Hear musical blends of the Indian subcontinent with dance, folk, jazz, pop, classical music and opera in work by sitarist Jasdeep Singh Degun, tabla player Sarathy Korwar and Upaj Collective, Anoushka Shankar and Alev Lenz, and sarangi player Suhail Yusuf Khan in collaboration with James Yorkston and Jon Thorne.
There’s music by Leeds-born sitarist and composer Jasdeep Singh Degun, a musician “steeped in the North Indian classical tradition” (Real World Records), from his 2022 opera, Orpheus. Written for Opera North and Sotuh Asian Arts-uk, the work combines Indian classical music with Monterverdi’s 17th century opera, and launched a viral hit single, “Aapki Khushi”. Hear this song, featuring British Tamil singer and musician Ashnaa Sasikaran, who sang the character of Eurydice, and it expresses her love for her new husband, Orpheus”.
Then, it’s music from US-born, India-raised, London-based drummer and tabla player Sarathy Korwar together with the Upaj Collective, recorded at Church of Sound in London. “Upaj” is the Hindi word for impromptu – for when you’ve learned the rules, internalized the scales, learned the techniques and are able to flow freely in improvisation. Listen to a work originally by the American saxophonist Joe Henderson, and one that featured Alice Coltrane on harp, in this rendition by Sarathy Korwar and Upaj Collective.
Also, hear a kind of hybrid folk-jazz Indian classical music from the collaborative trio of James Yorkston, Jon Thorne, and Suhail Yusuf Khan from their record, Navarasa: Nine Emotions. Each layer contributes vocals to material both original and reimagined as Khan, on sarangi (a box-shaped cello from India), Thorne, on double bass, and Yorkston, principally on guitar, all improvise within their mutual space.
Plus, hear work by sitarist and composer Anoushka Shankar (daughter of the legendary sitar player Ravi Shankar), featuring German-Turkish singer/songwriter Alev Lenz, from her record, Love Letters, and more. - Caryn Havlik
Program #4737 The Anglo-Indian Tradition (First aired 4/7/23)
ARTIST: Yorkston/Thorne/Khan
WORK: Waliyan Da Raja [1:10]
RECORDING: Navarasa: Nine Emotions
SOURCE: Domino Records
INFO: dominomusic.com
ARTIST: Jasdeep Singh Degun, feat. Ashnaa
WORK: Aapki Kushi [4:00]
RECORDING: Aapki Kushi
SOURCE: Real World Records
INFO: jasdeepsinghdegun.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Sarathy Korwar feat. Upaj Collective
WORK: Joe Henderson: Earth [14:41]
RECORDING: My East Is Your West
SOURCE/INFO: sarathykorwar.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Yorkston/Thorne/Khan
WORK: Waliyan Da Raja [4:24]
RECORDING: Navarasa: Nine Emotions
SOURCE: Domino Records
INFO: dominomusic.com
ARTIST: The Imagined Village
WORK: Bending The Dark [12:22]
RECORDING: Bending The Dark
SOURCE: Emmerson, Corncrake & Constantine - #ECC 006
INFO: Available at AppleMusic, Amazon.com, Spotify, or YouTube
ARTIST: Anoushka Shankar, feat. Alev Lenz
WORK: Bright Eyes [6:25]
RECORDING: Love Letters
SOURCE: Mercury Records
INFO: https://mkx.lnk.to/AnoushkaLoveLettersPS
ARTIST: Sheila Chandra
WORK: Bhajan [7:04]
RECORDING: Weaving My Ancestors' Voices
SOURCE: Caroline 2322 / Real World Records
INFO: realworldrecords.com