Editor's Picks

Qobuzissime: Ganavya

At the Moores Opera House in Houston, Texas, Ganavya brought together over thirty artists to craft an album that seamlessly blends spiritual jazz, sacred South Asian music, poetry, prayers, and ambient soundscapes, while also paying a beautiful tribute to the final period of Alice Coltrane’s work.

Ganavya 2024 © Carlos Cruz

Ganavya 2024 © Carlos Cruz Ganavya © Carlos Cruz (Carlos Cruz Sol)

By Jeff Laughlin

The Qobuzissime Award celebrates extraordinary talent that moves us with its artistry, vision, and depth, and Daughter of a Temple by Ganavya does exactly that. More than an album, it is a transformative event, a sacred invitation to explore humanity’s shared spirit.

Daughter of a Temple is not an album but an event marking Ganavya’s profound entry into a sacred space—one she graciously opens to her audience. Born in New York and raised in India, Ganavya invites us to experience a richly textured journey. The instrumentation reflects the diversity of over thirty collaborating artists, seamlessly transitioning from spoken word to ambient sounds to bebop-inspired exchanges. Ganavya integrates harps, brass, sitar, bells, rosaries, and a wide array of percussion, accompanied by ethereal voices that enchant and captivate.

The recording is dense but never loses focus. The result is an absolutely magnificent work, worthy of its stellar guest list, including Immanuel Wilkins, Shabaka Hutchings, Vijay Iyer, Esperanza Spalding, Wayne and Carolina Shorter, Charlotte Brathwaite, Charles Overton... Behind the console, the album was initially recorded and mixed by Ryan Renteria, from the Berklee College of Music, then by Nils Frahm, co-founder of the LEITER label, in his Berlin studio. Additional production is by Esperanza Spalding, Rajna Swaminathan and Felix Grimm and the album was mastered by Zino Mikorey, who has also worked with Ólafur Arnalds, Penguin Café, Moby, Honey Dijon and Mouse on Mars. Impressive, to say the least!

One of the album’s central themes is humanity’s capacity to come together, to gather peacefully and in harmony. Despite being filled with an abundance of artists, inspirations, and references to the pioneers who made such a work possible, it radiates Ganavya’s clear intent: to unite us in an atmosphere of friendship, devotion, and shared reflection. As listeners, we are brought together in this spirit of peace, which makes the recipient of our latest Qobuzissime award so remarkable.