A collaborative performance fusing jazz and kathak aims to shed light on the shared characteristics of the art forms
Dallas Smith, Susan Mazer and Aditi Bhagwat
For most of us, Western and Indian classical music seem divided by eras, tonalities, their instruments, and the way they’re structured. Kathak maestro Aditi Bhagwat tells us it takes a keen eye and an ear to the ground to reveal some surprising connections. A performance by Bhagwat, accompanied by American jazz musicians Dallas Smith and Susan Mazer, and percussionist Unmesh Banerjee will aim to bridge this gap for the audience. Through a fusion of jazz and kathak titled Jazz at Prithvi: Jazz Meets Kathak, the ensemble will highlight the unexpected common ground between the two artistic styles.
If it’s true that there is indeed some science behind all art, Bhagwat’s experimentations with kathak spanning decades and continents would be a fitting specimen. The 43-year-old, who has previously infused kathak with diverse art forms like lavani, flamenco and most recently, a few East Asian dance forms, shares, “I wanted to learn how much we have in common with other dance forms from across the globe. Through my experiments, I learned that although separated by terminologies, the core concepts remain the same.” Sharing an example, she tells us about her discovery of the Bol Banao ki thumri having characteristics similar to a love ballet in jazz. “These similarities form the base of the fusion, helping us build on it. But perfect harmony can only be brought about by musicians who have dedicated their lives to studying the intricacies of the individual artforms,” she notes.
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Dallas Smith, Aditi Bhagwat, and Susan Mazer at a previous show
It’s no surprise then, that the artiste will be joined by Smith, a woodwinds veteran who has shared a close bond with Hindustani music for over four decades. “My explorations of Hindustani music are rooted in my fascination with the late Pandit Pannalal Ghosh, a veteran flautist. His works led me to India and inspired me to pick up the bansuri,” he shares, adding that soon, like Bhagwat, he realised how jazz and Hindustani were closely linked. “Just like a Hindustani musician would play with the notes within a raga, jazz musicians are used to improvising within a scale or key. Even as we swap the usual drumkit out for a tabla, the similarities between the rhythms like the seven and five beat cycles that are reflected in certain taals help us adapt to the change,”
he remarks.
Harmonising with Smith on the stage will be his partner, Mazer, who believes that the harp, often harmonised over by other instruments, deserves a spotlight of its own in jazz. “In most performances involving a harp, you probably can’t even identify what part of the vast soundscape is coming from the instrument,” she sighs. The upcoming performance, Bhagwat assures us, will change things for the better. A purely improvisational section of the performance will witness Bhagwat and Mazer engage in impromptu storytelling. “Mazer will play a solo piece on her electro-acoustic harp. What she plays will be dictated purely by her emotions at the moment. Drawing parallels with the navarasa mentioned in the Natyashastra, my steps will follow,” she concludes.
ON March 24, 11 am
AT Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu.
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