SIMPLY SCHUBERT

THE BANGALORE MEN - VOCAL ENSEMBLE

PAYAL JOHN - SOPRANO

JONAS OLSSON - BARITONE
AND NATALLIA KAPYLOVA - PIANO 

 This was the first time I was attending a recital that was dedicated to only one composer. Whatever apprehensions I had about this were peremptorily dismissed from the first notes of the smooth, perfectly balanced harmonies of The Bangalore Men.

     The concert presented by ‘The Bangalore Men’ an eleven-singer all-male voice ensemble, directed by Jonas Olsson, was simply named ‘SIMPLY SCHUBERT’ after Franz Peter Schubert, the composer whose music we would hear for the next 90 minutes.

     The featured soloists as named in the informative and well-designed programme that was given to all of us were Payal John - Soprano, Jonas Olsson – Baritone, and Natalia Kapylova – Piano. 

  

     Composer Franz Schubert, 1797 – 1828, born and bred in Vienna, Austria, was the romantic poet of music. And the music of Schubert bridged the ‘Romantic period’ and the ‘Classical period’ of classical music. His music was classical in design but romantic and passionate in emotion.

     While Schubert did in fact compose a few poems of his own, most of the poems have been written by various poets, but the poems were merely vehicles for the music which was supreme. Schubert, in staggering productivity set to music some six hundred romantic songs known as lieder, and song cycles, narrative poems meant for voice and piano. What’s unusual is that in Schubert’s songs, the human voice and the piano got equal importance, with the piano often interpreting the poem instead of the voice.

     And the Vocal ensemble, The Bangalore Men, and the pianist and soloists

Interpreted and brought to life the music of Franz Schubert in a manner that was true to the music, though the whole programme was sung in German.

     The evening’s performance began with a song called ‘The Gondolier’, Schubert’s version of a barcarole, a folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers. This lilting song was sung by the ensemble in perfect harmony, in perfect balance, with a perfect blending of voices to create the image of gentle waves; the cadences, the texture, the modulation, and the absence of any dissonance made a huge impression. The Bangalore Men have to be acknowledged for their superlative vocal expression, and control.

     The ensemble went on with the same unerring exactitude and command over the music, through the programme of 18 songs, interspersed with solos by Payal John, Jonas Olsson and pianist Natallia Kapylova.

      Payal John’s first solo was ‘Ave Maria’, which she sang in German, but her voice, a rich soprano-towards-mezzo was crystal-clear, rounded and very expressive, so one felt the depth-of-beauty this music expresses. Ave Maria, to this listener, was unusual for Schubert, though it is arguably his most recognised work, perhaps because he was best known for his love-songs and this was the only religious song in the programme, all the rest being love songs, with the exception of the 23^rd Psalm. Payal John sang three other songs accompanied by pianist Natallia Kapylova, a singer’s ideal accompanist, who followed the sentiment of the composition with empathy.  

     Jonas Olsson, long time resident of Bengaluru, is Swedish, a trained musician from the Gothenburg conservatory, he has performed in Hyderabad before, first as a solo counter-tenor, and then as part of the Madrigals etc. In this programme, he was the Baritone soloist, he performed ‘Erlkonig’ D 328. This song is really a narrative dialogue between three people and the soloist has to adjust his voice to be three people in the same song. Jonas acquitted himself well, he had the right timbre of voice for this and the ability to bring out the drama of the song; because Schubert had perhaps written it for a countertenor who can switch to Baritone because of the huge range and dynamic contrast needed to express the sentiment of the song. The pianist in this piece had her work cut out for her due to the repetitive patterns that have to be played at a good speed, yet both the playing and singing were remarkably good.

      Jonas Olsson also sang ‘Der Doppelganger’ towards the end of the programme, which was also an exercise in contrasts.  

     Natallia Kapylova, from Belarus, was the next soloist, playing ‘impromptu’s No 3 and 4’, from Schubert’s four Impromptus Op 90 D 899. ‘Impromptu No 3’, was pure, quiet and flowing, like happily walking along a tree-shaded rippling stream, and the next, ‘Impromptu No 4’, quite a contrast, though quiet, it was more percussive with the left hand, yet the sound of the higher notes combined with the bass notes was equally soothing. Natalya’s fine sense of dynamics and her dextrous fingers running up and down the scales showed her sensitivity to Schubert’s pretty impromptu’s.

     There were four other soloists from amongst The Bangalore Men ensemble, the first was Chinglang Roumon, Baritone, who sang the difficult piece ‘And Die Music’ well. A soloist from amongst the basses, Subin Thomas, sang ‘Der Tod and das Madchen’, he too acquitted himself well displaying good control even on the really low notes. The third soloists from the ensemble was tenor, Timmy Yesudasan who sang ‘Standchen’ from ‘Schwanengesang’, he impressed, as he seemed more at ease as a soloist and presented the song with flair.  

     I must confess that my apprehensions about this programme were not about listening to an evening of Schubert, but about how well a group of part-time musicians could do justice to the music. It’s true, all the musicians on stage do other work to earn their living, and only make time, when they get the time, to pursue music, practice and rehearse. This is true of the whole men’s ensemble, as well as a specially trained and beautiful voice like Payal John, who I reckon, has so few opportunities to perform Western classical music, and whose gift, besides inherent talent, is the result of rigorous training to make her whole ‘being’ an instrument of music.

     But my misgivings were quite unfounded, and the whole programme was carried out with a rare professionalism, and one has to exercise restraint from being hyperbolic in describing the excellent production and performance of Schubert’s music by the musicians on stage at the Hyderabad Public School. 

     And for this opportunity to listen to this great ensemble, The Bangalore Men, whom Jonas Olsson is part of; and Payal John, and Natallia Kapylova, we have to acknowledge Amita Desai of The Goethe Zentrum, Hyderabad, The principal, staff and students of The Hyderabad Public School and the efforts of Joe Koster, the multi-tasking Swiss army knife of the Hyderabad Western Music Foundation.    

The Hyderabad Western Music Foundation   http://www.hydmusic.com/?q=node/432

YASHASWI SIRPOTDAR'S SILKEN RIBBONS OF SONG

     As I entered the banquet Hall of Secunderabad Club, for the ‘In Continuum’ Concert in July 2016, late, in true Hyderabadi tradition, on a rainy monsoon morning, it was as if I had entered a warm and embracing concert room filled with mellow reverberations.

      It was the effect of the music of Yashaswi Sirpotdar, a singer of disarming charm and dextrous ability whose obvious love of music was infectiously communicated to an appreciative audience. Onstage to capture the music’s vibrancy and emotion - flanking Yashaswi Sirpotdar were Suhaas Shastri on tabla on her right, and Rahul Gole on harmonium on her left and Kalyani Gajre on tanpura behind her left shoulder, Suhaas Shastri and Rahul Gole, themselves intelligent, engaging and sympathetic accompanists, always in sync, always together. In complete sangat.

     Listening to music ‘live’ is itself a privilege, so we will recollect the well-conceived concert as a captivated member of the audience, for which we must thank the Bararia family for organising this concert as part of ‘In Continuum’ the annual concerts they organise, beginning from 2014, to revive, after a gap of many years, Hindustani music concerts that elders in their family had started way back in 1973-74.  

     Yashaswi Sirpotdar began the morning’s performance with ‘Mian Ki Todi’. Two compositions - (a) Vilambit or the slow tempo set in Ek Taal of 12 beats. (b) Drut or fast tempo set in Teen Taal of 16 beats.

     She went on to ‘Ahir Bhairav’. Two compositions (a) Madhya Laya (laya means tempo, so it would be middle tempo, neither vilambit nor drut) set to Ek Taal. (b) Drut set to Ek Taal.

     Her approach to the music was engaging. Glorious and solid - straight ahead, no nonsense and with no flashy experimentation - in true Hindustani classical tradition.

     After the short Interval the concert resumed with ‘Sur Malhar’ also known as Surdasi Malhar. In its pure form it is Malhar, which is a season specific Raga, meant for the rainy season. It's a 'big' Raga. In this she sang two compositions: (a) Vilambit Teen Taal (b) Drut Teen Taal.

     Displaying fine musicianship, Yashaswi’s clear tone perfectly captured the essence of the raga. And her explorations of the raga, however deep, were never uncharted. Her thematic development never strayed from good structure and a symmetrical, rich flow of ideas. There was always clarity, logic in her communication. She never for a second, lost track of where she was, she was always in control; always aware of the final destination.

     ‘Thumri’, a sub-genre of Hindustani, is an essential vehicle for expressing all the rasas of love, like longing, anguish, jealousy, envy etc. The composition she sang had been made popular by the late, great, Shobha Gurtu. In a Thumri, when the lyric has something to do with the beginning of monsoon, dark clouds and of separation and longing, it is known as Kajri. This piece was a Kajri set in Keherwa Taal which is of eight beats.

     The last was a Marathi 'Abhang'. "Vaikunthichya Raya". It's also set in Keherwa Taal, but the style of playing this taal is typical of bhajans. It's also known as 'Bhajani Theka'.  

     Yashaswi Sirpotdar’s musicianship is first class. Her technique is beyond reproach. Her voice and song throughout the concert, was like silken ribbons floating and waving in a cloudless sky, just what we needed on a cloudy monsoon morning, she soared away full of great ideas, glistening over her embellishments. Clean. Clear and precise.  

     The accompanists Suhas Shastri and Rahul Gole, as we said before, were accomplished musicians and together with Yashaswi Sirpotdar gave us a display of class and dedication, a performance that wove silken patterns of grace and elegance and delivered this music to us in the audience with such pleasure and enthusiasm. 

      Photographs and expert inputs from Amit Bararia 

Of a Sublime & Refined Grace - Kuchipudi by Sindhuja

     A solo performance by Sindhuja presented by SICA on the inaugural day of Festival of classical dances ‘Nrithyotsav-2016’ at Ravindra Bharati, Hyderabad, 27th June 2016

     It was apropriate for Sindhuja to open the Nrithyotsav-2016, Festival of Dance. The rapt and appreciative audience at Ravindra Bharati was treated to an hour long Kuchipudi performance of gentle, effortless grace which set the standard high for the rest of the festival of dance.

     From the opening verse on Lord Ganesha in a dance composed by Dr.Yashoda Thakore with music by Sri D.S.V. Sastry in Raga Arabhi, Sindhuja was the epitome of delicate grace and refinement.  

     The rest of the performance comprised of dances that were - a Tyagaraja Kriti in Raga Kambhoji and Adi Tala; dance composed by Dr. Yashoda Thakore.

     The story of ‘Varaha avatara’, Vishnu’s incarnation as a boar. Dance composed by Dr.Yashoda Thakore, on a composition of Utukkad Venkata Subbayar, Nadamurali ganavilola in Ragamalika and Adi tala.

     A Javali, by Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer, Apudu manasu in Raga Khamas, Rupaka Tala, dance composed and taught by Smt. Bragha Bessel. The dancer enacts her inability to resist, contain herself or exercise self-control when the giver of boons, Lord Venkateswara desires to indulge in love-game and Cupid shoots arrows.

     A Thillana, the lyric in this tillana praises Krishna Rajendra Wodeyar of Mysore. In raga Jhanjuti and Adi tala, dance composed by Dr.Yashoda Thakore.

     The dancer, Sindujha, performed all these pieces with a combination of lightnesss and intensity that was extraordinary.

     Her dramatisations in dance detailed the moods, expression and the words of the song with perfect communication. Her mobile face expressing joy, petulance, wonder, exasperation, pride and contentment in turns, as the story required, so that the audience understood the story through her facial expressions and movements and steps.

   Throughout the programme Sindujha presented the richness and beauty of Kuchipudi

in its most classical form, especially in the splendid tillana, where she performed a gamut of interestingly woven abstract dance, nritta (pure dance), in aesthetic and  creative variations and movements to set syllables.

     All-in-all, an evening of audience delight. Whether it was her interpretation of Rasa (emotion), Bhava (mood), Sahitya (lyric) Abhinaya (expression), The eyes of the audience were focused on Sindhuja and her delicious detailing of dance. It was an evening of sublime grace.  

 

Artist profile: Sindhuja, is an Architect but has put architecture on hold while she concentrates on dance and does her PhD from the Department of Dance, University of Hyderabad. Sindhuja is under the guidance of Dr. Yashoda Thakore, a major Kuchipudi dancer, an author, an educationist and an inspiration to many.

     A graded artist by Doordarshan, Sindhuja has performed Kuchipudi all over India at prestigious events and runs her own school of dance. And  due to her rigorous grounding in Carnatic music she adds an exceptional passion and understanding to her interpretation of the music.  

Photographs: Pranay Rupani

DANCING TOWARDS KINDNESS, COMPASSION AND RESPONSIBILITY - Nine Kathak Dancers. Six Tibetan Buddhist monks

Shovana Narayan - Kathak Dance Theatre 

     The six Tibetan Buddhist monks did not dance. Yet they were a compelling presence on stage and an integral part of the ballet that Shovana Narayan had created to tell tales of the Buddha and of emperor Ashoka in choreographic brush strokes of ballet, at Ravindra Bharati in Hyderabad on the 3^rd of April 2016.

     The costume-colours of the dancers and the carefully designed stage and lghting matched the ochre robes of the Tibetan Buddhist monks while they moved in procession. Chanting sometimes. Clapping cymbals sometimes. Strategically and aesthetically placing themselves on the platforms placed at two levels on the stage, on and around which, the principle dancer Shovana Narayan, and the
graceful and energetic Kathak dancers, six female and two male dancers, worked their magic. Swooping and swirling around the monks.

     Shovana Narayan the the principal dancer and choreographer, commanded the eyes of the audience when she made a her entries, lending more drama to the already dramatic ballet, while she pirrouetted and whirled; tracing elegant arabesques with her arms and etching the floor with her rhythmic footwork.

     The very accomplished dancers of the troupe were excellent to watch too, while they twirled and swayed and danced to the specially composed and recorded music, to tell the stories, the katha, that kathak is named for, which Shovana Narayan had choreographed so spectacularly.

    Each dance, or movement, told different stories. Of Ashoka, who realises the futility of war after battle. Shovana played the part of emperor Ashoka, ferocious and then contrite. The dancers depicted the battle with ferocity and yet with beguiling grace. Another episode was that of a mother telling a story to a dying child and then appealing to Buddha who tells her that life cannot be brought back.

     The last story; of Buddhas’ enlightenment, and how he realises that the source of suffering is within all beings and not without, and that an end to suffering is not through deprivations of the body and extreme rejection of the world, nor is it through deep and corrupting involvement with it, but, in striking a middle path. He then accepts food from Sujatha, depicted by Shovana Narayan.

     The monks participated in this with chants and ‘throat singing’ and the clashing of cymbals. To hear ‘throat singing’ by the Tibetan monks was a rare pleasure. This vocal technique, a form of Buddhist Chanting is usually only heard in Tibet. It is a deep, pulverising, drone-growl that carries to the end of the theatre. For those who hear this for the first time, it is intense and overwhelming. It would perhaps sound odd and unmusical. But, Tibetan throat singing is an aid to meditation, and with time, and getting used to it, it is relaxing, mystical, peaceful and tension dissipating. And though this type of drone-chanting is a rare talent, the Tibetan monk practitioner was humility personified, as all the Tibetan monks on stage were. Clapping his cymbals while droning and going to his assigned place on stage without calling attention to

himself. It was one of the highlights of the evening.

     Kathak itself is a beautiful dance form, and a pleasingly conceived
 dance ballet with nine Kathak dancers and six Tibetan Buddhist monks on stage, took dance aesthetics to a high point. The mind lingered on the dance theatre that we saw; we enjoyed the visual imagery and the worlds created by the dancers in a series of evocations; we enjoyed the passion and the precision with which the dancers expressed themselves, the difficult rhythms that they exultantly danced through, and we enjoyed the marriage of music, dance and meditation that they presented.

      As Rinpoche Duboom Tulku, the stately, Founder and Managing Trustee of the World Buddhist Culture Trust, co-sponsor, along with the Departments of Culture and Language, and Tourism, Govt.of Telangana, said, the idea of having this beautiful presentation was nothing more than to share the belief in “love, compassion and tolerance”.  

Photographs: G.V. Anna Rao

In Kalaparva: http://features.kalaparva.com/2016/04/dancing-towards-kindness-compassion-and.html 

SINDHUJA, KUCHIPUDI DANCER - CREATING AN ENCHANTED SPACE ON A SUMMER EVENING

   

  Sindhuja’s solo performance of narrative dances for KALASAGARAM at Keyes High School on 12th March 2016 was all elegance and grace.

     What immediately strikes one about Sindujha’s prodigious dancing talent, is her feminine grace, and her calm yet impeccable elegance of movement; like watching a nymph dancing lightly and swaying fluidly in a sea of tranquillity.

     Her interpretation in the visual language of dance - her face, her eyes, her head, her neck and her hands, arms, wrists her fingers and her feet, breathe life into movement. Her Nritta, rhythmic dance; Nritya, storytelling through hand movements and facial expressions; and her Natya, the drama of dance, tell the stories without reminding one of just how difficult the dance really is. Sindhuja’s soft, dainty, effortless dancing yielded some stunning passages of silent poetry! 

     The programme commenced with a composition by Sri Adi Sankaracharya on Lord Ganesha - Ganesh Pancharatnam, set to Ragamalika, Adi tala. Dance composed by Smt Shobha Naidu.

     Next was a traditional composition – ‘Prahlada Pattabhisheka Shabdam’ in raga Kambhoji and Misra chapu tala. Sindhuja tells the story in typical Kuchipudi dance drama form.The dance composed by Dr. Yashoda Thakore. The story goes that Hiranyakasipu, a ruthless ruler receives a boon for his penance - he can be killed neither by man nor animal, during day nor night, in the sky nor earth, in the indoors nor outside! Angry with his son Prahlada who is completely devoted to Lord Hari, Hiranyakasipu fails to kill him. But an enraged Lord Vishnu appears as Narasimha and fulfilling the conditions of his death, kills Hiranyakasipu and blesses Prahlada. 

     Sindhuja’s next dance was ‘Annamacharya keertana: Muddugare Yashoda’ where Lord Krishna is compared to various gems - in raga Kuranji, Adi tala. Dance composed by Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam.

     ‘Narayana Teertha Tarangam’, ‘Govardhini giridhara’, in Mohana raga and Adi tala. The dance composed by Dr.Yashoda Thakore describes Krishna as the one who lifted the Govardhana Mountain; the protector of his clan and the remover of fear. To enliven the format, Sindhuja danced on the rims of a brass plate, associated with the Kuchipudi style, giving the impression of gliding and floating, and presented the lifting Govardhana as the highlight of the choreography.

     ‘Kshetrayya padam’ ‘Kodi kuse ayyayo’, in raga Saurashtra, Adi tala, is the story of Nayika telling her Sakhi that ‘just when my Krishna and me were about to unite, the rooster crowed! We had our amorous moments, decorated each other and at that moment, when we were about to become one, this rooster crowed and destroyed my happiness as it was morning and my beloved left me!’   The Dance was composed and taught by Smt. Bragha Bessel, and  provided Sindhuja immense scope for abhinaya and extemporization which she did with earnest finesse, dramatic gestures and  genteel and beautiful dancing.

     The final dance was a Thillana. Lyrics in praise of Lord Krishna by Sri T.K.Govinda Rao in Raga Hamsanandi in Adi tala and the dance composed by Dr.Yashoda Thakore. This was a brisk composition with varied movement patterns woven together elegantly showcasing abstract dance.

     Due to lack of sponsors Sindhuja danced to recorded music and under the fixed, harsh and steady stage lights provided by the venue. Despite not having a live orchestra and a lighting designer, Sindhuja transcended reality and performed without us in audience noticing this absence. Sindhuja was fluidity personified, she created an enchanted space in the open air venue, and danced like she was dancing on moonbeams.

     Sindhuja, is an Architect but has put architecture on hold while she concentrates on dance and does her PhD from the Department of Dance, University of Hyderabad. Sindhuja is under the guidance of Dr. Yashoda Thakore, a major Kuchipudi dancer, an author, an educationist and an inspiration to many.

     A graded artist by Doordarshan, Sindhuja has performed Kuchipudi all over India at prestigious events and runs her own school of dance. And  due to her rigorous grounding in Carnatic music she adds an exceptional passion and understanding to her interpretation of the music.  
Photographs: Pranay Rupani 

Priya Laasya March 16th 2016 http://hamara.in/portals/space/SPACE20/Lifestyle/Culture/PriyaLasya/src/publish/cache/Dance_Reports/TX/Sindhuja_Kuchipudi_Mar16.html

FESTIVAL CHORISTERS - LET THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH. AND LET IT BEGIN WITH ME…

 What better way to celebrate the season than with music! And this is how the Christmas season was ushered in by the 40-voice choir, the Festival Choristers, an all-volunteer choir, accompanied by an all-volunteer Orchestra, conducted by Sushil Pakyanadhan to commemorate its tenth anniversary on December 4, at Shilpa Kala Vedika, Hyderabad.
     The choir presented a varied programme of uplifting Christmas music that ranged from the classical to the modern. And raised their voices to all the touch-points of good choral singing; a harmonious blending of voices, precise timing, good dynamics — going from loud to soft and back, with every gradation in between — and all this with a tonal quality that was ripe, resonant and well-balanced. 
     Devotees of choral music had much to savour – because the Festival Choristers really understood the art of singing and executed the programme superbly under the direction of Sushil Pakyanadhan, the conductor of the Festival Choristers, whose direction deftly set the tone and shaped the contours of the performance, and brought all the elements – 
the Sopranos, the Altos, the Tenors and the Basses and the accompanying piano and orchestra together without one overwhelming the other and instilled emotion, by indicating rhythms, and nuances of tempo - swells and fades, entries and cutoffs.
     The programme was a mix of Classical and modern music. Two songs, ‘Gloria’, by Antonio Vivaldi and the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’, by G.F. Handel, opened and closed the programme. Both these composers were of the baroque era, and these two ornate and elaborately composed songs, accompanied by piano and orchestra, were executed by the choir with exuberance and precision.     Another two songs, ‘Grant Unto us Thy Peace O Lord’ by Felix Mendelsohhn Bartholdy, a composer of the Romantic Era of Classical music, and Gesu Bambino, composed by Pietro A. Yon, a composer of the Modern Era, were the other Classical pieces that the Choir performed, both of which called for expertise from the choir and the conductor to bring out the flowing beauty of these songs.

     This entertaining and beautifully prepared celebration of spiritual well-being was not limited to classical music. One of the songs ‘Sing Praise’ was a Puerto 

Rican melody, and another, ‘African Alleluia’ was based on a Gambian folk song. And in ‘Parmeshwar Prem Hai’, verses of the song were sung in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi.
     All the soloists were competent, and the women’s duet in the sweet sounding ‘O Lovely Peace’, and the mens’ quartet that sang ‘In The Highest Glory’, in close harmony, were particularly pleasing to the ear.

     Before the main choir came on, the evenings programme began with a young choir of boys and girls wearing red and green polo shirts, who sang ‘We usher in this Christmas’ by Johannes Brahms, and ‘Merry Christmas’, a melody by W.A Mozart. It was their touching innocence, their sense of rhythm and the enthusiasm of this young choir that had been coached and prepared by Ranjit Mathew and conducted by Commodore Champion, that really stood out.
     But that was not all that made this an evening of lovely peace, the Seniors’ Choristers, comprising singers who had been in the Festival Choristers over the past ten years, proficiently performed a medley called ‘I Love You Lord’.

     The Festival Choristers, celebrating ten years of performance, and, the accompanying pianist and orchestra, deserve recognition not only for engrossing, and skillful musicianship, but for their vibrant tone and unity of approach.

     A depleted Festival Choristers later performing at the Governors residence. 

Appeared in The Hindu, Friday Review, on Friday 11th Dec.

http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/choristers-bring-in-the-cheer/article7969965.ece?secpage=true&secname=entertainment

THE FIRST HYDERABAD JAZZ FESTIVAL

    The Hyderabad Jazz Festival was held on November 25th , 26th and the 27th, 2015. This was the first ever Jazz festival conducted in in the Twin Cities of Hyderabad & Secunderabad, and made possible by the Secunderabad Club, Goethe Zentrum, and the Hyderabad Western Music Foundation

     Jazz is a musical art form, and Jazz is 'listening' music. It 'involves' and sends into ecstasies those fortunate in having the artistic sensibilities to enjoy it. It therefore has a small but distinguished following, as does Carnatic classical music, Hindustani Classical music or Western Classical music. 

   So how can one describe spending three evenings of euphoria in the in the muse of music while the Twin Cities and the Hyderabad Jazz Festival was honoured by the presence of world-class Jazz musicians from India and abroad.

     25th November - The first day – There were Three performances.

The opening performance was by Hyderabads’ very own eight piece brass band,
JAZZED FRIENDS. The Brass section - George Hull on Alto Saxophone, Humayun Mirza on Trumpet, Joe Koster on Trombone, Raphael Courtay on Clarinet. The Rhythm section had Aman Mahajan replacing Dennis Powell on Piano, Karthik Kalyan on Drums and Triveni Sunkara on Bass. And on Vocals - Shakila. The band played its set pieces with vigour and enthusiasm and did well to open the Jazz Festival with good old Dixieland and Swing standards.

    The next act was UJJAL KUMAR SAHA, a virtuoso jazz guitarist from Hyderabad, who played a skillful tribute to the guitarist Joe Pass, playing standards such as ‘Autumn Leaves’, ‘Misty’ and ‘Don’t Get Around Much Any More’ in a unique style that incorporated bass lines and melody at the same time.

    The days’ main band came next. ROOTS & SHOOTS is a German/Indian Band that plays collaborative and inventive music that explores and exchanges intercultural musical ideas, seamlessly, and with great musicality. The band is quite different from any other previous East/West musical fusions that have taken place in the past - by playing 'harmony' without confusion. The band members were composer Sebastian Gramms on Upright Bass, leader of the Sebastian Gramms Trio that comprises Mattias Muche – Trombone, and Erwin Ditzner – Drums, the Trio melds with Composer and sitar player - Hindol Deb, Bansuri (bamboo flute) Paras Nath and Amit Misra on Tabla. As mentioned before, this was  breakthrough music, because unlike previous bands that fuse Indian music and jazz, which is linear in character, this band, with beautifully arranged compositions, harmonised the Bansuri, Sitar, Trombone and Bass producing some glorious music, with the Tabla and drums accompanying and lending a swinging rhythm to the beautiful, rare and melodic music that was performed with intelligence and passion. Listening to them was an exuberant experience that could only be enjoyed when listening to great music by great musicians.

     26th November – the second day – This day was a coup of sorts, there was no single main Band, there were two major-league Indian Jazz bands on stage. Refuge, from Bangalore, and The Adrian D’Souza Trio from Mumbai.
     REFUGE is a jazz/world ensemble headed by Aman Mahajan on keyboard, an Alumni of the Berklee School of Music, Boston. All the musicians in Refuge are professionals who have played with major musicians in India and abroad, Matt Littlewood from UK, on Soprano Saxophone, is also a composer and leads his own group performing original works. Abhinav Khokhar of New Delhi, is a fine bass player and also a guitarist, pianist and composer who has performed with several musicians from New York, South America, Spain, Netherlands and of course, India. And critically acclaimed Jeoraj George on drums who has trained at DrumTech, London, and has performed with prominent artists Jazz, Funk and Indian Classical musicians like Sudha Raghunathan and Hariharan.

     Refuge played beautifully imagined musical themes composed by pianist Aman Mahajan. The music was structured and improvised in equal parts, and combined the spirit of jazz with a myriad of folk and classical influences. A fulfilling set! Every musician in this well-knit unit was an integral part of the music that built brilliant musical conversations out of each of the compositions.
  
     THE ADRIAN D’SOUZA TRIO – This Trio of consummate musicians regaled the audience with a series of bluesy, funky, sometimes rocking and always swinging Jazz. The first tune, Back at the Chicken-shack, set the tone for their set for the evening. Jimmy Smith’s composition played by Keyboard/Organist 
Karan Joseph, combined bluesy "licks" with tasteful improvisation while playing a walking bass line with his left hand. Another tune, ‘Wave’, was beautifully rendered by the Trio, with Sanjay Divecha on guitar, proving to be a sympathetic and exceptionally talented exponent of this beautiful tone poem. And all the tunes that the Trio played was empathetically accompanied by the intellectual of the jazz drum-set, Adrian D’Souza, who, though is the leader of the group, does not impose his drums but keeps an inventive, creative flow of pulses and cadences, with a varied, yet rhythmic logic that is always appropriate and always in the moment.

    It was obvious that this was an acclaimed Jazz Trio and their set would be acknowledged as one of the best anywhere in the world.

     27th November 2015 – the final day -The evening opened with a short set of songs by:
     DECCAN VOICES: As reported in the Times of India, “initiating the jazz journey and setting the mood just right as they sang and clapped on the stage. The audience joined in by clapping with them.” This Hyderabad based vocal ensemble creditably performed Stevie Wonder’s‘Sir Duke’, and ended with ‘Happy’, by Pharrell Williams. The singers were: Soprano: Haritha Govind, Rithvika Prasad, Celsa Almeida, Karthika Vattakavil, Samhita Maha, Sameera, Oxana, Shika Alto: Reena Kurien, Aparajita Gupta, Ramya Smita. Tenor: Vijay Raj, Murali, Suneet. Bass: T. Raghav Rao, Glen Williams, Aditya T.B., Varghese Jacob. Conductor/Accompanist: Joe Koster.

     The next band was called FUNK CHECKPOST, The band members Anirban Chakravarty, on Guitar, Jesper Dejby, Soprano Saxophone, Vijay Kumar, Vocals/ Guitar, Benjamin Christopher, Bass Guitar and Karthik Kalyan on Drums. The band had come together at the last minute to fill-in for a late drop-out, and had practised only two funky songs which they performed so well, that they made a very huge impression. And the audience were loath to let them go. But they did have to, to make way for the Main event of the evening.

     THE VASUNDHARA V QUINTET – What can one say about Vasundhara V, this hugely talented young singer with a voice that flowed like liquid gold and was as malleable and the band that she got together for the First Hyderabad Jazz Festival, with every member of the band as talented as she was. Karim Ellaboudi, on Keyboard, a headliner in many settings, Pranai Gurung, clearly, a skilled and artistic guitarist, Saurabh Suman, a solid, dependable, harmonic bassist, and Andrew Kanga, the inventive young metronome of a drummer.
     The Vasundhara V Quintet kept the audience riveted, yet tapping their feet and swaying in their seats to the variety of music that they performed with such lyricism and euphony, from Jazz standards and Bossa Nova, to modern standards. One of the highlights was Vasundhara’s rendition of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’, as an inconceivably wonderful, six/eights blues. It was a revelation, that a modern classic like ‘Imagine’ could be treated so unusually and so beautifully. And that was only one of the many wonders of the Vasundhara V Quintet. But like all good things the evening had to come to an end. That was end of the First Hyderabad Jazz Festival. 

    This ‘First Hyderabad Jazz Festival’was put together by the confluence of Secunderabad Club, Goethe Zentrum, Hyderabad, and the Hyderabad Western Music Foundation and organising talent, perseverance and determination of Joe Koster.
    Photographs: Joe Koster      
    Written For www.hydmusic.com 30th November 2015 

WHY WE LOVE THE BLUES & B.B. KING

     I often wonder why the Blues music is so loved and appreciated by so many all over the world, even by me, in India, so far away physically and culturally from where the blues originated in the work songs, spirituals, field chants and hollers of the African-American communities that toiled and slaved in cotton fields of the American South at the turn of the twentieth century.

     As a result of conversations with a friend  from our college days in Pune, 
Sudheer Gaikwad, who has a true ‘feel-for-the-blues’, we concluded that we love blues music so much simply because, it’s simple music. And, because, it expresses honest emotions! 

     But, we love the blues most of all because it is moving and uplifting, and because it is music that expresses ‘life’ with all its ups and downs!

     Here’s what some of the great blues musicians say - Blues guitarist and singer, Albert Collins: “Simple music is the hardest music to play and blues is simple music”. And in an apparent contradiction, but not really so, Jimi Hendrix said: “Blues is easy to play but hard to feel”. 

     Simple and straightforward in form - Though Blues music is typically a sequence of three chords arranged within a framework of 12 bars, this simple structure gives rise to a great deal of lyrical, emotional and musical improvisation.

    Sudheer says, “sometimes 12 bar jams just seem to flow, the joy of stringing together the familiar blue notes in its various permutations, against the clockwork chord rotation, especially in slow 6/8 time - it's this magic, this thrill, that makes blues so individual and infinite. The notes are the same, it's the individuals’ penchant and affinity that makes it one-of-a-kind.”

     Blues music is all about ‘feel’, ‘feeling’. The fundamental element of the blues is… feeling. Whatever the subject, the blues is sung and played with heartfelt feeling.

     Only blues musicians with true-blue artistic integrity can convey the feeling /emotion of the song to a listener, and it is this ‘feeling’ relayed to the listener that makes the blues, bluesy. That’s what Jimi Hendrix meant in that cryptic quote, “Blues is easy to play but hard to feel”.

     Playing the blues is purely a personal empathy for the music (a feeling? talent? ability?). But to play simple music well and with feeling is not as easy at it seems. One has got to love the blues. The other thing is that because blues is simple music. The more one sticks to basics in the blues, the better it sounds.

     The blues is always emotional - Blues has an emotional honesty of spirit, and this makes it so uplifting, beautiful and glorious! Largely a vocal medium, the singer expresses the feeling of the blues through simple down-to-earth lyrics which usually deal with basic human problems of life - love, sex, elation, poverty, hardships and death.  

     Willie Dixon, the writer of some of the blues classics, explains, “Blues players will often tell you the blues is about life – the good parts and the bad parts. The Blues are the true facts of life expressed in words and song, inspiration, feeling, and understanding.”

     Strangely, despite the connotations of the word ‘blue’ associated with downward mood swings, the sound of the blues is seldom sad. And though the tempo may vary, and the mood range from misery to sarcasm and satire, the blues more often expresses joy… upbeat, rambunctious and rollicking, and less often, it is low spirited, plumbing the depths of despair and sometimes achingly sad… sometimes heart-wrenchingly so. But in the Blues, the undercurrent of sadness is balanced by a sort of exuberance.

     The great blues singer/musician, Henry St Clair Fredericks, who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, whose music I love, believes that some people may think the blues is about wallowing in negativity and despair, a position he disagrees with. According to him, "You can listen to my music from front to back, and you don't ever hear me moaning and crying about how bad you done treated me. I think that style of blues and that type of tone was something that happened as a result of many white people feeling very, very guilty about what went down."

     Personal sorrow or hardship does not stuff a musician with the blues - Most blues music anyway, is not about sorrow or about dealing with sorrow and hardship. Listening to B.B. King is such a happy experience. He had such a great sense of humour, which comes out in his playing and singing, which is often so funny, droll and mischievous; who else could sing a song called “I have a good mind to give up living and go shopping instead” with such tongue-in-cheek fervour.
     And to play the blues, one doesn't necessarily have to live a life of hardship and sorrow. A musician has to have the feeling of the blues. It is a feeling that is perhaps in the soul. And, blues musicians must love the blues so much, that the sound and the feeling of the blues is expressed through the music, because it is the 'feeling' and love for the blues that brings it out. All the blues men whom I liked, like Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGee, Buddy Guy, Lightnin' Hopkins, Memphis Slim, Taj Mahal, Keb Mo or Billie Holiday, or Dinah Washington may, or may not, have led a life of hardship and sorrow; but they certainly had a tradition of slavery and sorrow in their history, which, perhaps they drew on to make them such great blues musicians.
     Blues is in the soul - My friend Sudheer says: “it's almost like one must be 'chosen' to play the blues - Sorrow is a completely unused, non-relevant word today and I say this without a shred of elitism or looking-down-on-lesser-mortals kind of way - in today's splash-n-splurge, have-it-flaunt-it times, it's a crime to be out in the cold, on skid row, on the have-not side of life - be it anything; love, money, power, good looks, influence. Yet, there is no need to be completely down and out, and ruin one's life to ‘feel’. Doom and gloom are certainly not what B.B. King steers me towards. On the other hand, B.B. King's ‘The Thrill is Gone’ came after years out in the wilderness, of being unknown. And then…, the spartan, haunting simplicity of this song, still gives me the cold chills down the spine, even now, years and many thousands of listenings' after.”

     No need to be black to be blue - Even the great white English Bluesmen like John Mayall, or Peter Green; or others - Billy Ray Vaughan and Johnny Winter and Ry Cooder, they just loved the blues, and they had the ‘blues’ in them, so whatever they played had a feeling of the blues. Sudheer says, "Johnny Winter is surely one of the most authentic, hardcore, blue-blooded blues-man ever, as is the irrepressible Stevie Ray Vaughan, and their music has all the exuberance of rock (though they may never have gone through what are perceived as hardships)”.

     An opinion I had was that Eric Clapton’s playing is too pretty, neat and clean, and when he plays with black musicians, he sounds like a person from a rich, white neighbourhood playing with them. His playing is so well dressed and perfect. So, Sudheer reminded me, “Some music magazine called Clapton's 'Layla', 'rock's most anguished masterpiece’”. And he goes on to say, “I'd like to hear one Indian blues band play close to Allman Bros 'Ain't my cross to bear', or Clapton's 'Have you ever loved a woman', that scour the inner layer of one's soul, so to say”. 

     But since I am writing this I will get in another opinion sideways – there is 

an Indian Blues band that has all the elements of a great blues band, and that is ‘Soulmate’ of Shillong, who exude emotional honesty and integrity in their performance, and are true-to-the-blues in every way.

     Sudheer wisely says this about blues, “A musician must focus on heart-to-heart link rather than aiming to blow the listener's mind with sheer speed or skill. Hendrix said some words to the effect that ‘a musician must be a messenger’, which when he is, is what makes music so 'heavy'. It connects, with the heart or mind or both - so communication is what it's all about. Every musician, or even every one of us, is not born endowed with the gifts of being a messenger. In our inequality lies perhaps the equality, the democracy of humankind - 'cause if we were all supremely gifted, artistic, articulate, good-looking, wise, virtuous et al, it'd probably be a very boring world.”

     The sound of the Harmonica in blues: The harmonica is usually called a harp in the Blues, and it is this distinctive sounding instrument the ‘Blues Harp’ which gives a unique sound to the blues as it slides, bends, and plays the “blue notes”. Again I’ll quote my friend Sudheer, “Guitar music aside, there are the blues harp players who really are most amazing, and I never cease to be struck dumb by the torrents and wails of heart-wrenching sound they blow from an instrument that fits in the palm of their hands.” 

     All Jazz is the Blues, but all Blues is not Jazz – Blues is Jazz’s greatest influence. Jazz and the Blues have a common heritage, both originated around the end of the 19th century from the sounds of the Mississippi Delta, as a result of slavery in the deep south of USA, and resonated with sad melancholy - a longing for freedom!

     The difference between blues and Jazz is that “blues is both a musical form and a music genre, while jazz is defined as a musical art form.” The blues is a type of music. Blues is a feeling, an attitude. Jazz is a more technical form of music. It has many more than three chords, and uses sophisticated harmonies and progressions. Jazz is a journey of inventiveness and discovery of newer ways of using harmonies. Yet, blues and Jazz have a lot in common and the influence of blues on Jazz has to be heard to be understood. This is what Carmen McCrae, the great jazz singer and pianist says, “Blues is to jazz what yeast is to bread - without it, it's flat.” 

     Sudheer says “the higher the caliber of music, like jazz, the more it demands from the performer, to conjure up the ‘feeling’; besides getting all the notes and chords right is not simple - Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix are so fiery and combustible, they light you up instantly, while B. B. King twangs and sings straight to the heart. But among guitar players, Robben Ford and Larry Carlton bring in a jazz sensibility of tone and technique and harmony”.

     So we could say that the Blues is strictly based on 'feeling', and the focuses on a establishing a heart-to-heart link. Whereas Jazz Blues is more intellectual while being at the same time visceral and emotional.

    And to end, we will quote the witty, and down-to-earth King of the Blues, whom we admire so much, B.B. King. “Jazz is the big brother of the blues. If a guys’ playing the blues like we are playing, he is in high school. When he starts playing jazz, it’s like going to college; a school of higher learning.  B.B. King.

B.B. King died on 14th May 2015, this was written as a tribute 

29th May 2015 pratapantony.blogspot.in