Gadi Caplan
Gadi Caplan
With psychedelic drones, modes and odd meters, Israeli born, Brooklyn based composer, Gadi Caplan, wields a progressive fusion of world music with songs that free themselves from labels by taking liberties and leaving behind formulas. While most new progressive rock is more metal based, Caplan’s latest album Morning Sun soars with the power of 70’s rock, the complexities of Jazz, and the evolving nature of classical music.
Originally trained on piano as a child, Caplan switched to guitar in his teens and developed a passion for rock and blues which took him on many journeys throughout the years, such as; India in 2004-2005 where he studied traditional Indian music and sitar, New York City in 2006 where he joined various rock bands, and to Boston in 2007 to study jazz, fusion and funk along with composition at the Berklee College of Music.
Caplan released two albums, Opposite Views (2011) and Look Back Step Forward (2013) which were appreciated by both Jazz and Rock communities alike, receiving welcomed reviews from various magazines and radio play by many stations from Boston and New York to Texas and California, and as far as England, Belgium, Germany, Japan and Israel. Critics have hailed the albums with such remarks as ” Fantastically arranged and written work by an undiscovered genius“, and “Delectable stuff from start to end, ‘opposite views’ is the prog album destined to be talked about for decades if not ever.”
In 2014 Caplan joined NYC based band The Weeping Willards on lead guitar. This new musical venture yielded an unexpected musical collaboration between Willards singer/composer Danny Abowd and Caplan. The two started working on some of Caplan’s sketches and within a few months wrote five new songs together. Two more compositions by Caplan and a collaboration with former fellow InnerCombustion band member Dylan Jackson were added to the Morning Sun sessions, which were mostly recorded and mixed by Willards bass player Jesse Gottlieb. The album varies in sounds and textures tremendously, from soft ballads with classical structures such as La Morena to upbeat electronica on Lili’s Day and all out fusion jams on Hemavati.
Through newfound confidence as a composer and his collaboration with Abowd, Morning Sun is an honest expression of the lifelong worldly musical experience Caplan has acquired, put into modern context and primed for a new generation of bold music fans.
