Free expression

The Max Clouth Clan’s sound is rooted in jazz and spiced with an Indian twist.

Max Clouth on Guitar, Jonathan Sell on Bass, Martin Standke on drums and Vijay Natesan on mridangam at Goethe Institut

Ask guitarist Max Clouth what he likes best about jazz and he answers, without missing a beat, ‘freedom of expression’. There was plenty of room for that in ‘Return Flight — Unterwegs Sein — Being on the Move’ performed by the Max Clouth Clan ensemble featuring Max, bass guitarist Jonathan Sell and drummer Martin Standke, at the Goethe Institut, Max Mueller Bhavan.

The opening piece, ‘Letter to Ghaza’ was dusted with shades of melancholy, considering that it summed up Max’s feelings about the conflict in Israel. About ten years ago, when Max was studying sitar and tabla under the guidance of Pt. Nayan Ghosh in Mumbai, his familiarity with the sights and sounds of nearby Chowpatty beach inspired an eponymous composition. Chowpatty’s tangy aromas flavoured with salt spray came through in the skilful jazz skittering that joyously skimmed Bhupali.

Gathers momentum

The undertow of a persuasive beat pulled you into ‘Delhi-Jodhpur Highway’. Individual notes savoured at leisure gathered momentum and power with double oscillations, the drums adding vehemence. Using a magnet to achieve the sustain, Max painted alfresco vignettes in a piece which he dedicated to Shyam, the helpful photographer who recorded the concert. Joining the musicians in a Hamsadwani-based piece, was mridangam artiste Vijay Natesan. A familiar face on the kutcheri circuit, he had earlier collaborated with the group at Mumbai. Short, crisp guitar phrases homed in on a landing point, reminiscent of kalpanaswaras landing on the eduppu.

Interestingly, the bass guitar’s root note was the madhyam, reminding you of the jazz perspective, since this note does not occur in the Hamsadhwani scale. The sallies turned into a sawal-jawab, with spontaneous permutations crescendoing in tihai-style flourishes. Percussion took centrestage when Standke’s drums alternated with Vijay’s konnakkol.

Readily obliging with a Charukesi-hued number when the audience called out for more, the group came up with a concluding piece in which the bass guitar delicately picked out the chords, with guitar elaborating the melodic refrain. Vijay used both konnakkol and mridangam sollus for rhythmic emphasis. The percussive exchange in the melkala of the Adi tala saw some high voltage drumming and a delicate tapering off by guitar.

The trio’s sound is rooted in jazz, spiced with an Indian twist. Max’s compositions are disciplined constructs that create spaces for extempore spins, much like the Hindustani gat comprised of both composed and improvised portions. As much a reliving of moods and memories as a cheerful toast to the here and now, a big part of the music’s appeal lies in its capture of a contemporary zeitgeist over which listeners and artistes bond with relaxed camaraderie.

Equally relevant is the focused application of technique to make even complex concepts appear simple. Engaging with the Indian classical genre has expanded the artistes’ horizons, says Max, opening up multiple exploratory vistas.

It was heartening to witness a full-house turnout, palpable artist-audience connect and an exuberant response.