June 01, 2005
All that jazzMusic
I don’t know why more people aren’t fans of jazz music. Is there anything better than sitting in a dark corner of a jazz club with a whiskey on the rocks in one hand and a melody that sounds different to each listener tapping out through the fingers of your other hand? Agastya directs us to Indian American saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa.
Named a Rising Star of the alto saxophone by the 2003 and 2004 Downbeat International Critics Poll, Rudresh Mahanthappa is one of the most innovative young musicians in jazz today. By incorporating the culture of his Indian ancestry, Rudresh has fused myriad influences to create a truly groundbreaking artistic vision. As a performer, he leads/co-leads five groups to critical acclaim. His most recent quartet recording Mother Tongue on Pi Recordings has been named one of Top Ten Jazz CDs of 2004 by the Chicago Tribune, All About Jazz, and Jazzmatazz to name a few and also received 4 stars in DOWNBEAT. This CD reached #8 on US jazz radio charts and reached #1 on Canadian jazz radio charts.
The saxophone is just cool. I wanted to play one in elementary school but they stuck me with the tuba, and according to my therapist it’s still a relevant issue. My hope was to learn how to play one and then marry a girl that played the violin so we could make lots of talented babies together.
Listen to a bunch of Mahanthappa’s recordings here. If you want to see him live there are a number of upcoming dates.
The Village Voice has more on today’s jazz scene which stays fresh by flirting with other types of music:
…there’s a market of mature listeners who don’t frequent jazz clubs, but who appreciate jazz within an eclectic musical mix. Take a look at the marketing brochure for nearly any American arts center, and you’re likely to find a jazz series. When Mervon Mehta, vice president of programming at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, met with some of his colleagues from other cities recently, they wondered how the Kimmel could afford to present jazz. “You don’t think you can afford to program jazz?” he asked. “You can’t afford not to.”
Later in the article they get specific about some collaborations:
…support for jazz often enriches what we prize most about the idea of jazz, especially an ability to express American values and identities in all their contemporary complexity. One potent venue has been the Asia Society, on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. A recent concert found Indian American saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa mixing it up with fellow alto player Kadri Gopalnath, a South Indian musician who has translated classical Carnatic music to his instrument. The backing band included both trap set and mridangam, a two-headed hand drum.
abhi on June 1, 2005 09:16 PM in Music · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
thanks for the heads-up. Looks like he'll be up in my neck of the woods in June; will definitely go see him...
Yes, and that's drinking a Stella Artois while merrily floating along with the cacophonous beauty unfolding in front of me. I saw him play an excellent about three weeks ago as part of the Vivek Iyer quartet at the Green Mill. I highly recommend seeing him play live if he's in town.
Surely you mean a martini shaken, not stirred, and Vijay Iyer.
Terrible oversight. Thanks for the correction.
And gimme a beer over a martini anyday.
Mmm Thelonius Monk and a glass of port, please.
More people like jazz than know it.
Vocal Jazz is so great. It's my favorite continuing pastime. The violin? What you need is a singer, honey.
You're rgt bout Jazz being great..it sure is
mutineers, do NOT miss rudresh's work, nor that of his close collaborator the brilliant pianist vijay iyer. these guys are doing some fantastic work in jazz today, with like-minded collaborators from all (especially but not only the core african-american) jazz communities.
there is something for everyone here. if straightahead is your bag, go for "mother tongue" or vijay's latest, "reimagining." if globalized, electronic, syncretic sounds are what turns you on, you need to get "in what language?", a project by vijay iyer and mike ladd (featuring rudresh and others), on pi recordings, 2004. (fwiw, here is a review i did for the boston globe of the "in what language" live performance.)
anyway: Don't Sleep!
peace
My vote's for Sunny Jain. Amazing jazz drummer. Plays a jazz version of Aap Jaisa Koi that's so unexpectedly good, you'll be giggling as you dance in your seat.
Here's that jazz version of 'Aap Jaisa Koi.'
Oh, nice! thanks for posting that Manish. Are you a fan?
I ain't a player, I just Google a lot.
Jazz version of AAP JAISA KOI!? That is a disgrace. It sounds like something the horn player, who does the daily rounds of the neighborhood with his holy cow/bull to get a couple of bucks, would play . It is a total desecration of the best pop song ever produced in Bollywood.
well, the "best pop song ever produced in Bollywood" is actually a total desecration of a song from 1939 - "Brazil" by Xavier Cugat. I love "aap Jai" but let's not pretend it's more than schlock.
BRAZIL (AQUARELA DO BRASIL)
Xavier Cugat
Brazil, where hearts were entertaining June,
We stood beneath an amber moon
And softly murmured "someday soon."
We kissed and clung together,
Then, tomorrow was another day
The morning found me miles away
With still a million things to say;
Now, when twilight dims the sky above
Recalling thrills of our love,
There's one thing I'm certain of
Return I will to old Brazil.
Desecration? It sounds like something you'd play on New Year's Eve.
My other favorite versions of 'Aap Jaisa Koi' include those by Saila from Rukus Avenue and Penn Masala. And I did a rough remix with 'Kung Foo Fighting.'
Cicatrix, I just listened to 'Brazil (Aquarela Do Brasil)' by Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra, and it sounds nothing like 'Aap Jaisa Koi.' Am I missing something, or were you thinking of a different song?
Hmm..weird. I'm thinking of the song "Brazil" used in the movie "Brazil" by Terry Gilliam. The melody is almost exactly "Aap Jaisa Koi". From everything I dug up (i.e.googled) Gilliam used the Cugat song...but maybe there's another version? I'll try find the song I'm thinking of, and post here.
groovy baby
So the movie used a translated-to-English version by Geoff Muldaur...it's jazzed up a bit from the Cugat version, and Aap Jaisa synthesizer-izes the whole thing. I didn't mean that the whole song was ripped, a la Puffy, but you can hear the strings from the cugat version (whistled, I think in the Muldaur) right before the chorus kicks in Aap jaisa. Of course, I may be just hearing similiarities and nothing more. (I was mocking Jazzversion's use of the word desecration, btw)
brazil soundstrack is on Amazon, but the Mp3s won't open for some reason, and I can't tell for sure which song is what by the track listing. Looks like they omitted the theme song:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000015G8/102-2324921-8384910?v=glance