Tag Archives: John Coltrane

Three Wheels Nine Lives by Thermal And A Quarter

If the city of Bangalore ever masqueraded in the sonic dimension, it would probably be heard in a TAAQ album. Three Wheels Nine Lives (3W9L) is a guaranteed bumpy ride through the city on that black-and-yellow mean machine.

3W9L impresses right from the album art, the inner sleeves, and the humungous poster with caricatures of the trio.

Surrender opens up a funky first disc with a lot of hooks and sing-alongs. The wah-wah croaks and sniggers around Bruces Hendrix-y casual vocals. The title track Meter Mele One and a Half is in 11/8 time or 5.5/8, which comes from the title (meter -4, mele– plus 1 ½ =5 ½). Despite the complex time, the songs still got addictive chorus lines.

The auto takes a break as Bruce and friends relax with mellower tones that seem to paint sonic pictures of Lalbagh. In the Middle, Birthday and Bangalore Flowers have the best lyrics on the album. While In the Middle has a reference to John Coltrane, Birthday outrageously imagines the possibilities of time being space. Bangalore Flowers is the pick of disc one, which lyrics that Bangalore-lovers(lovers of Bangalore and lovers in Bangalore) can relate to and a brilliant much-awaited-on-disc-1 Bruce Lee Mani guitar solo.

If Them Blues fuses Chennais local dabbankuthu genre (the beat, the whistle) with Hendrixs Jam back at the house (Woodstock 69). The jazzy guitar-vocals duet in Sad Moon featuring Priya Mendens on haunting vocals closes disc one.

For the Cat retains some of disc-ones Saturday-afternoon-in-your-armchair-sipping-coffee feel of tracks like Bangalore Flowers and Billboard Bride but slowly moves into a tighter blues groove before returning back to the armchair. Ho-hum (instrumental) is a brisk walk between auto-stands, while Chameleon and Dangerous Mind are the two dark-hard tracks of the album.

Saturday afternoon moves into night with the ponderous Who Do We Have Sex With? and the fizzy Wont Stop. The bluegrass-y bonus track Something You Said closes out disc two in a fashion similar to disc one mellow and haunting.

The singles and live disc has its own gems Simply Be a quirky eccentric track with a cracking bass solo, Mighty Strange and One Small Love have fluttery sax and a husky flute with the latter being in 10/8 time embroidered with a very Dire Strait-ish guitar work. Grab Me is the best song on the disc, a 12/8 slow burning blues with lovely solos and the anti-corruption anthem Kickbackistan completes the auto journey.

In 3W9L, TAAQ have brewed a perfect concoction of laid-back bluesy tracks and brisk rock n roll. The environs are unmistakable Bangalore with its street-side chat shops and the large malls, the IT folk and the parks and yet it never gets up-market at any point in the album.

If youre a guitarist you want Bruces amp and if youre a vocalist you want his everyman Bangalorean casual approach to singing parts in complex time. His solos are sophisticated yet expressive. The rhythms section of TAAQ (Prakash KN on bass, Rajeev Rajagopal on drums) keeps the grooves tight and interesting through the winding time signatures.

While many bands in the country are opting for a native and desi feel with Carnatic, Hindustani or folk-ish sounds to spice things up and express themselves succinctly, TAAQ use the time-tested palette of jazz-infused blues, and aptly so, for the urban Bangalore vibe is precisely what they want to conjure.

Purushotham Kaushik

Purushotham Kaushik is a freakish-blues guy with a Carnatic frame of mind and surreal poetic sensibilities.

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Leslie Charles Trio at The Rooftop Grill Bar, Bangalore

Braving the onslaught that is Bangalore traffic on a Friday evening and the dustbowl that is Kasavanahalli, I arrived at the lovely stone building that housed the Rooftop Grill Bar. Thinking that I had minutes before the event started (the time mentioned on the poster was 8:00 p.m.), I rushed in to see that, much to my relief, the time had been changed to 8:30 p.m. Although the location was not very well known and this was the first time that the Leslie Charles Trio was playing together, I was itching to hear them live. The venue had a great view, two very friendly owners and the perfect atmosphere for a great evening of smooth jazz and bebop.Â At first, the venue seemed to be sparsely populated but slowly people started pouring in, forming an intimate and cozy atmosphere.

The buzz and anxiety intensified as the clock struck nine and the soundcheck still hadn’t ended. I must mention here that this may turn out to be more of a log of the evening and not a review as one must be at the same caliber as these three vastly talented musicians to even attempt a review. Although this was their first gig together, the members of the band are individually, stars in the burgeoning jazz scene of Bangalore. On the bass guitar was Leslie Charles, teacher at the The Nathaniel School of Music and ex-bassist for Allegro Fudge. Ramanan Chandramouli, currently an instructor at the TAAQademy and member of Mad Orange Fireworks and Blind Image, was on lead guitars. To complete this trifecta, Deepak Raghu took his place as the drummer who is famously associated with Bevar Sea and many other acts. There was no doubt that the evening was going to be magical.

After imbibing some liquid courage and having undergone a quick wardrobe change, (for a very dapper Ramanan!) the band opened the set with Billy Cobham’s ‘Stratus’. They set the right groovy mood with the thumping bass of this slower, more minimalistic version. Many in the crowd were familiar to the band members and, though not raucous, indulged in gentle heckling and ribbing especially of Ramanan who was asked to “play better” after they finished their second song ‘Oasis’. Next they tackled the great Thelonious Monk’s jazz standard ‘Blue Monk’. Again, they went for a more restrained interpretation without straying from the original groove and chutzpah. Each song was done justice with the brilliant acoustics of the venue without anyone having to cup their ears to hear well or having their eardrums blown out.

The band moved on to the legendary Miles Davis track ‘Footprints’ so effortlessly showing us exactly why we should watch out for them. Shrugging off the continued comments from the crowd about their attire, especially a certain sporting hat, the boys next played ‘Led Boots’. The slow melodic overture dominated by the lead guitar, bass dominated interlude and the solo drum section got the crowd going with many of them crowding around the stage and dancing to music. Just when we anticipated that the song would end in a glorious frenzy of the drums the guitars kicked in continuing this wonderful rendition of the song.

After a slight adjustment to the gear, the band went on to another Miles Davis classic ‘All Blues’. The funky intro urged many out of their seats and many people stood near the band appreciatively bobbing their heads and smiling at intricate rhythms flying off the guitars effortlessly.

The second half of the gig commenced with ‘Blackout’ followed by the seminal jazz piece ‘Autumn Leaves’. It is a testament to their talent that they could provide such an unforgettable version on this piece with just three instruments. To emphasize that the evening was mainly a Miles Davis tribute, the trio followed with ‘So What’ and ‘Blue in Green’. The slow beat, alternating tempo, hypnotizing riff and slow fade out on the former song resulted in one audience member lustily yelling out “Oh Yeah!”

Keyboard maestro Bharath Kumar joined them next on the track ‘Recorda- me’ by Joe Henderson who let loose with some frenzied and fantastic playing. The now energized crowd applauding madly at the jubilant band was rewarded handsomely with the next track ‘Chicken’ made famous by Jaco Pastorius. This upbeat and cheerful number lent an appropriately vibrant flavor to the now smoke filled and hazy bar. With ‘My Favourite Things’, they moved on to a sadder, mellower strain as they got ready to bid adieu to the crowd. Bharath took a break from this track and Ramanan’s slow coaxing of the guitar was the highlight of this song. Little did anyone realize that it was close to midnight! With the genial banter, lively interaction with the band members and smooth-as-whiskey jazz; no one wanted the evening to end.

Due to some persistent and effective persuasion from a fellow listener, the band decided to indulge us with a live jam session with Bharath Kumar returning on keyboards. A great guitar and keyboard duet ensued and the evening ended on a perfect note!

Leslie was stoicism personified throughout the gig while leaving us all awestruck at his talent. Deepak regaled up all with some great drum licks and coupled with their confidence and fantastic rapport with the crowd gifted us with a near perfect gig. Close to midnight, the fantastic gig ended only to be marred by someone asking the guitarist to play a Hindi song for them. Thankfully, and with admirable firmness, he refused. Although the gig started late and lasted well past closing time, I was just happy having the chance to be at the first gig by the Leslie Charles Trio. They invoked the demi-gods of jazz- such as Miles Davis, Jaco Pastorius, John Coltrane and the wonderful chemistry shared by the members left an indelible impression of a talented band that has so much to offer in the future.

Anusmita Datta

Anusmita Datta is an ardent day-dreamer, music lover, die-hard foodie and occasional writer. Her obsession with pandas is sometimes disturbing and she can be often found lusting after momos!

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Indian Blue at The BFlat Bar

An auspicious month like this calls for some extraordinary classical music festivals and performances all over India. For us Bangaloreans, we had the city of joy brought down to us with the guys from Indian Blue. Theyve been touring Bangalore for the festive season and were playing their last show before heading back home.

Led by Shiraz Ali Khan, grandson of the late Ustad Ali Akbar Khan on Sarod, their music is a continuum of rich classical Indian melody crossing over with some groovy funk-blues for some contemporary sounding world fusion. The lineup included Dishari Chakraborty on Persian Santoor; Arindam Bhattacharya on Vocals; Ranjan De on Bangla Dhol, Tabla; Shovon Mukherjee on Bass guitar; Santonu Borah on Electric guitar and Avijit Sarkar on Drums.

The show kicked off with an impromptu drum+bass jam on John Coltranes Mr. PC, this is where Avijit and Shovon set the precedent for the rest of the show outlining the mastery that each of the instrumentalists commands.

Journey was the first track, a nice happy instrumental track lead in the motif by the Sarod. I noticed some crisp hi-hat work and some outstanding bass runs a feature I will emphasize for the remainder of the review. Anticipation followed on with the same energy. Some tight little synchronized sections gave me a nice taste of things to come. Arindam joined the band on stage to sing the next song, what I recognised as Kesariya Baalam a Rajasthani folk song thats been covered by scores of legends over the years.Measurably slower to suit some delicate harkats, Raag Mand is but one flavor to the Rajasthani Folk sound. Toned bass fills and tabla flourishes filled up the ether along with some delectable bass harmonics. The next track maintained the same mellow feel. Since the levels were a bit lower the tabla was noticeably loud and sharp. This was the time when conversations resumed on tables and people were murmuring amongst themselves and I got the feeling that the audience was slowly slipping away, but then, one transition and drumroll changed everything. The music peaked and crescendo-ed, the energy rose breaking into a crunchy guitar solo. Dishari showed us what a Santoor was capable of with a small interlude, playing down the energy to finish in style.

The next song was interesting; a funky guitar riff set the motif in meter with a time signature in 14/8. It took me quite a few cycles to figure that one out. Launch guitar solo, and resolve to the motif while Avijit Sarkar soloed inside and outside the time boundary with some smooth syncopation. Everyone dropped out for Ranjans Bangla Dhol solo, very Phish-like in giving space to cut loose for a solo spot, while the drum and bass hold on tight to that meter for a groove right in the pocket.

Next up was a dissonant sounding vocal track, Arindam sounded melancholic and yet contemptful with some ornate alaaps, imitated, teased and replied to on the tabla. And when the warm feeling was full of itself, the mood transitioned, heavier and louder with a rock style driving the song into a finality for the set.

Whilst the band took a break, Ranjan entertained the audience with an innovative comical score interpreting a conversation between a husband and wife as performed by Taufiq Qureshi. The band got back on stage to resume regular programming after Ranjans mouth percussion act and a durga puja-esque dhol solo.

There was a request for a Bengali song and Indian Blue obliged. Simply in melody, light sugam vocals made for a nostalgic Bengali song. Sidenote It is worth a mention that the best original music modern for its times in the 70s was always from Calcutta. My recommendation to non-Bengalis would be to listen to the forerunner of the movement – Mohiner Ghoraguli.

The highlight of the evening would have to be their rendition of the classic Beatles track While My Guitar Gently Weeps with a light bossa nova beat, those humble chords, the Santoor and Sarod flavoring the melody with a teaspoon of Hindustani classicism. The song simply flowed out from an alternate universe where peace and love unites all humanity. I loved how they presented this song.

They ended the show with an original track dedicated to the gods of the monsoon, a Saawan Barse track that had a tremendous build up with some guitar-delay effects and Ranjan on the mike, creating a sinister vocal texture, brooding like an imminent thundercloud, covering the dry earth with rain as Arindam sang with the joy that abounds in the hearts of people in relief from the sun and in gratitude to the heavens – a powerful way to end a fantastic show and leave a very happy crowd shouting for more.

My key takeaways from this gig were Avijits drumming style – crisp, neat and really attentive to dynamics in levels. Shovon is currently in my Top 3 bass guitarists list. Indian Blue has a sound distinct in this upcoming niche of fusion bands and with some impressive lineage on their side, coupled with their sheer talent- Indian Blue has a long way to go, please await the release of their new album in the coming months.

Fidel Dsouza

Fidel Dsouza is a Journalist/Editor at WTS

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Infusion at Alliance Francaise de Bangalore

Infusion: To incorporate a thought or process. Alliance Francaise was the place to be on Friday night if you felt like some smooth jazz. The lineup for the night was Frijo Francis on Piano, Dominic Yesudas on Bass and Victor Francis on the Drums. I had heard only the best reviews about the band and was looking forward to watching them live.

Since I arrived a bit late, (unfashionably) I walked right into the jazz standard ‘Summertime’. It started off with a funk drum beat leading right into the song motif headed by Frijo. The first thing that struck me was the actual ‘sound’ they had – the perfect feel for swinging jazz with the dynamic modulations. After a really crazy piano solo, they switched lanes to move into a jazz/swing beat and recovered the funk for the ending.

Up next was ‘Softly, As In a Morning Sunrise’, another classic. I have to mention that Dominic works with an acoustic upright bass. It’s a beast just to handle, but the man toys with it with majestic ease. He’s got those smooth bass lines that lay the groove down hard! If you’ve heard some Miles Davis or John Coltrane, you will know that the double bass has an identity of its own. Frijo dropped out on the piano; Victor kept to the hi-hats and let the bass solo lead the way.

The band didn’t really chat or converse with the crowd between songs, so the songs were flowing fast and thick. I assume the next track was an original; Dominic switched to the electric bass, and after a catchy intro, a neat little bridge section opened the canvas to a wild wicked frenzy with Frijo picking up his Yamaha Keytar. The man has fingers that move like precise metal type bars, leaving in its wake, hundreds of notes on the piano that pant out of breath in exhaustion.

Another original track followed, very edgy and dissonant. It brought on another mood to experiment with, which is pretty much how they function on stage – with not a rigid form but an experiment with varied styles, individual brilliance and synchronized hits. There is a bare structure that exists, a simple concept that is steadily built upon, played with, teased and made richer.

Victor Francis is Calmness and Peace personified -even in the midst of thunderous drum rolls and tricky beat syncopation. A true veteran of the beat, he is a pleasure to watch for learning the nuances of jazz drumming.

Up next, was a jazz staple out of which these guys seemed to make an awesome salad! Horn Sections weren’t necessary; Frijo simply turns them into trills on the higher register. A funky ‘Watermelon Man’ in a neat tight package. After a couple of cycles on the motif, we headed down into another Keytar frenzy. There were a lot of ‘Guitarist wank squeals’ on his Keytar and electro-synth tones that whipped up a storm onstage.

After a massive applause, the audience yelled out for an encore. The boys returned to stage with ‘Take 5′. All in all, the band leaves a lasting impression of a Jazz band that delivers a powerful show of innovative renditions and strong original material.

We caught up with Sandeep Mukherjee of the band after the show who gave us some insight into the creative process of the band. He said that the improvisations arise from the unmatchable chemistry they share as a band. He also added that it is when music passes from instrumentalist to instrumentalist that they add their twist to it and it turns out into something more interesting than what they begin with. Sandeep also mentioned plans to help musicians with establishing an Academy to teach the finer aspects of Jazz.

Fidel Dsouza

Fidel Dsouza is a Journalist/Editor at WTS

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