I fell in love with jazz after a trip to New Orleans where I took in a concert at Preservation Hall: my life after that moment changed forever.
That pivotal moment happened just four years ago; it was then that I made the shift from thinking like a classical pianist and leaped into the world of jazz. It took many months of listening and practicing before I felt the “groove” and the swing and feel of jazz, but I leaned so much into this new genre for me because Indian music and classical had none of that. I felt completely in love with the rhythms, chords and swing of jazz.
Last night, I performed at Snug Harbor with the musicians I looked up to when I first visited New Orleans: in this sense, this concert was a dream come true. My band consisted of the amazing Louis Ford (a fifth generation musician—his uncle Charlie Gabriel is a legend) on the clarinet and saxophone, Craig Klein on trombone, Joe Lastie on drums, and Steve Walch on bass.
With Murf Reeves from WWOZ
Steve was a last minute substitute for the amazing Mitchell Player, who wasn’t feeling well. I was so thrilled to play with Steve: his intonations on the ragas gave me chills! A native of Chicago, Steve has been on the New Orleans jazz scene for a few years, and I was so glad I got to jam with him and perform.
Snug Harbor on Frenchman Street is one of those cozy hideaways that you can miss but shouldn’t. There is a restaurant, and then the stage at the back behind the bar. I’m actually glad that the stage isn’t right in the middle of the restaurant, because the acoustics would not be as beautiful.
My sweet college roommate, Stephanie, came to my show and took great care of me in her city.
The first set was so well received but I was a bit nervous at first: the folks in NOLA have heard so much music, how would they react to “raga jazz” ? I need not have worried—they loved it!
I started the program with Raga Hemant, the beautiful evening raga that was created by the maestro sitar player, Ravi Shankar, and we performed the piece as the started of the 90-minute long set to a pulsing 7/8 (Raga Hemant, or “Bourbon Street Stroll”, is the first track on this original recording, with the brilliant Steve Gadd on drums, and John Patitucci on bass).
Hemant is always a great opener for me in a concert: the 7/8 rhythm is not typical to New Orleans since almost every single song from NOLA is on 4/4 —we are in marching band territory after all. When I first introduced the 7/8 folk rhythm from India to Joe Lastie, he said, “woah! I can’t march to this!” (but he practiced so much and now he’s a natural).
The hit of the set was Raga No. 1, which is an evening raga based on Kirwani, which dovetails perfectly with the harmonic minor scale in western music. Listen to the groove here by the NOLA musicians, who put their own spin on it! (here is the original, the third track).
Shaya, a Mediterranean restaurant, is an excellent place to go for a healthy meal in New Orleans—and the ambience is fabulous!
My goal to blend ragas and jazz evolved organically—-it is the way I think about music. The more I explored the ragas (did you know, there are more than 500 ragas?), I became so fascinated with how complex they are. The music I did at Snug Harbor was great, but I felt we are just scratching the surface when it comes to the possibilities of the ragas and jazz blend (for instance: there are “licks” in the ragas that define them, and those are very easily identified by people well versed in Indian music). I was so thrilled when I learned that my band wanted to learn more ragas, and to play with me more often. This makes me overjoyed!
Jason Patterson, who owns Snug Harbor which he purchased in 2022, has built a beautiful club, with a loyal following. It was also a blessing to play on the Yahama grand on stage which Ellis Marsalis played on for years. It was an honor to meet him.
I was thrilled to see many of my friends in person, including my college roommate, Stephanie Brancaforte, who came to the show and made sure I was fed and watered. I am so eager to return to New Orleans and perform more around the various clubs in the city, and was so thankful for my listeners who came out to hear us. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Until next time, NOLA!
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