Ragleela in the Studio

This past January, Ragleela went into the studio to record the group's third album (my first with the group), Third Ear, which will be released this fall. On the album is Uwe on sitar and sansa, Jean-Marc on 7-string guitar, Eric on percussion, Cédric on contrabass, Guillaume on clarinet and bass-clarinet, and with myself on tabla and some other percussion as well.

We recorded at Studio Frisson (Montreal), with Don on sound and Michel producing. I have recorded at Frisson numerous times in the past, with composers Nicole Lizée and Ram Borcar, but this was my first time at the new Frisson space in the east-end of the city. It's an old church that has been converted; very spacious!

Everything was recorded live, with everyone in the same space. Dividers were placed between us in order to isolate the sound of each instrument as much as possible.

Since the album won't be out for quite a while (patience, patience...), here are some photos in the meantime! :)

Cedric, deep in concentration.

Percussionists on lunch break!

Creative discussions in progress!

Jean-Marc in the hot seat.

Percussive exchanges!

Thanks to Caroline for the photos!

Saturday Matinee with Ragleela

Yesterday, Ragleela performed an afternoon concert at the Salle de Diffusion Parc-Extension in Montreal. We didn't know what to expect from a concert at 4pm, but the hall was completely full to capacity (overflowing, in fact)! I suppose it helps that the concert was free. :)

As some of you may have seen in previous posts, the Ragleela ensemble is somewhat variable in instrumentation. For this concert, the group was made up of Uwe on sitar (and sansa), Jean-Marc on guitar (his custom 7-string, and gourd guitar), Cédric on contrabass, Guillaume on clarinet (and bass-clarinet), and myself on tabla (with my new tabla-percussion kit that includes two Tablatones and a couple of cymbals).

Aside from the opening tune, View of the Green Valley, all the pieces we played were from Ragleela's upcoming CD. This was also the concert premiere of Open Horizons and Sansala, both of which were composed mainly by Jean-Marc, making them oddities in our repertoire (most of Ragleela's music is principally composed by sitarist Uwe). Open Horizons is in drut Teentaal, and features some lovely melodies, and virtuosic solos exchanges between the sitar and the guitar. Sansala features some haunting melodies on bass clarinet, with the tabla and sansa providing a relentless groove in three. Unfortunately, I can't post any samples until the CD is released!

The next Ragleela concerts are set for July 21 in Sainte-Therese, and August 18 in Vercheres. The new album should be out this fall!

Please visit my Facebook page for even more photos!

Thank you to Caroline for capturing these musical moments.

The Inaugural Calgary Tabla Workshop

While in Calgary to accompany kathak dancer Sudeshna Maulik, I was also fortunate to present a small tabla workshop, organized by my percussionist friends Malcolm and Kyle. During the first half of the workshop, I gave a hands-on introduction to the tabla and basic techniques. For the second part, the focus was on North Indian rhythmic concepts, which we explored using clapping and bol recitation.

I ended the workshop with a short tabla solo. The participants all did a great job of keeping taal! I had a wonderful time, and I think that all the participants had great fun too. I'm always very happy to share my love for tabla and Indian classical music, and the time just flew by! Many thanks to Malcolm for organizing, and to Kyle for being such a gracious host.

Even the fish seemed to want to know more. :)

Keeping taal during the solo.

The whole gang!

As always, thanks to Caroline Tabah for the photos!

Kathak and Tabla in Calgary

This past March 1, I had the great pleasure of accompanying kathak dancer extraordinaire, Sudeshna Maulik, for a performance at the University Theatre in Calgary. We have performed together many times in the Montreal area, but this was the first time that we'd travelled so far to perform. Our performance was presented by the Calgary Raga Mala, who gave us a really warm welcome.

Sudeshna opened the evening with an invocation piece dedicated to Lord Shiva. Afterwards, sarodiya Raja Bhattacharya (who also travelled with us from Montreal) opened with a short alap in Madhukauns, which was coupled with recitation of Sanskrit poetry by local poet, Prabir Chandra. I then performed a short introductory solo in vilambit Dhammar taal, using a tabla tuned one-octave below the usual C tabla, to give a pakhawaj-like flavour. Sudeshna then joined us, and we performed a full segment of Dhammar taal compositions and improvisations.

After a short break, we resumed with Raja's Kirwani solo in Vilambit Teentaal. Sudeshna then returned to the stage, and we continued with the kathak recital through Madhya and Drut Teentaal. It was a full evening of kathak, punctuated by musical interludes and poetic verses.

More photos are available in my Facebook album.

Thank you to Caroline Tabah for the photos!

Ragleela Quartet in Prévost

This past March 16, Ragleela played our first concert since being in the studio this past January. It was really great to be back in action, performing with the group. We played a mix of old and new tunes. Cédric, who recorded with us on contrabass, wasn't available for the performance, and so we had Matthieu with us as a special guest. The concert took place at the Église St-Francois-Xavier in Prévost, which is just a little bit past Saint Jerome, in the Laurentians.

I had just received my TransTabla the Monday prior, and so this concert was a perfect opportunity to test out the TransTabla and its alternative tuning mechanism. Just before beginning the concert, it seems that there was a very significant temperature change, and so my tabla was very flat; almost a full semi-tone. With just a small crank of the TransTabla, I had my tabla back up to pitch in record time. Of course, I could have easily re-tuned the traditional way, but the TransTabla certainly saved me a lot of time in this instance! Also, when I fly with tabla, or when the temperature is below freezing, I prefer to loosen my tabla for transport, as a precaution. This was also much faster with the TransTabla.

In a way, the TransTabla reminds me of the early timpani tuning mechanisms. At first, timpani were tuned with individual tension rods, each with its own tuning key. Later, mechanisms were developed so that by turning one key, the tension around the entire drumhead could be adjusted simultaneously, and eventually, this was replaced with the timpani pedals that we have now. Hmm, a pedal to re-tune tabla? Probably not! :)

Thanks to Caroline Tabah for the concert photos!

Emperor of Tabla

Emperor of Tabla was a title bestowed upon Guruji, Pandit Sharda Sahai-ji, by the mahant (head) of the Sankat Mochan Temple in Benares. I thought it fitting then to use this title for the first annual celebration concert in honour of Guruji. It was also Saraswati puja and Basant Panchmi, so a very auspicious date for the event.

I was really touched by the amount of people that attended. The Sivananda Centre has always been an important patron of Indian music in Montreal, but I have never seen the place so full! Thank you so much to all the participants and attendees for making it such a special evening!

Caroline welcomed everyone with her story of meeting Guruji, and the ensuing documentary project. We then proceeded to tabla solos by three of my students: Jean Greusard, Emily Thompson, and Parker Bert. Emily and Parker were accompanied on cello by Kaitlyn Raitz, and I accompanied Jean on harmonium. This was Jean's first time playing tabla in public and he performed really solidly in his Jhaptaal solo. Next was Emily with her solo in Rupaktaal, followed by Parker with a solo in Teentaal. They all did really well!

Jean reciting a tukra.

Emily deep in concentration.

Parker and Kaitlyn

Parker looking very confident!

Guru-bhai Ravi Singh, who came in from Toronto with his family, shared stories about Guruji and the Benares gharana between the solos. After the student solos, Ravi and I played our duet in Teentaal, accompanied by Kaitlyn on cello. Ravi and I had spoken about playing as a duo in the past, but unfortunately the opportunity never materialized; last night was the perfect occasion for our first duo outing. We played bhumika and uthaan, followed by Benarsi theka through three speeds, all in conversation. Ravi played an ari angrusthana, and I followed with a rela. We then joined together for an exchange in the famous DhaRaDhaDheTeTe Benarsi bant, through the laykaris (4-5-6-7-8), culminating in gat and gat-fard in rela. We then switched to madhya laya and went through a number of tukras and parans, each with a story linked to Guruji. We both had a great time, and the audience seemed to enjoy very much. I am very much looking forward to the next time!

A wonderful celebration of Guruji and the tradition that he passed on to us. Thank you to all who made this event so special.

A special thanks to Ravi Singh and his family for coming all the way from Toronto to participate, and to my students Parker, Emily, Jean, and Kaitlyn for their contributions. Thank you to the Sivananda Centre in Montreal for hosting, to Jonathan Voyer for helping with the sound, and to Caroline Tabah for the photos!

Two Gurus in Two Weeks

The Indian classical music scene in Montreal seems to be growing of late. Not that we necessarily have more locals professionally playing Indian music, but that more and more artists are passing through Montreal to perform. This fall, it seems that there is a concert every week or two! The first couple of weeks of October were quite intense, as in the first week, my friend Jonathan Voyer hosted his santoor Guru, Pandit Satish Vyas, and the week after, Uwe Neumann's Guru, Sri Partha Bose came to visit.

In both cases, I was fortunate to be their accompanist for both their private teaching, and in concert!

On October 4, I organized a workshop for Pt. Satish Vyas (himself a senior disciple of the legendary Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma) at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University. It was an introductory workshop on santoor and the North Indian classical music traditions.

The following day, I accompanied both Satishji and Jonathan for a concert at Tanna Schulich Hall, appropriately named Parampara, which was presented under the banner of Jonathan's organisation, Samskara. Tanna Hall has a perfect acoustic for Indian classical music, and while we did amplify a bit, the audio staff and equipment are of such quality, that we could not feel that we were being amplified. Crystal-clear sound!

Accompanying Jonathan Voyer.

Parampara - Guru and Shishya!

Accompanying Pandit Satish Vyas.

Dan Blanchard (also a disciple of Pt. Satish Vyas, who kindly MCed for us in English), Satishji, and Jonathan.

The next week, I had the great fortune to accompany sitarist Partha Bose in concerts at H-OM Yoga and Equilibrium Yoga on October 12 and 13 respectively. It was quite amazing to perform in such intimate settings with an artist of this calibre, who could just have easily filled a large concert hall. I considered myself privileged to have the best seat in the house, right next to Parthaji, where I could hear all the wonderful nuances of his beautiful alaps.

Accompanying Sri Partha Bose at Equilibrium Yoga.

Aha!

It was a great pleasure, and a great learning experience. I'm very much looking forward to both of their next visits to Montreal!

Thank you to Caroline Tabah for the photos!