Shez Raja

“Spellbound”

(Raja Records / Gearbox Records)

Shez Raja – electric bass

with;

John Etheridge, Guthrie Govan – electric guitars

Vasilis Xenopoulos, Tony Kofi – saxophones

Jamie Murray, Sophie Alloway, Dennis Chambers – drums

Zahib Hassan – sarangi

Gurdain Rayatt – tabla

Fiza Haider – voice

Roopa Panesar – sitar

Chris Jerome – keyboards

Ahsan Papu – bansuri

Shez Raja is a British-Asian bass player and composer, originally from the Wirral but now based in London. He began playing classical violin at the age of nine before switching to electric bass at thirteen. After studying at Leeds College of Music Raja became an in demand session musician, his credits covering genres ranging from folk to hip-hop. Among those he has played with are the bands Elephant Talk and Loka plus the hip-hop artist MC Lyte.

Raja formed his regular working band, or Collective, in 2007 and subsequently released three studio albums, “Magica” (2007) “Ten Of Wands” (2008) and Mystic Radikal” (2010). The line-up has included some of the best UK based jazz musicians, among them saxophonist Andy Sheppard and trumpeter Claude Deppa.

In 2014 Raja released the album “Soho Live” recorded over the course of several appearances at London’s famous Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho. Besides Raja’s regular Collective the album also included contributions from illustrious guests such as saxophonist Gilad Atzmon and Soweto Kinch, clarinettist Shabaka Hutchings and trumpeter Jay Phelps.

The studio album “Gurutopia” was released in 2016 on the New York based Dot Time label and featured guest appearances from two leading American jazz musicians, trumpeter Randy Brecker and guitarist Mike Stern. The involvement of these two big name guests represented quite a coup for Raja and helped to ensure that his reputation continued to grow, both in the UK and internationally.

In 2019 Raja released the conceptual “Journey to Shambhala”, the first album to be issued on his own Raja Records imprint. This proved to be the latest in a series of excellent recordings and featured guest appearances by two other contemporary music giants, the Indian percussionist / vocalist Trilok Gurtu and the American guitarist Wayne Krantz.

Raja’s music to date can loosely be placed in the ‘fusion’ bag, energetic and often funky, and fuelled by Raja’s virtuoso Jaco Pastorius / Marcus Miller / Stanley Clarke influenced electric bass playing.

It’s a style that has made Raja’s Collective an exciting live attraction. The man himself is an energetic, enthusiastic and flamboyant stage performer and something of a ‘showman’.  I have been fortunate enough to enjoy highly exciting and hugely enjoyable live shows from the Collective at the 2016 EFG London Jazz Festival and the 2017 and 2021 Wall2Wall Jazz Festivals in Abergavenny.

All these Festival appearances, plus the recordings “Soho Live”, “Gurutopia” and “Journey to Shambhala” have been reviewed elsewhere on the Jazzmann web pages.

In recent years Raja has begun to explore his South Asian heritage more and more, notably on the “Gurutopia” and “Journey to Shambhala” recordings.  This was taken several stages further with “Tales From The Punjab” which was recorded in early 2020 when Raja made a pilgrimage to Pakistan, the land of his ancestors, to explore his cultural and musical roots. 

The musicians that Raja collaborated with during a week long retreat included bansuri flute player Ashan Papu who once played with the great Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1948-97), one of the first true stars of so called ‘World Music’.

“Tales From The Punjab” was recorded at the Digital Fidelity Studio in Lahore, a facility owned by the guitarist Mekaal Hasam, who acted as recording engineer and generally oversaw the entire project. Besides Papu the album personnel also included Fiza Haider (vocals), Zohaib Hassan (sarangi),  Kashif Ali Dani (tabla) and Qamar Abbas (cajon). The album material included three compositions by Raja plus three further collective improvisations and my review of this recording, which forms the basis for much of the above biographical detail, can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/shez-raja-tales-from-the-punjab

Raja’s latest album release embraces both his musical worlds, exploring elements from both east and west and features an international cast of musicians. The personnel includes British based musicians who form part of Raja’s Collective plus several of the Pakistani musicians who appeared on “Tales From The Punjab”. There is also a guest appearance from the great American drummer Dennis Chambers.

The album was recorded at various locations in the UK and Pakistan and appears on Raja’s own Raja Records imprint. He has also signed a deal with the London based label Gearbox Records, who mastered the record and published the music, hence the title “A Gearbox Cut”.

Raja plays his custom made five string Fodera electric bass on every track, but otherwise the personnel varies from piece to piece. Album opener “Quantum spirits” features Raja with a quartet including guitarist John Etheridge, saxophonist Vasilis Xenopoulos and drummer Jamie Murray. It’s a turbo-charged slice of jazz-rock fusion with Asian undertones. Etheridge delivers a searing guitar solo, Raja displays both a virtuoso technique and a strong melodic sense during the course of his feature and Xenopoulos is punchy and incisive on tenor sax. Murray keeps the pot sizzling throughout with a busy and propulsive performance behind the kit.

“Maharishi mindtrip” was recorded in multiple locations with Raja and Murray joined by sarangi player Zahaib Hassan, whose parts were recorded in Lahore. Introduced by a dynamic drum salvo from Murray it’s another high powered piece, but with the distinctive sound of the bowed, three string sarangi giving the music a more pronounced Asian flavour. Hassan is a virtuoso on his chosen instrument and his sound has a curious singing quality that is sometimes reminiscent of the human voice.

Title track “Spellbound” features Raja in the company of an unusually configured quartet featuring saxophonist Tony Kofi, London based tabla player Gurdain Rayatt and US drummer Dennis Chambers. Kofi soars above the rhythmic ferment generated by the combination of bass guitar, tabla and drum kit, with the leader deploying electronic effects to generate a squelchy, sinister sound on electric bass. Raja adopts a very different high register sound on his solo, another virtuoso outing that transcends the usual limits of the bass. Chambers, a real fusion heavyweight, delivers a suitably dynamic drum feature.

“Together We Fly” is another multi-location recording with Raja joined by London based musicians Roopa Panesar (sitar) and Sophie Alloway (drums). Vocalist Fiza Haider, who also appeared on “Tales From The Punjab”, was recorded in Lahore. It introduces a welcome change of mood and pace and is a ballad featuring the haunting sounds of Haider’s vocals and Panesar’s sitar. The leader is content to occupy more of a supportive role, combining well with Alloway’s brushed drums as voice and sitar gently soar.

“Lucid path to the golden lotus” introduces yet another instrumental combination with Raja, Alloway and Rayatt joined by Ashan Papu on bansuri flute, recorded in Lahore. Raja’s funky bass lines and the rhythmic grooves of tabla and drum kit underpin the airy sounds of the bansuri, with Papu’s playing sometimes achieving something of a vocal quality.

“Vishnu” teams Raja with Etheridge, Xenopoulos and Chambers and also incorporates a tambura like drone, although it’s not certain quite who generates this. Elsewhere there’s plenty of taut guitar and sax led riffing underpinned by Chambers’ powerful backbeat, with Etheridge’s guitar periodically breaking cover to snarl provocatively. A more melodic section follows featuring Raja’s fluid bass beneath a short series of guitar and sax exchanges. Raja’s bass then bubbles beneath a powerful drum onslaught from Chambers, before the leader breaks cover with a percolating bass solo. The piece then resolves itself with a return to the earlier unison riffing.

“Through the multiverse” features a combination of Raja, Kofi, Panesar and Alloway. It features the fascinating combination of heavy funk grooves and ringing sitar sounds as Panesar shares the solos with saxophonist Kofi. Both soloists deliver virtuoso performances, the very different sounds of their instruments making for an effective contrast. There’s also some terrific unison playing with both Raja and Alloway also making huge contributions to the success of a piece that represents something of an album highlight.

The album concludes with two live performances recorded at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho by a quintet featuring Raja, Xenopoulos and Alloway plus guitarist Guthrie Govan and keyboard player Chris Jerome. First up is an alternative version of album opener “Quantum spirits” with Govan unleashing a powerful solo that makes good and extensive use of his range of effects.

We also hear “Rabbits”, a tune that first appeared on the “Gurutopia” album, with Mike Stern in the guitar chair. This live version is a ten minute funk and fusion workout, energetically delivered. Raja takes the first solo on electric bass, deploying his effects pedals to give a wah wah sound. Guthrie also makes effective use of the various gizmos at his disposal. The Shez Raja Collective is an exciting and entertaining live band, as evidenced by the ecstatic audience reaction at the conclusion of this tune.

Despite the multifarious personnel “Spellbound” is a remarkably coherent recording with Raja’s bass a unifying force as he explores a broad range of music that straddles the boundaries of east and west. The playing of every musician involved is exceptional and the performances are dynamic and exciting. “Spellbound” is a worthy addition to an excellent catalogue of recordings and should ensure that Raja’s star will continue to rise.

“Spellbound” was released on June 20th 2025 and will be officially launched at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London on 17th September 2025. In the meantime Raja will play a date at the Future Yard venue on his native Wirral on July 18th. See http://www.shezraja.com for further details and to purchase recordings.

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