Dhaivat Jani PLUS: Sum//Parts

Drummer Dhaivat Jani's Sum//Parts can be described as a world stew of sounds, a colorful gumbo stirred up from Indian classical influences, jazz and rock. An immigrant to Canada from his native Ahmedabad, India, Jani draws his "beyond-music" influences from things which have happened in his everyday life—his migration from East to West, growing up in Canada, and the common and inevitable trials and tribulations which he has faced on his journey.

This Canadian / Indian exotica sound begins with staccato vocals—uncredited, but probably Jani—soon joined by Matt Greenwood's delicate, ringing guitar, then Lucas Dubovik's measured tenor saxophone wail emerges. Things gel into a tight groove. The tune is "Day 21," which came out of Jani's "Groove-a-Day" series. He could have done an entire album of these. "Pulwama," featuring Eliana Parker's dreamy vocals, exudes feelings of helplessness and horror concerning the terrorist attack on an Army convoy in North India. Anger tempered by numbness and sorrow emerge.

The influences of Radiohead and Led Zeppelin can be heard here, but "Peshkaar" is North Indian music in its purest form, while "Unchain" seeks to solve the mysteries which are beyond our control, subject to our interpretations. It is a dense sound, heavy on Greenwood's metal chords, embroidered by Michael Davidson's succinct vibraphone notes underlain by Matt McCormack's beating heart electric bass.

The album is nicely arranged and produced, with the disparate influences and styles combined into a cohesive and compelling statement.