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Joe Lastie, Jr.
Charu Suri: Rags & Ragas
by Dan McClenaghan
To paraphrase an old saying: You can take the girl (geographically) away from the raga, but you cannot take the raga away from the girl... Pianist Chatu Suri was born in India, where the raga holds sway, and she listened to the ragas her father played on the radio. But she left her homeland and has lived in four continents. New York, at this writing, is her current home. But the raga has stayed with her, on her ...
Continue ReadingCharu Suri: Raga Rag No. 1 (Bhimpalas)
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Charu Suri was raised in Chennai, India, a place that influenced her artistry. New Orleans, another of her influences, lies a hemisphere away. A transplant from India to the United States, Suri brought the musical roots of Hindustani (North Indian) music to her new home. When she found her way to the Big Easy, she took in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and the marriage between the New Orlean sound and Indian raga began. “Raga Rag ...
Continue ReadingCharu Suri: Ragas & Waltzes
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Charu Suri's father was a CEO of a record label. Suri was born in India, and has lived in four continents. Her father's profession meant that slews of records were available for her young musical ears. Her piano training was initially classical. Then, as so often happens, jazz stepped in, took a chair, and slid his pork pie hat across the table at her and smiled. This jazz encounter came about in 2018; Suri was no longer listening to ...
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