Another edition of the Mahindra Blues Festival (MBF) attracted a mix of knowledgeable folk, name-droppers and people who pretended to love the event without knowing the difference between the blues, Beethoven or Beyoncé. Nonetheless the music was consistently good with singer Beth Hart stunning the crowd on numbers like ‘Love Is A Lie’, ‘Chocolate Jesus’, ‘Sister Heroine’ and ‘My California’.
In harmonica
The old-timers were in for a treat when harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite concluded the first evening with his trademark, fluent style. Another harmonica player, Brandon Santini, and singer Sugaray Rayford impressed with their more modern approach, and Indian bands Arinjoy Trio and Blue Temptation played tight sets. The latter even won the Mahindra Blues Band Hunt 2019. Interestingly, Rayford did a marvellous version of Pink Floyd’s ‘Comfortably Numb’, probably the only song that a majority recognised.
But the real surprise came from 13-year-old Indore-based harmonica player Rohan Singhal, who made a brief appearance at the Garden Area on both days. At that age, he displayed a confidence that made you wonder if he had been playing for the past 26 years.
Clearly, this edition of the MBF was a harmonica special – one icon, one contemporary master and one prodigy. Though the blues has had far fewer players of this instrument as compared to the guitar, its role in the genre cannot be underplayed. From an earlier era, one recalls geniuses like Sonny Boy Williamson I and II, Junior Wells, Little Walter, James Cotton, Sonny Terry, Slim Harpo and Howlin’ Wolf, whose music was rooted in traditional American blues. Musselwhite and Paul Butterfield were among the early white bluesmen who shot to fame in the mid-1960s. British maestro John Mayall incorporated the harmonica into his blues, and artistes like Bob Dylan, John Lennon, early Jethro Tull, the Doobie Brothers, Canned Heat, the Rolling Stones and Van Morrison made regular use of it.
India hasn’t seen much harmonica from the west, though one has heard it in Hindi film music at times. One memorable show was by American musician Corky Siegel, who accompanied violinist L. Subramaniam at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, Nariman Point, over a decade ago. At MBF, Mayall and the brilliant Taj Mahal used it on a couple of tracks. Keeping this in mind, it was a delight to see three harmonica players this time. Hope we get more in future.
An early start
Now, a few words about Singhal. Obviously, it was a pleasure to see someone so young play so smoothly. His set was a mix of blues tunes, jazz improvisations and pieces like ‘Madhukauns Fusion’ where he used Indian raags. He has recorded a privately distributed CD called Blues @ 13 , which contains tracks named ‘Tabla Fusion Blues’ and ‘Raag Tilang’. He could well be on his way to create a unique sound, one that hasn’t been explored much with this instrument.
Singhal has won the third position in jazz and the fifth in blues at the 2017 World Harmonica Festival in Germany. He was also No 1 (junior) at the Asia Pacific Harmonica Festival in China last year. He’s had a few good international trainers, and the MBF break came at the right time. Hopefully, organisers and sponsors can continue to nurture his talent.
