Eliyahu Sills, Evan Fraser, & Surya Prakasha (USA)

Eliyahu Sills, Evan Fraser, and Surya Prakasha are the three members of BOLO, a Bay Area trio whose music draws from jazz, West African, North African, and Indian traditions. Sills plays bansuri flute and has led The Qadim Ensemble, whose album reached #7 on Billboard’s World Music charts. Fraser is a multi-instrumentalist involved in several world music and electronica projects, including Dirtwire, whose album hit #1 on iTunes’ world music charts; he plays West African kamale n’goni, kalimba, and various percussion instruments. Prakasha is a drummer active in the Bay Area jazz and world music scenes and a student of musician

Jai Uttal.

Featured Song:

“Sunshine (Putumayo Version)” is drawn from the trio’s self-titled debut album, Bolo (2015). For this version, the song has been re-arranged as an instrumental, allowing the interplay between Sills’s bansuri flute, Fraser’s kamale n’goni (a West African harp), and Prakasha’s drum kit to take center stage. The bansuri, an Indian bamboo flute, carries the melody with a warm, breathy tone, riding a groove that connects South Asian and West African musical sensibilities.

Artist Website

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