by

Surabhi Khosla

Pandit Ravi Shankar with his group Jazzmin

Fusing together the classical music worlds of the East and the West, Pandit Ravi Shankar has brought together a group of  jazz musicians who will perform in various parts of the country including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Goa over the next few months. Christened Jazzmin after one of Panditji’s compositions, the band comprises a group of six California-based musicians.

He is the maestro of classical music and arguably the most outstanding sitar-player the world has ever seen. However, these sobriquets don’t seem enough for India’s musical icon Pandit Ravi Shankar who is now out to prove that he is more than just an exceptionally gifted musician – he is India’s greatest music ambassador.

Fusing together the classical music worlds of the East and the West, Pandit Ravi Shankar has brought together a group of extremely proficient jazz musicians who will perform in various parts of the country including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Goa over the next few months.

"They were some of the most dedicated and committed students I have had the pleasure of teaching. I was very impressed by their enthusiastic devotion and urged them to come to India and perform here," says the maestro.

The training has been rigorous. The band of six musicians would eat, sleep and think Indian classical music. "It was extremely challenging learning classical music of India. I would get up in my sleep and start chanting what guru ji had taught us that day," says band member Carlee Strauss.

Pandit Shankar has himself composed two numbers called Mangalam Mangalam and Krishna, which Jazzmin will be performing along with their original scores in the genres of Rock n Roll and Jazz at the concerts.

"Every time we sat with guruji he taught us something new. There were so many things to imbibe and comprehend. But guruji was a very patient teacher," says Seth Blumberg. However Seth also feels that the jazz background of the group had already laid the foundation for learning Indian classical music.

According to bass player Kevin Cooper, who was the last to join, Indian beats have more substance than what they play in America. " I had to master everything that the others had already learnt in just one short week. It was crazy and exhilarating at the same time. The experience of understanding and learning some of the most expressive and sophisticated melodies was invigorating to say the least," says he.

Pandit Ravi Shankar who has been coaching the band for many months now is as excited about the forthcoming performances as the members. He feels that only a jazz group could have picked up the music with such ease as jazz is the nearest to Indian folk music. "Our rhythmic base is so advanced and developed that it encompasses a lot of beats used in jazz, so training Jazzmin was not very tough," says he.

He feels sad that classical music is losing its sponsors "There gas been a change of scene in the last few years in India with sponsors for classical musicians difficult to come by. It’s strange that we ape the west in so many ways and then disregard the fact that operas, ballets and symphony orchestras abroad are such revered forms of music," he sighs.

Pandit Ravi Shankar feels that one reason for the fall in sponsorships could be due to the fact that it is ‘classical music not massical music’. "We do not play for the masses but for a niche class, which enjoys and appreciates our form of music. However that is not to say that we simply block out other audiences. It’s our constant endeavour to woo music lovers and we therefore work with fusion music quite a bit," says he.

Question him about Norah Jones and he becomes circumspect. "I like fusion music but I cannot perform with her as her genre is not mine," says he adding, "Though Sting is a great friend of mine and the late George Harrison was like a member of the family, I have never jammed with them. I may have experimented in the confines of traditional Indian melodies but Western music is something that I cannot do."

Inspite of his years, Pandit Ravi Shankar shows no signs of slowing down. On the cards are many projects on the creative side, which he refuses to reveal at the moment. Also on the agenda is the issue of providing a platform for young and upcoming musicians as well as catering to a mixed audience.

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