Al compas del mundo - programa 67 - “Jazz” and the influence of music from India

Breaking the lease tonight.

TRACKLIST “Jazz” and the influence of music from India first broadcast on RadioActiva March 9, 2023

01 John Handy - Ganeesha's Jubilee Dance

02 John McLaughlin, Jean-Luc Ponty and Zakir Hussein - Lotus Feet

03 Pharoah Sanders - Astral Traveling

04 Cheb i Sabbah - Shri Durga

05 Ravi Shankar and Phillip Glass - Ragas in Minor Scale

06 VidyA, with Prasant Radhakrishnan – Paavanaguru

07 Brooklyn Raga Massive (Coltrane Raga Tribute) - Blue Nile

So what do jazz and Indian music, at least the classical styles emulated here, have in common? Improvisation. Both work off of pre-determined scales, provide an intro, and then let ‘er rip! There’s a lot of that here and it works wonderfully well. VidyA’s music is probably the most faithful to its roots, playing Carnatic music from southern India. Though Algerian DJ Cheb I Sabbah’s offering is an actual cut-up of Indian music remixed with his outsider’s taste. And then there’s Pharoah Sanders who borrows some basic subcontinental themes while off on his astral voyage (hoping to meet up with Jonathan Richmond?) Brooklyn Raga Massive’s tribute to Coltrane just floats along in a most delicious way. Ravi Shankar and Zakir Hussein, amongst their country’s greatest musical treasures, are impeccable as always. And starting off this whole trip to lotus land is the Bay Area’s own, saxophonist John Handy, showing us even an elephant god can be light on its feet when given the right musical inspiration. Boogie on, Lord Ganeesha!

The Brooklyn Rhapsodics

Comments

Al compas del mundo, programa #92 - Japan

The Japanese historically have been a most creative people, excelling in aesthetic conventions like architecture, painting, culinary arts, theatre, music, and more. A craftsman’s care and an artist’s flair have come to define everyday household objects such as articles of clothing and kitchen ware, designed with a sensibility that imbues them with import and elevated status. After WWII in the United States however, an item inscribed “made in Japan” usually indicated a tchotchke of mediocre quality. A perfect example is the large number of Northwest Coast Native American-style bone totem poles made for the tourist shops in the Northwest. There is a distinctive difference in these “artifacts” from the real, home-made variety that illustrates someone from another culture tackling aesthetics they don’t fully comprehend. And that leads us to some of this week’s musical choices. Imitating Western pop, rock and jazz, Japanese artists have recorded many forgettable efforts – not unlike those o...

British blues of the 60s y 70s

This has to be one of my favorite programs. The British blues scene gave us a healthy dose of reverential and, admittedly, imitative music that awakened a youthful audience suffering from pop fatigue on both sides of the ocean. Of course, the blues, as interpreted by young white musicians who couldn’t have been much further from the Mississippi Delta or the South side of Chicago, can be considered as cultural appropriation. At the same time, those involved in the scene have reminisced that playing the blues was largely a visceral reaction to a compelling combination of rhythm, lyrics and energy that was distinct from the British music scene up to that point. I don’t believe anyone at the time felt guilty playing the songs of their Southern US heroes. Does it make a difference that a number of these groups went on to earn far more money than the originators ever dreamed of? Probably, though many of the greats – Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Sonny Boy Williamson and others – profi...

Nuyorican boogaloo cha-cha-cha

I’m labelling this week’s playlist as “Nuyorican” music, the lion’s share of the players from Puerto Rico or of Puerto Rican ancestry. Two notable exceptions are Joe Bataan, a Filipino-African American, and Mongo Santamaria born in Cuba. What they all have in common, however, was centered around the music scene of New York City where African American and Latino musicians forged a common ground in creating “boogaloo” dance music, mixing elements of R&B, Soul, and Latin dance rhythms. The boogaloo genre was fairly short-lived, enjoying popularity during the 1960’s before giving way to salsa, in what was largely an East Coast and Caribbean impulse. “Watermelon Man” and ”El Watusi” were early and major boogaloo hits, but truly, most of the titles included in the program were popular recordings in their day, whether cha-cha-chas like Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va”, or GFyEN’s guajira. I’ve gathered them here for an hour’s worth of revelation for those too young to have heard thi...

Search This Blog