T.K. Ramamoorthy - Fabulous Notes And Beats Of The Indian Carnatic - Jazz (CD)

Come join EM Records on another of their spatio-temporal musical journeys. This time, we're off to Madras, 1969 to hear legendary south Indian film music composer/director, T. K. Ramamoorthy's prescient Fabulous Notes And Beats Of The Indian Carnatic - Jazz, a daring fusion of Carnatic music and jazz. Although jazz musicians had been using Indian elements before this time, Fabulous Notes was the first recording in which accomplished Indian musicians adopted jazz elements. And these are accomplished musicians indeed -- veterans of the demanding Indian film music studios, trained in the strict discipline of the traditional Carnatic system, led by the visionary Ramamoorthy, a legendary composer who collaborated with M. S. Viswanathan in providing soundtracks for more than 700 films. The music here is a true Indian music, adhering to traditional Carnatic ragas with their varying ascending and descending modes, using a wide range of Indian instruments in an appealing fusion with jazz instruments, ideas and rhythms. The result is not a slavish imitation of modish Western styles, but a stimulating and surprising new entity; fans of later Ethio-jazz may well experience a frisson of familiarity at certain moments when listening to these recordings. Famed composer Ramamoorthy is also a masterful arranger and orchestrator, giving us surprising vistas of timbre, allowing instruments to come to the fore, supported in appealing combinations. But the true heart of both Carnatic music and jazz is improvisation, and T.K.R. allows these fine players space within relatively brief moments to make their own statements within the ragas, as detailed in the liner notes accompanying this reissue. What we hear is a new meeting of worlds, both sharing a respect for the primacy of improvisation, a love for the intricacies of ensemble-playing, and a fine understanding of the power of propulsive yet sophisticated rhythms. Fabulous Notes reveals a true Indian music, not merely Occidental music with hints of Indo-spice. We can picture the recording sessions, with the musicians seated on the floor of the studio, Indian musicians playing Indian music, playing jazz, playing Fabulous Notes And Beats Of The Indian Carnatic - Jazz. Indian instruments include: veena, gotuvadyam, flute, tabla tharang, tape, conch, ghatam, mridangam, chandai & sudha madhalam, tabla, jalra and bul bul thara, and Western instruments include: bass clarinet, saxophone, piano, guitar, double bass, trumpet, drums and bongos.