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By the time Ranjanaa Devi, director of the Fine Arts Center’s Asian Arts & Culture Program, asked the Magic Triangle Jazz Series about co-producing Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Dakshina Ensemble, I’d already heard some music from their 2005 debut tour, and was suitably impressed. With a helpful push from FAC Director Willie Hill, Ranjanaa and I signed on for what was an extra concert in both our seasons.

Dakshina is Rudresh’s cutting edge septet of Indian and American-based musicians playing original material in (mostly) raga form. The thirty-something alto saxophonist shares the spotlight with an amazing Indian alto saxophonist, Kadri Gopalnath. Steeped in traditional Carnatic music, Kadri is self-taught on the alto (which has no place in his chosen music). Taught by nagaswaram (double reed instrument) teachers, Kadri has developed a phenomenal technique and a totally unique sound on the instrument.

I had met Rudresh in 2005 when he performed at UMass (a Magic Triangle Series/New WORLD Theater collaboration), as part of the Vijay Iyer/Mike Ladd production of “In What Language?” A fond memory of that visit took place the night before the UMass concert, when Rudresh and Vijay ventured to Hank Berry’s house in Leverett. The duo – formally known as Raw Materials – played (Vijay adapting well to Hank’s old upright), ate and made merry with about 25 of our friends (who had all chipped in for the privilege).

Rudresh is a talented, 21st century improviser. He’s smart in lots of things (math, economics, computers, music) and savvy, in an unassuming way. This tour – 8 performances in 7 cities – was produced by Asia Society, but there was no tour manager, Rudresh attended to the details. He was my point person on directions, backline and itineraries, and he made it easy; he was thorough, attentive to details and relaxed about it all. One thing Rudresh learned over the course of the tour was that it was better to have Kadri and his long-time collaborator, violinist, A. Kanyakumari, arrive closer to the actual sound check. I drove them to the venue.

Although Kadri knew literally nothing about jazz, he had the air of a jazz musician (confounding expectations, a little renegade). He did not have the career trajectory of a typical All India musician. When he would take his music exams as a youngster, the judges’ distain for his instrument changed to wonderment as he’d nail his exercises. For years, he had a day job, and would woodshed when not sleeping. Although he seemed like royalty to me, I recognized in him a flexible, non-chalance that I’d seen in many jazz musicians. He had a freelancer’s attitude.

Kanyakumari, however, was like no other musician I’d produced. A small, self-contained woman, she seemed out of place walking around the Quality Inn (or anywhere else in the States). I was told she had disciples throughout America who would bring her food wherever the band played. (Her religious practice had prescribed dietary laws. Sunday, the day of our concert, was the day she could eat anything.) Immersed in her music and religious practice, she had a far-away focus that was awe-inspiring.

As I drove them to Bowker Auditorium I was making chit-chat with Kadri (whose English is a little better than hers). As the conversation waned I heard a faint sound. The car radio was off and I was not being addressed. It was Kanyakumari in the back seat, praying, I think. Playing fewer notes than the saxophonists, she conjured the blues (intuitive, emotive, stripped to its bare essentials.)

Earlier upon arriving, Rudresh informed us our platform for Kadri and Kanyakumari, who sat cross legged the entire concert, was way too low. The production crew was able to find more and avert a major faux pas. But the concert went off without a hitch, and it was one of the most profound musical experiences of my life. Many others I talked to afterwards (both my jazzbo friends and Ranjanaa’s core Indian audience) agreed that this was transformative music of a very high order.

The music was a true hybrid: Indian-based, but jazz inflected. It was new music from deep within two traditions. As Budd Kopman wrote in his review of the Ensemble’s New York concert, “We were most definitely not in southern India, and yet we were not in uptown New York City either — we were in ‘DakshinaLand’.”

The UMass concert was Dakshina’s last in the tour. (Half way through, the band detoured back to New York to record. Look for the Pi Records release this fall.) The band was well oiled and in good spirits. All the musicians played masterfully. But credit most of all goes to Rudresh, who wrote music that everyone could sink their improvising chops into, and who built a beautifully-paced concert of provocative combinations. The concert – almost 2 hours without a break – passed in a flash.

I was especially impressed with the trap drummer, royal hartigan, who pushed the band and gave it bite. royal is an authority on West African drumming, and has studied deeply the percussion traditions of other great musical cultures. (He’s also a 1981 UMass grad.) I was amazed to hear from Rudresh that it had taken him a few gigs to get the feel just right.

Afterwards, we ate at the home of Dr.and Mrs. Seshu Desu, who had gone all out preparing a sumptuous Indian meal. They even made their teenage daughters wear saris. I (in the most polite way I could) stuffed my face. Kanyakumari ate like a bird.

Written by Glenn Siegel

What a week! These guys were really fun to watch with students. They all had very individual, and very different, teaching styles and techniques. And the students seemed to love every one of them!

The residency activities began on Tuesday morning, when Miguel (alto sax) and Luis (piano) went to the jazz theory and improvisation class. Of the ten people in attendance, seven were students. Miguel talked about being part of the Kennedy Center Jazz Ambassadors Program, a group he went with to West Africa, and the SF Jazz Collective. He said that all eight members of the SF Jazz Collective are commissioned to write a piece, so there are at least eight new pieces for the group every year. In this class, they played Miguel’s piece “Light at the End of a Tunnel,” a piece in 9/4 time. They then broke it down for the students. They did the same with a piece by Luis, and broke that down, too.

Tuesday afternoon Miguel and Matt (bass) went to two combined classes, Arranging and Composition along with a Beginning Improv class. 28 people attended; 25 of whom were students.

Tuesday evening all four of the band members worked with the UMass chamber jazz ensembles. 20 people attended, 18 of whom were students. Three different groups performed for them, and the band gave their individual input into how the students could make improvements to their playing. I think the biggest comment heard throughout the evening was that the students should do what they can to get out of the (written) music and play by memory; especially all the jazz standards, which every jazz musician should know. And in every key, so you can play on a moment’s notice. Learn the tune: listen to many versions, one for sure with vocals so you can learn the words. “You can’t feel the music if you’re reading the music” was what they were saying.

Wednesday morning began with Miguel conducting a radio interview for WMUA with Ron Freshley, who was sitting in for Ken Irwin, host of Java Jazz.

After the interview, Miguel and Jeff (drums) went to Amherst Regional High School, where they worked with the jazz workshop there (about 30 people attended). Miguel commented to me later how impressed he was with the ability of the students who played for him. Luis and Matt went to the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts High School, where 73 people, the majority of them students, heard them play the jazz standard “I Hear Rhapsody,” along with the blues song “Take the Coletraine.” Both guys commented about how very enthusiastic the group was (they wished all their audiences were as enthusiastic as they were!), answered some questions, and then they listened to a small combo of students play. Both Matt and Luis were impressed with the students’ abilities.

On Wednesday afternoon, they all had their own master classes (about 10 in each class, again the majority were students). Each one focused on something different, depending on who was in their audience. In Miguel’s class, one student asked, “Yesterday, the theme seemed to be ‘Get out of the charts, get out of the music.’ How do you go about learning tunes?” Miguel’s response was that he listens and transcribes as much as possible. He listens to vocal versions (of jazz standards) to learn the words. He transcribes solos to learn them intimately. He might use a score to learn the melody, but he memorizes it as quickly as possible. He definitely notices a difference between when he plays reading the music and when he plays from memory, and all four of the band members definitely noticed it when they were hearing students play for them the night before, most of whom were reading music at the time.

In Matt’s master class, they were discussing rhythms. A couple students were clapping a steady beat, while the others were clapping something in 12/8 time. Eventually, Matt played along with his bass, and with the continued clapping, it sounded (almost) like a rhythm section!

Luis at the piano, played one of his compositions. One student asked if she could play an original composition of her own for Luis and get feedback from him about it. One of his suggestions was that perhaps she could use inversions (and adding the 9th) to add flavor and variety to the piece.

Jeff talked about the role of the drummer in the band. He suggested to the students that they learn music from as close to the source as possible. For example, what is the tango? The dance is full of sensual moves, the music includes accordion and acoustic bass. Knowing that, choose drum sounds based on that information. He said, “If any of you write music and say to the drummer, ‘play a Latin beat,’ slap yourselves or something! What do you mean? Samba? Bassa nova? Straight 8th notes? South America is a big area, with lots of countries and different rhythms. Be specific with what you want from the drummer.”

Our guest artists found their way to Open Square in Holyoke, where they mingled with others who were there to hear a great salsa band, Combo Sabrosa. Miguel had gone to school in Boston with some members of the band. There were about 100 people there for the Fine Arts Center sponsored salsa party.

Thursday morning was a pleasant surprise. We had a different residency activity planned, but it was cancelled on Tuesday. In between all the residency things happening on Tuesday and Wednesday, and with help from Jeff Holmes and Paul Lieberman of the UMass Music Department faculty, we were able to replace the activity with a very cool event. The students had heard the band play a little bit in the previous two days, and the band had heard the students play. What the students really wanted was to play WITH the band, in different combinations. Well, the guys of the band were willing to do just that, so on Thursday morning in Bezanson Recital Hall, with 47 people in the audience (most of them students), Miguel asked if there were any horn players who would like to join the quartet (they were going to play a blues piece). Three UMass students went up on stage, two alto sax players and one bari player. Miguel played the head with the rhythm section, took the first solo, and then opened it up to the student soloists. It was so exciting to watch the interaction between the students and the professional musicians. Having fun, making music, together. Very cool.

Next up for students were a trumpet player, and a guitar player, along with Matt on bass and Jeff on drums. Also a blues, a little faster tempo. Again, Miguel played the head and the first solo and then passed it over to the students. This was the form on every tune played. Third was a student bass and piano along with Jeff on drums. Finally, to close out the set, there was a student drummer and guitar player with Matt on bass and Luis on piano.

Some of the comments made to the students were (in no particular order): “Make sure to look at each other. In addition to listening, you also need to communicate with your eyes, too.” “Moving around is cool if that’s what you feel, but you may want to try to ground yourself just a little more.” “Don’t be afraid to take your solo.” “Make sure that what you’re playing in the rhythm section works with what others are playing. If you want to experiment a little bit, that’s cool, but it should still ‘fit’ with what the others are playing.” “Rhythm section (piano or bass): don’t be afraid to comp when it’s not your solo. I know sometimes you want to give them space, and that’s cool, but don’t be afraid to comp so that the soloist has the chords to assist them.”

With about ten minutes to go, Paul asked the students if they wanted to ask Miguel, Matt, Jeff or Luis anything. They had only one question…. “Will you play for us?” To which the band happily obliged.

Written by Lori Tuominen, Education Program Manager

The performance last night with Miguel Zenón and his quartet was absolutely electrifying. Miguel’s command of his instrument and complete control of his music and musicians contributed to one of the best performances at Bowker Auditorium in years. This was the opinion of my wife Beverly, our guest Dr. Henry Thomas (UMass Trustee), his wife Dee and myself. Miguel Zenón certainly took the 2007 Billy Taylor Jazz Residency to a new level of artistic heights.

Written by Dr. Willie Hill, Jr., Director of the Fine Arts Center