East meats West through the use of sitar or other Fusions with Indian music

Galloping Goat Natraj : Deccan Dance (US,1998)**°

I think the approach of Natraj is very different from what we generally define under the term 'indo-jazz music'. They themselves describe it, on the cover of the CD, as “contemporary jazz with influences from India and Africa”.

On "Kalyani" for instance, with a classical Indian tune as a source,even within the melody lines of it, the sax follows the jazz-mode too. Also the drum and bass solo is (contemporary) jazz instead. I would say this is an original approach. The electric violin, taking the melody line, “contemporary music like”, a half tone less, almost close to disharmony, still has a similar jazz approach touch.

Second track then, "Na Yella Bo", plays a broody African bass line, as if playing an African instrument, combined with jazz improvisations with sax. After a while the percussion evolves to something I cannot place easily, as a different kind of fusion than I’m used too.

Both "Raga Bihag, Part 1 - Vilambit" & "Raga Bihag, Part 2 - Drut" hereafter, are closest to the raga style, but the approach of the group, and especially the sax player shows his own jazz way of improvisation within the raga mode. Rhythmically, the tabla, bass, percussion just accompanies the sax improvisation quietly.

From the last four tracks three of them are more jazz improvisations (basically with sax, bass, percussion, tabla). First track, "Don't Utter", by Maneri the violinist leading the improvisation first, in his strange style of playing, always a little bit lower than a normal harmony, and with some bass solo, played in a different, original way, somewhat comparable to the African touch he tried before.

"Duet" shows within a recognisable elements new sounds and details. I especially I like the way the bass improvises here when the sax is leading.

The "Introduction" to "Muhkhras not tukras" is somewhat exotic. The track itself, written by Scarff, the sax player, shows his improvisation skills once more, accompanied with very nice percussion and bass.

Last track, "Blue Tumbleweed" concludes with another raga-like improvisation, in the sax player's own, specific, typical and in fact original jazz-way, with, once more, a violin improvisation played in the way I described before, and a bass solo with tabla and tampura. -All Indian flavoured tracks are of course also accompanied by tampura-.

In general I must say the group's approach to Indian music and to some African elements is really original. The rhythmical structure of Indian music is here a bit less important and is replaced by the jazz approach, which makes the group perhaps more unique in its kind.

More info : http://natraj.calabashmusic.com/ & http://www.windjam.com/artists/natraj/index.shtml & http://www.rambles.net/natraj_deccan.html & http://www.ashanet.org/nycnj/events/2003/Natraj/artists.html & http://www.bostonbands.com/band_layout2.asp?bid=358 or http://www.bostonbands.com/searchurl.asp?strurl=natraj

Other review of this album : http://www.allaboutjazz.com/reviews/r1299_170.htm & http://www.indianewengland.com/...

Newsgroup : http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/natraj/

More info on Michael Rivard : http://www.clubdelf.com/micro.html

More info on Mat Maneri : http://www.velocity.net/~bb10k/MANERI.disc.html

Dorian Disc.

Natraj : Meet me anywhere (US,1992)***°

For this release Natraj modestly describes the music here as “New Jazz and World Music”. The basic fundament is still jazz, of a wonderful and inspired kind, with openness to world music influences with perfect adaptations such as “Drop the Knife Twice”.

When listening for review purposes, I had to restart the CD a number of times, because I was completely drawn into it, so I could hardly keep myself at a distance, as a writer, trying to keep an overview of what is happening.

With three percussionists (one of them is African), and a bass player who has his African influences too, rhythmically it pulls you in so easily. Phil Scarf (sax), Mick Goodrick (guitar) and Steve Gorn (bamboo flute) found in that bop element a useful musical fundament for improvisation. Of course, the rhythms follow the improvisations too, are even stimulated by them, but basically are always like well balanced framing structures to anything what happens. "Resolution", a John Coltrane composition, is an Indian interpretation as intended by the sax player, and is also partly improvised on the bansuri flute played by Steve Gorn. “Meet me anywhere” has a somewhat unusual part, with a special minimal melodic rhythm repetition on tabla and another instrument I can not recall, in between distant piano and some string or plucked instrument.° It also has a small pure jazz part, besides the usual fusion jazz approach typical for Natraj. "Avu Matodzo" is a West African traditional. Here Michael Rivard shows well his African-music influenced jazz bass. Phil Scarf knows how to improvise on sax on this style well too. Of course there’s more African percussion in this track as well. The last track, “Suite 203”, is a more meditative Indian styled piece, which fits perfectly as a closer for the album.

A perfect listen. Recommended !

Info : http://natraj.calabashmusic.com/ & http://calabashmusic.com/world/?pop=3130&artist=1

Steve Gorn's (bamboo player's) entry : http://www.stevegorn.com/recordings/meetme.php

JPC entry (with audio) http://www.jpc.de/jpcdb/f...

Amazon entry (with audio) : http://www.amazon.de/exec/..

Best-buy entry (with audio) : http://www.bestbuy.com/...

Artist-direct (with audio) : http://www.artistdirect.com/..

label sales entry : http://www.dorian.com/store/main.mvc?...

Distributor sales entry : http://www.windjamrecords.bigstep.com/...

° I asked in a mail what it was. This is what Phil Scarff answered : "In his tabla solo on the title track, "Meet Me Anywhere", Jerry plays the large table (bayan) upside down, such that he is striking the metallic bowl of the drum, instead of the skin (head). The sound is reminiscent of the South Indian clay drum (ghatam). The accompaniment is by bass and guitar playing harmonics."

A small percussion part of this album is used on a world percussion compilation album : http://www.rhombuspublishing.com/music.html