz, Joseph Bowie, Michael Brecker, Yusef Lateef, Sonny Fortune, Carlos Averhoff, Valery Ponomarev, Sheila Jordan, Jay Clayton, Bobby Sanabria, and Donald Byrd..

Zabap filters these influences through the deep traditions of Ghana, Cuba, Martinique and Brazil. Some pieces are settings of songs from these traditions, while others are original but with rhythms and instruments from afar. A single piece might segue from a modal Martinican melody to a piano-and-violin duet to a thundering “wall of congas.” With three percussionists in the rhythm section, you can count on surprises … some pretty sounds, and some challenging ones.