Back in the heady fifties legends like Ravi Shankar, John Coltrane and T.S.Vinayak Ram popularised Indo-Jazz fusion by placing a saxophone alongside the sitar and tabla. After forty five years the new generation is taking over from where the older one left....

Forty five years after its first introduction, Indo-Jazz fusion is once again ready to strum its way into the hearts of serious music lovers. And for the first time in years it may have nothing to do with the resurgence of interest in greats like Pandit Ravi Shankar, John Coltrane, L.Shankar and T.S.Vinayak Ram. There is new synergy as generation next takes over. Salil Mohan Bhatt, son of Grammy award winning Vishwa Mohan Bhatt is one of the leaders of the new pram pack. The fast rising group, Indian Ocean has been making a virtually unnoticed ascent up the fusion charts and also experimenting with the blend are New York-based Nitin Sawhney and Faisal Hussain (younger brother of Ustad Zakir Hussain), UK-based group Terra Cotta and also Divya, a blend of saxophone, trumpet, sitar and Indian percussion.

Indo-jazz fusion is a genre of music that mixes jazz and Indian classical music to form an exotic blend of both. It all startd back in the early sixties when the double quintet of Kolkata-born composer and violinist John Mayer and London-based Jamaican musician Joe Harriott put a saxophone alongside the sitar and tabla and created fusion. But the origin of Indo-Jazz goes back to the fifties when two American musicians, John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy began looking to Indian music to infuse life into a stagnating jazz language.

Coltrane and Dolphy were influenced by a host of musicians including Pandit Ravi Shankar, Bud Shank and Don Ellis who co-led the Hindustani Jazz Sextet with Harihar Rao. Pushed along by these heavyweights, Indo-jazz began gaining a popular appeal by the early sixties though by no means a mainstream phenomenon, or as commercially viable as pop music.

In early seventies with the arrival of John McLaughlin and his Mahavishnu and Shakti bands, Indo-jazz fusion really started taking form. Every Indian member of Shakti has since become a legend of Indian music or Indo-jazz fusion: Zakir Hussain, T. S. Vinayak Ram (a prominent percussionist) and violinist L. Shankar (brother of L. Subramaniam).

Things quietened after the initial euphoria and fans went back to their respective interests in pure pop and classical music.

However, Indo-Jazz fusion never died. It had its diehard fans and performers. One of them was Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek. As well as his own numerous fusion albums, he played on most landmark Indo-jazz fusion albums since the mid-eighties. These included Zakir Hussian's highly acclaimed Making Music (ECM 1986) and L. Shankar's Song for Everyone (ECM 1985).

Garbarek's own Indo-jazz fusion albums include Madar (ECM, 1984) with Ustad Shaukat Hussain and Anouar Brahem, and Ragas and Sagas (ECM 1992) a fantastically moving album with the late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Unfortunately, none of these albums are available in India.

As the nineties dawned, things cooled off and nothing was heard of this genre. Till last year when the popularity of Indo-Jazz fusion suddenly revived. The revival has been both instant and electric even as collaborations are being linked between Indian classical and western jazz musicians.

Salil Mohan Bhatt is following the example of father Vishwa Mohan Bhatt whose jugalbandi with American-Spanish guitarist Ry Cooder resulted in the 1993 Grammy-winning album, Meeting by the River. Salil is following suit by teaming up with Mexican guitarist David Herdalgo and their new album is likely to be released by December 2002.

The young musician is also holding a concert that would be a fusion of Indian classical with Australian country guitar. " It's the first of its kind. Fusion is the basis of life. Two divergent music forms can develop into a uniform identity," says Salil all ready to cut out an individual identity of his own.

It was in the early 60s when modern jazz era legends such as John Coltrane discovered acts like Ravi Shankar and started experimenting with Indian classical music. Ravi Shankar's efforts in promoting Indian music in the West helped a lot. Now Coltrane's daughter, Alice is experimenting with the genre.

In New York, Nitin Sawhney is re-inventing the fusion. His interpretation is more Indian soul than just instruments. It is more pure in concept and thought.

Then there is one of the world's best-known jazz percussionists and Indo-jazz fusion creators -- Trilok Gurtu. recently released a compilation of his greatest tunes.

A UK-based Indian, Harjinder Matharu is leading the charge in England and reviving fusion with his music. Matharu specialises in the tabla. As a young man his studies culminated in a diploma in music and now he is very active in England and performs with European saxophonists all over the world.

What stands out in classical fusion music is the strength one genre draws from the other. The ragas unwinding at leisure over the rhythmic beat of the tabla and the strums of the sitar.

And at long last, music companies realising the trend have begun to re-issue the wonderful Indo-Jazz recordings that have been slumbering in their vaults for many moons.

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