James Waterman

THE ELEPHANT KING

The Elephant King represents the cultural wisdom embedded in the rich tapestry of music and architecture found throughout India and Ghana, from where the music derives its polyrhythmic and mathematical influences. The piece is written in Sargam, the ancient Indian system of musical syllables, sung by Mumbai native and celebrated Hindustani vocalist Saili oak, with rhythmic recitation by award-winning musician and instrumentalist Neelamjit Dhillon. The official music video for Los Angeles-based music collective Bridge to Everywhere's performance of The Elephant King from visionary animator Annapurna Kumar explores the intersections of ancient musical languages and symbolism found in Indian classical music and West African rhythms. These performances are captured and augmented with rotoscoping over live footage within this multimedia celebration of cross-cultural connections of rhythm, sound and intricate designs in combination with West African imagery provided by master Ghanaian American musician and dancer Yeko Ladzekpo-Cole.

SOLOISTS
Saili Oak, voice
Philip Graulty, guitar
Yvette Holzwarth, violin
Chris Votek, Cello
Neelamjit Dhillon, alto saxophone and recitation
James Waterman, tabla

ENSEMBLE
Derrick Skye, conductor
Rachel Iba, concertmaster
Hannah Arista, voice
Anna Kouchnerov, violin
Yvette Holzwarth, violin
Nikki Shorts, viola
Neelamjit Dhillon, alto saxophone
Philip Graulty, electric guitar
Dimitris Mahlis, oud
Chris Votek, cello
Mark Gutierrez, electric bass
Dr. Kim Nguyen Tran, tanpura
James Waterman, drumset, gyil, percussion, tabla

Recorded, Edited, Mixed, and Mastered by Ian Smith
Album Art created by Annapurna Kumar

BRIDGE TO EVERYWHERE LEADERSHIP
Philip Graulty, Executive Director
Derrick Skye, Artistic Director
Dr. Kim Nguyen Tran, Associate Director/Resident Ethnomusicologist
Marc Nimoy, Associate Director
Ian Smith, Production Director

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Philip Graulty, President
Dr. Kim Nguyen Tran, Vice President
Marc Nimoy, Treasurer and Secretary
Robert Cresswell, Director
Kateri Lirio, Director
Gabrielle Rosse, Director
Stephanie Terrazas, Director