Results for "Shakti"

Shakti: Joy

by Ian Patterson
August 17, 2023

Nobody had seen anything quite like it before. Thrilling virtuosity from fusion pioneers Shakti at the 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival. In bringing both Carnatic and Hindustani traditions together with jazz, John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, L. Shankar and T.H. “Vikku" Vinayakram broke new musical ground. Shakti marked 50 years in 2023 with This Moment (Abstract Logix), its ...

Shakti: This Moment

by Geno Thackara
July 7, 2023

The Shakti of This Moment is essentially the Shakti of all its moments--a natural fusion bridging jazzy interplay with the forms and rhythms of Hindustani carnatic music, even if the sound is leagues away from the all-acoustic wildfire that singed countless ears with the live Shakti with John McLaughlin (Columbia, 1976). The group's unexpected reemergence after ...

John McLaughlin And Zakir Hussain: Shakti's Half-Century Of Spontaneous Joy

by Mike Jacobs
June 12, 2023

John McLaughlin. Ustad Zakir Hussain. Speak either name and a host of musical notions can come to mind. Pair them together and they conjure just one: Shakti. Indeed, the iconic jazz guitarist and celebrated Indian percussionist have each built long careers replete with enough musical achievements, stylistic innovations and instrumental mastery to gain entrance ...

Shakti: This Moment

by Ian Patterson
April 23, 2023

Forty-six years is a hefty chunk of time between studio releases. Half a lifetime, in fact. Shakti, however, is no ordinary band. The lengthy hiatuses that have punctuated the pioneering Indo-jazz band's fifty-year journey have not dimmed the collaborative flame of co-founders John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain. Following its 2012-13 tour, they placed the dust covers ...

Ragawerk: Ragawerk

by Chris May
August 12, 2022

Fusions of jazz and Indian raga go back to the mid-1950s, when the London-based Indian composer John Mayer began experimenting with the concept and, in the early 1960s, went on to form Indo-Jazz Fusions with the alto saxophonist Joe Harriott. Meanwhile, across the pond, John Coltrane became so fascinated with raga that he named his son ...

John McLaughlin: Where The Muse Leads

by Mike Jacobs
September 24, 2020

John McLaughlin—Miles Davis protégé. Jazz/rock revolutionary. East-meets-West visionary. Acoustic, electric and electronic guitar maestro. Now elder statesman of jazz—what is there left to say? A lot it seems... As a septuagenarian who was facing debilitating hand issues—and possibly the end of his playing career—he was starting to say his farewells to touring ...

Shakti

Active since: 1974

Shakti was a renowned band in the world of fusion music, formed in the 1970s. It was a collaborative project featuring renowned musicians from different musical backgrounds, blending Indian classical music with elements of jazz and rock. The band was co-founded by Indian violin virtuoso L. Shankar, English guitarist John McLaughlin, and tabla maestro Zakir Hussain.

Shankar, a disciple of Indian sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, brought his expertise in Indian classical music to the group. John McLaughlin, known for his work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, contributed his jazz and rock guitar skills, while Zakir Hussain brought his mastery of the tabla, a traditional Indian percussion instrument.

Simon Lasky Group: About The Moment

by Geno Thackara
July 15, 2019

Which moment could this title be referring to? There's no shortage of beautifully striking ones scattered throughout the Simon Lasky Group's second outing: dynamic lifts and swells, chord changes that step through sophisticated sequences as smoothly as descending stairs, little heads or melody lines that pack a special hit because they're placed at just the right ...

Baiju Bhatt: Eastern Sonata

by Geno Thackara
April 11, 2019

Is there a term for the opposite of culture shock? Whatever it is, it's also the guiding theme behind Baiju Bhatt and his Red Sun ensemble. Their studio debut, Eastern Sonata, is a figurative travelogue from start to finish, but there's nothing jarring or shocking about it. A conventional Western lineup (piano, bass/drums, saxophone) is led ...

Ronan Skillen: Telepathic Euphoria

by Seton Hawkins
January 5, 2019

When one thinks of South African jazz, the didgeridoo and the tabla don't immediately jump to mind. Nevertheless, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and engineer Ronan Skillen has made them vital additions to a range of South African ensembles. While acclaimed for his work in the genre-smashing South African ensemble Babu, Skillen has engaged in ...