Saturday night in Bangalore. Overcast and a little moody. Brisk biting wind outside. No better place to be than Herbs and Spice for an evening of jazz with Amit Heri. Since it was a solo perfomance, it was interesting to see songs being built layer upon layer with his loop station. The setting was perfect. Amit’s light strains of whole tone scales and modal improvisations were placed and precise, between humble containment and other times spilling over the ambient table clatter.
His set list contained smart jazz classics like ‘Black Orpheus’, ‘Canteloupe Island’ and ‘Spain’. I personally loved his rendition of ‘A Day In The Life of a Fool’. Melancholic and soulful, his Godin Multiac has a tone that is outworldly and is a masterpiece of craftmanship. Nylon strings on a semi acoustic body that allows for synth access is a guitar worthy of only the noblest fingers. Thats not to say his other guitar, the Gibson ES 355, is any less. Everyone from BB King to Alex Lifeson of Rush has this model as their trademark.
The Digitech Jamman Loopstation is a great tool to make some improv music sound very full and complete onstage. He started one number with a well metered bass+chord sequence, looped that, added a sustained arpeggio on alternate bars, then chopped a chord drenched in wah, and a finally added a ‘string pat’ drum beat. After this layering he moved into a bluesy phrased motif a la John Scofield and lauched into a funk-jazz solo with a beautifully synced finish killing the loop. His later tracks segued jazz-prog with carnatic, sliding some open chord pattern. The last track was a display of his brilliance with some skilled shredding.
Amit looked content throughout the show and his music flowed out effortlessly, peaking against the soft lighting, earthy colors and added various flavors to the mood throughout the evening. Elegant, smooth, and impactful, Amit truly is one of the great living masters of the guitar.
