As Chennai gears up for the madness that will accompany Saarang, the Unwind Centre in Adyar is busy building up the energy with their Saarang nites.
Line up
“As the buzz becomes louder for Powerchord and Decibels, the Unwind Friday concerts will start the fire,” that's how unwind centre likes to advertise Saarang nites.
You'd imagine it to be one of those rare evenings when you'd sit back in a plush chair, dim out lights, surround yourself with upend wood works and jazz posters and let the performer perform and melt into the surroundings. Well that seems to be the intention. To let people relax and enjoy the music, but that's seldom the case when you give space to amateur bands and classical vocalists who forget their morning gargles.
The evening started off with Shivam hitting the stage. No doubt Kishore on the sitar and Chandrajit on the tabla proved why they ought to play Classical — with Kishore's fingers gliding over the sitar like a seasoned guitarist stretching his guitar's powress and Chandrajit's fingers flowing over the tabla like ripples over a water surface. Fusion music is a different ball game especially when what you have in hand are jazz and Indian classical with their unique rhythmic and melodic structures. Other than some solid solos here and there, Shivam was stretching the evening a bit too much.
Next to hit the stage was Visalakshi Nithyanand doing Carnatic vocals with Logan Roth on the jazz piano. Handful of the audience that had gathered at the venue decided that it was too late and too boring an evening to sit through. Despite her fame as an AIR performer and as someone who has collaborated with the likes of Keith Peters, Donnan Murray and others, Vishalakshi started on a flat note and her performance did not leave much of an impression.
Up next was Synergy who did justice to an evening that promised a jazz and classical music fusion. Solomon on the guitar, Prakash on the flute, Jain on the tabla and Hari on the drums reminded one of the good old days of the legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Solomon's melodies and Jain's rhythms brought out the best of Carnatic and jazz. Follow that up with their individual solos, the performance was exhilarating. All the gloom and disappointment set in by the previous performance was forgiven and what remained of the 50 or so people who'd gathered for an evening that promised a fusion evening enjoyed themselves to the core.
While the fusion concert was a let down, do keep your Friday evening free for the Acoustic Access evening, featuring Benny Dayal, Leon and others as they try to mesmerise Chennai with their smooth vocals and acoustic guitars.
CYRIL SAM, Asian College of Journalism
