On the stage was an unusual quartet, Eric
Truffaz on trumpet, Malcolm Braff on Piano, Indrani Mukherjee, a Hindustani
classical singer, on vocals, and Hindustani classical musician, Apurpa
Mukherjee on tabla.
This was a strange combination of musicians.
Musicians of different disciplines and with completely different musical
ideologies performing together. It is not easy to combine Hindustani classical
and Jazz, unless the Jazz musician is also studying Hindustani classical music
and is in complete empathy with the other musicians. S/he then plays with the
knowledge of an Indian classical instrumentalist -- otherwise the jazz
instrumentalist plays with an Indian rhythm section and tries to play what s/he
thinks sounds like Indian music. But then most of the fusion with Indian
Classical musicians’ sounds likes Indian music, with Indian rhythms, but with
an unusual western touch.
The common factor in both Hindustani
classical music and Jazz is that both have elements of improvisation in it
which musicians of both schools try to exploit in their own way.
In this concert, none of the
musicians tried to play the others’ music, and yet the band produced music that
was transcendent, artistic and stimulating.
The music began with Eric Truffaz’s Jazz trumpet heralding the beginning of a wonderful evening.
Eric Truffaz’s sound was fluid; lyrical,
atmospheric. He played Jazz with
sensitivity and restraint, his sound sparse and personal, yet he could honk and
screech, as he demonstrated, as the improvisation led him to. Playing in
response to the melody and rhythms of the composition yet maintaining the feel
of Jazz. Though the work was not jazz.
Indrani
Mukherjee, on the other hand as the other soloist, was elegant in her approach
to the music and had such a pure, bright, mellow voice; and held true to her
traditional Hindustani classical training, she was confident, and the nuances
of her singing and improvisation were a pleasure to hear.
Malcolm Braff who played the keyboard was a
muscular soloist who kept up a solid block chord rhythm with his left and yet
kept the improvisation going with his right, making every note count with both
hands. Sometimes his rhythmic intensity made him sound like a rock artist, and he
sometimes played so blue within the jazz idiom that he sounded almost lyrical,
and yet at all times interesting.
The tabla player Apurpa Mukherjee
was a veteran who had accompanied several classical musicians in his career and
like the competent and yet inventive musician that he was, was able to adjust
his playing to suit each of the melody makers, and was able to lead and suggest
subtle changes which both Eric Tuffaz and Eric Branff were able to follow and
change direction and yet stay on the middle path.
The music they produced was not like anything
we had heard before in fusion or world music, it was sublime music in which
there were no compromises. The Jazz musicians did not try to play like Indian
musicians and neither did Indrani Mukherjee and Apurpa Mukherjee try to do
anything except Hindustani classical music. The music was in turns rousing,
stimulating, gentle and always melodious.
The Eric Truffaz & Malcolm Braff - Indian Project performed on
10th January 2008 at Taj Banjara, Hyderabad
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