I guess here there are two kinds- the filmi and the serious. For some reason when most people talk about fusion, filmi is not included. Is it because filmi is from the Indian perspective and the serious from the Western? For me the filmi wins hands down. It is a creative cohesive blend of western music and indian with excellent singers. The famous Kronos quartet from the world of classical western music recognized this with a cd devoted to the compositions of R.D. Burman and they were delighted that Asha Bhosle agreed to sing on it. I was unsure of what to expect when I bought it but I thoroughly loved it. I was sure it would win a grammy in its category but alas, it did not. In film music there are mostly misses, many steals and few hits. Across the divide there is the serious fusion- Ravi Shankar with Yehudi Menuhin and Shakti as being probably the most popular. I must admit that I have not heard much of this music and cannot comment on what I have not heard. Something that I really loved though was a cd by Fateh Ali Khan (not the more famous Fateh ali of amanat ali- fateh ali khan fame). I remember Purvi Parekh once mentioning how much more difficult it is for a vocalist than a percussionist to find the middle ground for a fusion collaboration. Here I think is an excellent example! The orchestration is filmi style but it is done well and all real musicians. The percussion is outstanding and the mix, vocal, orchestra, percussion just right. Fateh ali Khan has chosen some great compositions and he sings them with gusto and emotion. I am sure there are more successes like this. I recently listened to a cd collaboration he did with the famous jazz musician Jan Gabarek and that, i did not like. An Indian (or Pakistani) vocalist or instrumentalist cannot just play jazz automatically. It takes years of training and listening to master another music. How then can this kind of fusion be successful? Shakti was, I think because John McLaughlin had really studied Carnatic music and these musicians spent time together practising, touring and recording.
Greetings, brother James, and other music lovers! Fusion music is a vast and little understood subject. I’ll just throw in a few examples and opinions. Ali Akbar Khan did what I call an Indo-jazz fusion album, “Karuna Supreme,” with sax player John Handy in the early 1970s. I’m lucky to have a cassette copy of it. While they kind of drag sometimes, or perhaps Handy is deferring to Khan, there is a definite meeting of the minds in terms of melody and soulfulness. The vocal quality of the sax resonates well with Khan Saheb’s profound explorations of sur.
Another of Khan Saheb’s albums I like is his Ali Akbar College Ensemble’s “Journey.” While it often touches on the folksy, singer-songwriter genre, the compositions sparkle with Khan Saheb’s brilliance, and the thoughtful coordination of the various instruments (guitar, sarode, sitar, bansuri, tabla, percussion–to mention a few) is a feat in itself. I must say I find it most uplifting!
I also have to admit that I play fusion quite a bit, with a jazz saxophonist. We do some tunes that are really bandishes in raags; the saxist composes some original tunes in which he tries to feature a part for the sitar that showcases the instrument. We’re going to have a CD release next month! I’ll put up some new tunes on my EPK and let you aficionados be the judge/s.
I’d love to see what else you and your friends wrote about the book on Gauhar Jan!
In music, Amie
thanks amie, were you not able to see the full thread on gauhar jaan? It is all there. I deleted nothing.