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Jazz and Karnatic Music: Intercultural Collaboration in Pedagogical Perspective
Author(s): Tanya KalmanovitchSource: The World of Music, Vol. 47, No. 3, The Music of "Others" in the Western World (2005),pp. 135-160
Published by: VWB - Verlag fr Wissenschaft und BildungStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41700010Accessed: 21-01-2016 18:47 UTC
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2/27
theworld
f
music
7(3)
2005:135-60
Jazz
and Karnatic Music: Intercultural
Collaboration
in
Pedagogical Perspective
Tanya Kalmanovitch
Abstract
As
uniquely
ntercultural
usic,
azz
hasbeen
haped
y
ts
oint
frican
nd uro-
pean atrimony
as well s a host
f
ocal nddistant usicalothers
"
Among
hese
Indian lassicalmusics
lay special
ole: n wareness
f
ndianmusics
part
f
he
contemporaryazzconsciousness,
nd
azz
musiciansave
requently
ooked
o ndian
classicalmusic s a source
f
bothmusicalnd xtra-musical
nspiration.
arnatic
music-
ongmarginalized
n ndia nd broad- s
emerging
n he
wentyfirst
entu-
ry
sa site
f
pecific
estheticnd
edagogical
nterestn
azz
This
aper eports
n
an
educational
xchange
roject
etweenhe
azz
nd
Contemporary
usic
rogram
of
he ew
chool
niversity
New ork)
nd he
rhaddhvaniesearchnd
Training
Centre
or
Musics
f
heWorld
Chennai),
irected
y
he uthornDecember003
January
004,
n collaborationith
r
Karaikudi
. Subramanian
Brhaddhvani),
Martin ueller
New chool)
ndRonan
uilfoyleNewpark
usic
entre,
ublin).
1. Introduction
Accounts
f
ndianmusic's
reception
n
the
West fter
ndependence
avefocused
on tsrole
n
1960s'
popular
ulture. cholars ave
all but
gnored
hemusic's on-
nections o
American nd
Europeanazz,
which
isplay onger
nd more
omplex
musical nd cultural oots.As a
uniquely
ntercultural
usic,
azz
has been
shaped
by
ts
oint
African nd
European
atrimony,
s well as a
host
f ocal
and distant
musical others."
mong
hese,
ndian lassicalmusics
lay special
ole:
n aware-
nessof ndianmusic s
part
fthe
ontemporary
azz
consciousness,
nd
azz
musi-
cianshave
frequently
ooked o
ndian lassicalmusic s a source f bothmusical
and xtra-musical
nspiration.
John oltrane
amously
tudied
industani usic
rom
ecordings
ndwith
avi
Shankar,
ndwas
planning
o
travel o ndiafor xtended
tudy
efore
is
untimely
death
n
1967.Since
Coltrane's
arly
nd nfluential
xample,
number f
azz
mu-
sicians-including
uchnoted
erformers
s
Charlie
Mariano,
teve
Coleman,
am-
ey
Haddad,
Myra
Melford,
on
Cherry,onny
Rollins,
ohn
McLaughlin,
on
Ellis,
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3/27
136
theworld
f
music
7(3)-
2005
David Liebman
ndJames
Newton-
have raveled
o
study
n
ndia nd
collaborate
with ndian
musicians.More
recently,
heightened
wareness f world
music" as
seen new
generation
f
professional
azz
musicians
rom
urope
ndNorth
mer-
ica take
up
studies f ndian
music,
oth
n
ndia nd abroad.
Meanwhile,
genera-
tion fAmerican-born
outhAsianmusicians
avecomeof
age
as
azz performers,
making
music
xplicitly
nformed
y
various
iasporic
dentities.
In
prevailing
Western
models f the
tudy
f
non-Westernmusic-
typified
y
the tandard
articipant-observer
ethodologies
f
ethnomusicology-
he
Western
student
spires
o the
tatus f
"insider,"
ffacing
er
dentity
s
a
Westernmusi-
cian.1Jazzmusicians' tudyf ndian lassicalmusic anbedistinguishedrom c-
ademic
tudy y
hemusician's
ntent,
ften
made
xplicit,
o
combine
retentionf
her rtistic
dentity
ith n
incorporation
f features f ndian
music nto
perfor-
mance.The
rhythmic
eatures
f North nd
South
ndian
lassical
music re
more
readilyncorporated
nto
ross-cultural
erformance,
ince
hey
voidboth
he
high-
ly specialized
armonic
oncepts pecific
o
azz
and
the
highly pecialized
melodic
and
microtonal
spects
f ndian
lassicalmusic.
The Karnatic
music f
South ndia s of
ncreasing
nteresto
azz
musicians ue
to its
comparatively
ore
laborate
hythmic
tala)
system.
he
specific
tility
f
Karnatic
hythmic
ystems
orWestern
rofessional
usical
ducation- s
formal-
ized n azz educator onan
Guilfoyle's
ookCreative
hythmic
oncepts or
Jazz
Improvisation
nd
composer
Rafael Reina' class
Contemporary
usic
through
Non-Western
echniques
t the
Conservatoriuman
Amsterdam
n
the
Nether-
lands-now
provides
azz
musicians ith
clear rameworknd
pecific
ools
o
n-
corporate
arnatic
lements
nto
heir
mprovisation
nd
compositionGuilfoyle
1995,1998;
Haddad
1986a,
1986b).
In
the
ast,
Western
tudentsavefocused
n theHindustani
usic fNorthn-
dia.
Since itarist
avi Shankar's
apid
ise
o
celebrity
n
North
merica nd
Europe
in
the
arly
1960s,
Hindustani
usichas dominated
heWestern
oncept
f ndian
music. t bears he nfluenceffourteenth-centuryuslim ulers,eflectinghe raf-
fic
n
culturend
materials
long
he
ilkRoad.
Similarly,
industani usic's
dom-
inance
n
the
Western
magination
eflectsndia's
colonial
history.
t s
not n acci-
dent hat he
abla nd itar
fHindustani
usic,
nd
not he
mridangam
nd
vina f
Karnatic
music,
ave
underscored estern
antasies f
an
exotic
ndia.
Rather,
t s
by
consequence
f the
entralization
f
power
n
thenorthernalf
f the
ubconti-
nent,
nd a
reflection
oth f the
development
f Westernized
ndian lites n
the
north,
nd
ongoing
rafficn
culture etween
he
metropole
nd ts
margins.
More
recently,
s a
specific
outh
Asian
diasporic
resence
s
emerging
orld-
wide,
Karnatic
music s
assuming
ew
prominence.
ong marginalized
n
ndia nd
abroad,Karnaticmusic s newly entral s both instrumentnd con...providing
structural
nd
deological
nity
o the
ommunity
hat
dentifiestself s
South ndi-
an"
(Hansen
1999:104).
As Western
musicians ravel o
South ndiato
study
n n-
creasing
umbers,
xpatriate
outh ndianmusicians
e.g.,
Trichy
ankarann
Tor-
onto)
nd
studentsf
Karnaticmusic
e.g.,
RafaelReine
n
Amsterdam)
ave
been
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4/27
Tanya
almanovitch.
azz
ndKarnatic usic
137
establishingmportant
istal
itesof South
ndianmusical wareness nd
activity,
creating
iverse
ewcommunitiesfKarnatic
music
iteracy.
Jazz
musicians
rom orth
merica nd
Europe
re
collaborating
ithKarnatic
musicians,
reating
ew
compositional
nd
mprovisational
orms
ased on struc-
tures
nd
techniques
rawn
rom
arnaticmusic usedwith
azz.
These fusions"
f
jazz
and ndianmusic re
aking lace ncreasingly
n
a structural
evel,
made
possi-
ble
through
esternmusicians'
amiliarity
ith he
vocabulary
f Karnatic
music.
SouthAsian
azz
musicians,
esident
nd
non-resident
like,
renow
speaking
rom
a
diasporic erspective,
dding
new
configurations
f
race, ulture,
nd
dentity
o
jazz's potentnterculturalix.These circumstancesesultnsignificantewsyn-
cretic/hybrid
orms f
music,
nd howhow
azz
holds he
otential
o
articulateew
non-oppressive
nteractions
etween ast andWest cross
nduringnequities,
nd
new
onfigurations
f
power.
This
paper rovides preliminaryeport
n
an educational
xchange roject
e-
tween he
Jazz and
Contemporary
usic
Program
f theNew School
University
(New York)
and
the
Brhaddhvani esearch nd
Training
entre
or
Musics of the
World
Chennai).
directed he
venture,
hich
ook
place
from
ecember
003
-
January
004,
n
collaboration
ith
Dr
Karaikudi . Subramanian
Brhaddhvani),
MartinMueller
New School)
andRonan
GuilfoyleNewpark
Music
Centre).
t was
designeds a pilot cheme or proposed ive-yearnternationalxchange etween
Brhaddhvanindmembersf
the
nternational
ssociation fSchools f
Jazz.
Our
primaryoal
was
to
develop
modelfor ducational
xchange
etween
n
Indian chool ndWesternchool
hatwas
both
quitable
nd
reciprocal.
nherento
our
oncept
f
xchange
was an
emphasis
n
mutual
earning
s
expressed
n
collab-
orative
erformance.
e wished or he ndian
articipants
o
earn s much bout
jazz
as the
azz participants
ere o earn boutKarnatic
music,
o
betternable ll
parties
o
engage
n
meaningful
usical iscourse.
We
hoped
hat
asting
elation-
ships
would e formed etweennstitutions
nd ndividuals. e
expected,
inally,
o
articulatehe esthetic,urricular,ndorganizationalerms fsuch nexchangeo
that ther chools ould
makeuse of
our
model.
Although
he
exchange
rogram
as
not
nitially
ntendeds
such,
t came to
form he entral
art
f
the
fieldwork
or
my
Ph.D.
dissertation,
hich s concerned
with
xamining
nteractionsf
professionalazz
andKarnaticmusicians
hrough
he
lens of
postcolonial
nd
globalization
heory.2
s a
professional
azz
musician
whose
estheticoncerns ave ed meto
study
arnatic
music,
nd s a
Ph.D. candi-
date nvolved
n
researching
he ame
phenomenon,occupy
dual
standpoint
s
musician nd cholar.
This
ccount erves
s a case
study
fcontact
etween
azz
and ndian
musicians.
In describinghe ocial,economic, esthetic,nd nstitutionalrganizationfthe
study,propose
o
examine he ocial
ndmusical tructureshat re
required
o sus-
tainmutual
xchange
n transcultural
ractice.
situate he ccount
within histori-
cal and cultural
ontext,
n
order o
llustratehe
reciprocal
ature f
nfluence e-
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5/27
138
theworld
f
music
7(3)
2005
tween
azz
and
ndianmusic.
Ultimately,
hope
to
highlight
he
potential
f
azz-
Karnatic onfluence
s a site or
quitable
ntercultural
xchange.
2.
A Brief
History
f
Jazz
and Indian Music
2.1 The
Global Character
f
Jazz
Problems
n
defining
he haracternd content f
azz
have been
present
ince he
genre'svery eginnings.cademic iscourse requentlyramesazz as an African
American
music,
ut he erm
jazz"
functionss a
signifier
or
n extendedndhet-
erogeneous
ange
f
genres.
he
musical,
acial nd
culturalharacterf
azz
resists
delimitation
ndthe
variegation
fthe diom vades
onsensus.
hough
romtsbe-
ginnings
thas borne
hemarks f
a
joint
European
ndAfrican
atrimony,
azz
has
always
been
permeable
o musical
nfluences rom ther
ultures,
nd ndeedhas
been
haped
rom
ts
nception
y
both
ts
proximity
nd
opposition
o
Westernlas-
sical and
thnicmusics.
As America's
first
opular
musics,
pre-jazz
and
jazz
forms
preadrapidly
throughout
he
world,
tarting
n
the
mid-nineteenth
entury
nd
ccelerating
n
ear-
nest t theturn fthecentury.azztraveled o distant ontinentsia routesong
charted
yEuropean
olonists;
s colonialism
as
given
way
o
globalization,
azz's
international
argins
ave
effectedn
increasing
mpact
n
its
metropoles.
y
the
beginning
fWorld
War
I
a
wealth
f
professional
azz performers
n
Europe,
sia,
Australia,
nd SouthAmerica
ad
adopted
nd
adaptedazz
in
their wn
countries,
preparing
he foundations or
azz
to become
fully
nternationalized
Shipton
2001:2).
The
impact
f these
arly
ocalizations
an also be seen to have
aid the
groundwork
or he
globalization
f American
music n the 1980s."World
music"
fusions f
American
nd
non-
mericanmusic
ad nfact een
aking lace
since
he
beginningf thetwentiethentury,s local performersdapted ndincorporated
jazz
into ocal
musical orms. rom hat
arly
ime
azz
has served
s a site or he r-
ticulationf ocal
dentity
ndresistanceo
hegemony.
he nternational
istory
f
jazz highlights
he
multiplicity
f ocal voices
and the
reciprocal
ature f musical
influence.
2.2
Jazz
n ndia
As
in
Europe
nd
Africa,
frican-merican
minstrel
roupes ppeared
n India as
early s themid-nineteenthentury,ntroducinghemusic nd musicians ourban
Indian ulture.
uring
he
azz age
of
he
1920s
nd he
ig
band raof he
1930s
nd
1940s,
uropean
ndNorth merican ance
bands ourednternational
ircuits,
er-
forming
n
ballrooms
nd
major
hotels
n
Bombay
nd Calcutta.
n
the
930s,
azz
also
came
to
ndia
via
wealthy
ndians
whose
ravels
o
Europe ut
hem
n
contact
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6/27
Tanya
almanovitch.
azz
ndKarnatic
usic 139
withAfrican-merican
azz
musicians
erforming
here.
pon
returno
ndia,
hese
lites
would
rrange
or ndian
hotels
o
engage
hemusicians or ocial occasions
(Pinckney
989:36).
In
ndia,
azz
has
generally
een ssociated
with
Westernized
ndian
pper
lass-
es
and
those
uropeans
nd
North mericans
iving
n ndia n
a
diplomatic
rbusi-
ness
apacity.
azz lourished
n
themostWesternizedndian
entersuch s
Calcut-
ta and
Bombay.3
here
s
little
vidence hat he
azz played
n ndia n the irst alf
of he wentieth
entury
ore
ny yncreticelationship
o
ndianmusic. he context
of
performance
either
nspired
or ondoned he rticulationf
resistance; ather,
jazz was more ikely means ywhich ndianmusiciansspired o achievegreater
levels f tatus
nd
mobility.
From
ndependence
nward
t
became
ncreasingly
ifficult
or
musicianso
earn
a
living layingazz
in ndia.Two main actorsontributedothis:
irst,
he
rohibi-
tionmovementf
he
1950s,
ndmore
enerally
he nti-Westernentiment
hat
ol-
lowed
ndependence.
he
majority
f
ndian
azz
performers
ere rom
nglo-Indi-
an
or Christian oan
communities
nd
occupied marginal
osition
ith
espect
o
the
prevailing
indunationalistentiment.
azzmusicians
ontinued
o be
patron-
ized
bywealthy nglo-Indians,
or
whom
twas a status
ymbol
o
hire n
Anglo-In-
dian
azz
bandfor ocialfunctions
n
private
lubs nd
op
hotels,
ut uch
atronage
deterioratedith hewidespread nglo-Indianmigrationhat egan n the1950s.
Jazzwas not
ncorporated
nto
he ndiannationalist
roject,
hich
ocused n
constructingspiritualized,
e-historicizedndiannational
music ree fWestern r
Muslim nfluence.
n the
enerations
fter
ndependence,
owever,
azz enjoyed
ew
currencymong
heWesternizedntellectual
nd artisticlites.
tarting
n the
Cold
War,
WillisCono er' "Voice of
America azzHour"beamed
azz
into he ndian
imagination:
he was the
guru
who ed them the
many
ntricaciesf
azz.
His dis-
embodied oice
had
been
o seductive hat
t
turned
many
f
those
who
might
ave
otherwise
atronized
he itar nd the
mridangam
to
the
patronage
f themusic f
blackAmerica"Mehta1993:16).A group fGujaratindParsibusinessmennau-
gurated
he iennial azzYatra estival
n
1978.Jazz
ppreciation
ocieties emained
active
n
Calcutta
nd
Bombay Gupta
004),
and ndian-born
azz
musicians
raz
Gonsalves,
ouis
Banks,
nd Ramesh hotham ollaborated
ithKarnatic ocalist
R.
A. Ramamani o
nitiate
ignificant
ew
yncretic
orms
n
the1980s.
2.3
Jazz
nd ndianMusic
Indianmusic oundts
way
nto
azz by
he
ame
route
t ook nto
American
opular
culture:hroughhe nfluencef sitaristaviShankar.hankar as establisheds a
solo
performer
n an international
ndianmusic
performance
ircuit
y
the
mid-
1950s,
ut twas his
collaborations
ith
rominent
nddiverse
Westernrtists
uch
as classicalviolinvirtuoso ehudi
Menuhin,
azz saxophonist
ohn
oltrane,
nd
most
mportantly
he
English
ock
uartet
heBeatles hat arned
im nternational
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140
theworld
f
music
7(3)-
2005
fame
n the
1960s.
Shankar's
itar
igured rominently
n
the oundtrackfthe
op-
ular
magination,
nd Shankar
uickly
ecame
he
figurehead
or
he
ntire
ndian
classical
music radition
Reck 1985:93).
American
opular
ndcounterulture f
the
1960s
was
unabashedly
rientalist
in
tone,
nd
this ecamemanifest
n
new
piritual
ndmusical nterestso
which n-
dianculture
as central. merican
opular
ulture f
the
day
was
"[a]
curious
mix
that ncludedRavi
Shankar,
industhani
usic,
xperimentation,
allucinogenic
drugs,
indu
philosophy
nd
gurus,
nd the ndia
pilgrimage"
ibid.: 6).
As hun-
dreds
pon
thousands
f Western ouristsraveled o
ndia
n
search f
enlighten-
ment, newbreed f"jet-streamuru" oundubstantialollowings- nd substan-
tial
profits-
n
theUnited tates.
By
the
mid-1960s
hefad for ndianmusic nd
culture ad reached
pic proportions,
n
argepart
ue to the normous ame fthe
Beatles,
whose
engagement
ith
rugs,
ndian
music,
nd Hindu
philosophy
as
welldocumented
nthe
opular
media. he
"raga
ock"
ad eachedts
peak
between
May
and
September
966
Farrell
997:177).
Jazz's
affiliation ith ndian
music,
lthough redating
ock
music's,
was also
shaped y
the
Zeitgeist
f
the
960s.
Ravi Shankar's
utelage
f
prominent
merican
and
Europeanazz
musicians uch s John
oltrane
nd John
McLaughlin
et nto
play ignificant
esthetic
evelopments
n the
azz
idiom.
y
1961,
Coltrane
as al-
ready eeply ngagednthe tudyfHindustani usic nd ould ee the ossibilities
for
his artistic
rowth.
e
told
nterviewer
ranois
ostif,
I
collect herecords
[Shankar]'
made,
nd his musicmoves
me. 'm certain hat
f
recorded ith
im
I'd
increase
mypossibilities
enfold,
ecause 'm familiar ithwhathe does
and
understand
nd
appreciate
is
work"
in
Porter
999:209).
A
meeting
etween ol-
trane
nd
Shankar
was
arranged
n
December
961,
nd
several essonsfollowed.
Accounts f Coltrane' interest
n
Indianmusic
foreground
is
oint
musical nd
spiritual
otivations.
is
study
f
Hindustani usicwas
part
f
a
broader
ompara-
tive
project hrough
hich e aimed o uncover
nd
express
musical
niversalities,
this art fa stillbroaderpiritualourney hrough hichhe soughto understand
and
deepen
ismusical
owers
ibid.:
1
1).
Coltrane's
yncreticpproach
o
his ndi-
an nfluences
perhaps
most
bvious
n
the rack
India"
from he
lbum
ive t the
VillageVanguard
recorded
n
November 961.
The
melody
s
likely
ranscribed
from Vedicchant
vailable
n
a
Folkways
elease tthe
ime,
nd he xtended
m-
provisation
akes
place
overG
pedal
Coltrane
998;
Porter
999:209).
Since
his
death,
oltrane
as
occupied
n conic
osition
n
azz,
and
his
egacy
as
ntroduced
Indianmusic o countless
azz
musicians.
A
prodigious
nd
prominentoung
musician ho oured
ithMiles Davis
while
in
his
twenties,
ohn
McLaughlin
lso became nvolved
with
he
vogue
for
ndian
culture ndspirituality.cLaughlin's uru riChinmoy avehim hename Ma-
havishnu",
hich
McLaughlin
hen
ent o a seriesof electric ockfusion ands
calledthe
Mahavishnu
rchestra.
n
1971,
during
he lush fhis considerableuc-
cess with he irst f
hisMahavishnu
ands,
McLaughlin
nrolled s
an
extra-curric-
ular
tudent
t
Wesleyan
niversity
o
study
arnaticmusic n thevina
with r
S.
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8/27
Tanya
almanovitch.
azz
nd
Karnatic usic
141
Ramanathan. erehe metKarnatic iolinist
.
Shankar,
Ph.D. student
n
the thno-
musicology rogram. heyplayed
ater hat
year
with akir
Hussein,
on of
Ravi
Shankar'
accompanist
lia Rakha.Not
ong
fter,
cLaughlin
bandoned he uc-
cessful
Mahavishnu
roject
in
his ownwords the oudest
ndfastest
roup
n the
Planet ")
for he coustic
uartet
hakti
n whichhe
collaborated
xclusively
ith
Indian lassicalmusicians. e has described
is
time
laying
with
Shakti"
s
idyl-
lic,
ullied
nly y
the
disapproval
f
agents,
adio
tations,
nd
his
record
abel:the
project
as a commercialailure
McLaughlin
004).
The
group
as
enjoyed
onsid-
erably reater
ommercialuccess ince tsreformulation
s "Rememberhakti"
n
1997.
2.4
Jazz
nd Orientalism
In
1978
Edward aid
used he erm
Orientalism"
odescribe he
uropean
onstruc-
tion fthe
tereotypical
rient
s a
romantic,xotic,
nd
unchanginglace.
Both
n
object
f cademic
tudy
nd
subject
fvivid
maginings,
TheOrient erved ode-
fine
urope
and
the
West)
as its
contrasting
mage,
dea,
personality,xperience"
(Said
1978:2).
Said discussed
he
cholarly
nd
maginativespects
f
Orientalism
as
acting
within he ontext fa corporatenstitutionormaintaininguropean-
specifically
rench ndBritish-
mperial
uthority
ver heOrient.
The
history
f he
elationship
f ndianmusic
nd heWest anbe read
s a case
study
n
Orientalism,
nd the
manner
n
whichmusicwas
manifest
n
the olonial
project
as beenwelldocumented
y
Farrell
1997),
among
thers. ince
the
egin-
nings
f
mperialism,
ndianmusichas seen several
ogues
n the
West,
most oin-
ciding
with
pecific olitical,
conomic,
r
cultural vents hat ave
brought
ndia
into he
public magination.
rientalism
id
not
become
pparent
n
azz
in
any ig-
nificant
ay
until he
1960s.
David
Reck describes a brief
lurry
n
azz,
with he
obligatory re-performanceojournn Calcutta r Bombay, anskriticitles or
tunes,
cat
singers
n
saris,
ambura rone
backgrounds,
uest
abla
players
nd
pseudo-raga
mprovisations
hich
usuallymetamorphosed
nto hemore
familiar
jazz
licks"
Reck 1985:95).
Reck contrasts
uchfaddishness ith oltrane's
more
serious
evel" of
engagement,
nd
certainly
he
nearly
0
years
f nteractions
e-
tween
azz
and Indian
music since then-
during
which ime
popular
music has
moved n to other
reoccupations-
hould howmost
azz
musicians' nvolvement
in
ndianmusic obe
basedon
something
ore ubstantial
han ashion.
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9/27
142
theworld
f
music
7(3)
2005
3.
The Pilot
ExchangeProgram
3.1
Backgroundf
he
xchange rogram
Dr
Karaikudi . Subramanian
nd
Brhaddhvani
The educational
xchange
was
originally
onceived f
by myself
nd rish
assist,
composer
nd ducator onan
Guilfoyle,
n
collaboration
ith r Karaikudi
.
Sub-
ramanian,
ounder
nddirectorf he
Brhaddhvaniesearch nd
Training
entre or
Musics of theWorld
n
Chennai,
ndia.
Dr
Subramanian,
ninth-generation
ina
playernthe amilyfKaraikudi inaiSambasivayer nd nA-gradedrtist fAll
India
Radio,
has
performed
nternationally
ndreleased
ward-winning
olo
albums.
In
1975he enrolled
n
the h.D.
program
n
ethnomusicology
t
Wesleyan
niversi-
ty
n
Middletown,
onnecticut,
ompleting
dissertation
n
which e examined
he
Karaikudi nd
Mysore
vina
styles
n
considerable etail
Subramanian 986).
Through
his
esearch
e was led to reconsider
is native
radition,
not
s a
com-
pelled
r
deliberate
cquisition,
ut s a
worthwhile
earch odiscover
my dentity
n
whateverontext
find
myself'
Subramanian000:79).
Upon
hisreturn
o
ndia
n
1986,
ubramanianook
p
a
position
s a
professor
n
the
Department
f Music at the
University
f
Madras.He became oncerned
ith
whatheperceivedo be theuneven tate f music ducation othn the raditional
gurukala
master-disciple)ystem
nd nstitutional
ettings.
n
response,
e devel-
oped
modern
arnaticmusic
methodology
hat alanced raditionalnd nstitution-
al
approaches
n
globalperspective.
his
methodology,
ince itled Correlated
b-
jective
Music Education
nd
Training"
COMET),
is at theheart f
Brhaddhvani's
mission.
Founded
y
Dr
Subramanian
n
1989,
Brhaddhvani
s a
non-profit,ax-exempt
institution
upportedy
the
Ford
Foundation,
ith dditional
roject upport
rom
national oundations.
he centre s locatedon
a
quiet
street
n
Raja
Annamalai
Puram, prosperouseighborhoodncentral hennai. he mainbuilding eatures
classrooms,
n
open-air
uditorium,
recording
tudio,
ehearsal
pace,
a
library,
andoffices.t
employs
small
tafff
dministrators,aretakers,
nd
computer-au-
dio
technician,
ndmost f he
eaching
taffre
graduates
f he
rogram.
rhaddh-
vani' simultaneousommitmento tradition
nd
to
technology rovides triking
juxtapositions:
n
the
ourtyard
inamaker .
Natarajan
uilds n nstrumentccord-
ing
othe
rinciples
earned ver
hree
enerations,
hile
nside
r. Subramanian
l-
lustratesheuse of
FruityLoops,sequencing
oftware
oolmost ften sedto
gen-
erate
oops
for lectronic
usic,
s
a
practice
oolfor
earning
arnatic
hythms.
Brhaddhvanis a
founding
ember f ndia's Archives esource
Community
(ARC),a national etworkf rchivesupportedy he ord oundation.mongts
archival
rojects
as
been
he
documentation
f
Sopanam
the
emple
music fKer-
ala,
using descriptive
otation
eveloped y
Dr
Subramanian
pecifically
o
repre-
sent he
omplicated
amakas
f South
ndianmusic.
xperience
n
theuse ofnota-
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10/27
Tanya
almanovitch.
azz
ndKarnatic usic
143
tional nd
computerechnologies
s a
meansof
documenting,
nderstanding,
nd
learning
usic
ives
Brhaddhvani's usicians
umerous
dvantages.
Central o Brhaddhvani's ission as been the
concept
f
fostering
ollabora-
tions crossmusic
raditions,
oth
withinndia
and
nternationally.
tudentsearn
folk
ongs long
with lassical
epertoire;
he nstituteosts nternationalusicians
and
composers
some,
ikeFinnish
omposer
ero
Hameenniemi,
eturn
egularly);
and nternationaltudentsromWesternlassical nd
azz backgrounds
ave tudied
there or
eriods
fweeks rmonths.ince
1998,
Brhaddhvani
as
participated
n
an
exchange rogram
ith he lassicalmusic
rogram
tthe ibelius
Academy
n
Hel-
sinki, inland.
My
own
xperience
ith rhaddhvani
egan
n
May
of
2002,
when traveledo
Chennai o
study
ith r
Subramanian.
uring
he ourse four
essons,
r Subra-
manianwould ften sk me to describe owthematerials e was
teaching
me could
be
applied
o
my
wn
practice
s a
jazz
andWestern lassicalviolist ndviolinist.
was
frequently
truck
y
the similaritiesetween r
Subramanian'
pedagogical
philosophy
one
which aw music
ducation
s a
democratic
nd
piritual
ndertak-
ing
concerned
with
rticulatingdentity
nd
self-expression
n
society-
nd
that
which sharedwith number f
my olleagues
n
azz
education. utof
these is-
cussions,
we
began
o
articulatehebasis for collective esthetic f
ntercultural
collaboration.shared otes rom
my
essonswith
my olleague
Ronan
Guilfoyle.
Together, uilfoyle
nd
developed
basic
concept
or n Indian ducational
x-
change.
Dr Subramanian'intial
esponse
was
enthusiastic,
uthe was concerned
thatwe
develop
proposal
hatwas
trulyquitable.
Duringmy
ast
weeks
n
Chennai,
uilfoyle
nd
developed proposal
or a
pi-
lot
xchange
o be carried utunder he
uspices
fthe nternationalssociation
f
Schools f
Jazz,
n
nternational
etworkf schools f
azz
founded
y saxophonist
David Liebman
n
1989.
A
membership
f 84 schools
represents
0
countries
n
North nd South
America, sia,
Europe,
nd
Australia.
entral o the
ASJ' man-
date s an educational nd aesthetichilosophy hich oldsazz andcontemporary
improvised
usic o serve s the ontextndrationale or
he
ostering
f ross-cul-
tural ommunication
nd
nter-cultural
reativity"
Liebman
996:198).
At
the ore
of
the
ASJ's
philosophy
s the
oncept
f
nternationaltudent
xchange.
he heart
of the nnual ASJ
meetings
rethe nsembles hat reformed rom
he tudentsf
memberchools.
During
he
week-longmeeting
he tudentsehearse
riginal
mu-
sic;
despite
requentinguistic
nd cultural
arriers,
hese nternational
ollabora-
tions
esult
n
performances
f n
exceptionallyigh
evel.The ASJ
has a
history
f
adressing
conomic
isparitymong
ts
member
chools,
roviding
hefunds
ach
year
o
a school hat
would
therwise e unable o affordo send
teacher nd stu-
dent.
In
July
002
Guilfoyle
nd
presented
he
proposal
o
the ASJmembers
t the
meeting
n
Helsinki. he
proposal
was
adopted
nd
a
number
f
schools
xpressed
interest
n
participating.eturning
o ndia
n
December
002 1
engaged
n a number
offurtheriscussions ith
r
Subramanianbout henature nd
contentfthe
pro-
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11/27
144
theworld
f
music
7(3)
2005
gram,
nd
potential
ources f
project
unding.
he
following
onth artinMueller
confirmedhat he
Jazz nd
Contemporary
usic
Program
ttheNew
Schoolwould
step
orward
s
the irst
articipating
chool.
3.2
Pedagogical
nd
Philosophical
ationale
We
took
s a
startingoint
he
ssumption
hatmodernmusical
ifehas an ncreas-
ingly
ranscultural
haracter.oth
azz
andKarnatic
musiciansre alled
upon
oen-
gagewithmusic utside he phere f their wnculture nd/orraining.s David
Liebman
wrote
n
1987,
The
fact
hat
jazz]
groups egularlyntegrate
usic
rom
all
culturesnd
tyles
s taken or
ranted
y ontemporary
mprovising
usicians.
it
follows hat he
ducational
hilosophy
fferedo
young
tudents
hould e
simi-
lar"
Liebman
1996:198).
More
recently,
he
Association
f
European
onservato-
rieshas
questioned
he elevance
f
European-based
usical
raining
n a
multicul-
tural
ociety
hrough
ts
Connect
nitiative,
European
nion-funded
roject
which
in
2001
recomended
range
f
nitiatives
romoting
ranscultural
usicianship
nd
cultural
iversity
Caird
nd
Shrewsbury
001).
On
a
practical
evel,
Dr
Subramanian
hought
hat
earning
hefundamentalsf
Western usic ould mpower is tudentsyprovidinghemwithhe ools oenter
intomutual
ollaborations ith
non-Indian
erformers
nd
expanded
mployment
opportunities
n
the
ocal
music
ndustry.
hennai's amilfilm
ndustry,
or xam-
ple,
offered
mployment
or tudiomusicians
using
Western
opular
music,
lassi-
cal
music,
amil
folk
ongs,
ndKarnatic
music.
In
our
essons,
r.
Subramaniannd
discussed hemannern
which rtistic
ol-
laboration etweenndian
ndWestern
musicians
requently
ell hort f a
genuine
exchange.
ue to a
variety
ffactors
among
hemack
of
xposure,
ack
of
opportu-
nity,
nd
economic
arriers)
azz
education as notbeen
readily
cessible
o ndian
musicians;s a result,rtisticollaborationsedbyWesternmusicians avetended
to assume
unidirectional
haracter,
n
which ndian
musicians'
ontributionsre
aestheticallyompartmentalized.
haredmusical
ocabulary,
e
agreed,
was
a nec-
essary
onditionor reemusical
onversation
mong
ll
participants.
With
his
n
mind,
he
rogram
as
designed
o that
articipants
rom achcoun-
try pent
n
equal
time s host nd as
visitor. o
complement
r. Subramanian's
methodology,
e
developed
basic curriculum
o
guide azz
educators
n
teaching
the
undamentalsf
azz
totheKarnatic
articipants.
his
urriculums
discussed
n
detail n
the
ollowing
ections.
The
partners
n
this
roject
hared
strong
elief
n
the
potential
f
mprovised
music s a device or piritualnd ocial hange.Webelieved hat hentersectionf
jazz
andKarnatic
musicheld
particularotential
or
mutuallympowering
ollabo-
rations cross ultural
oundaries.n
both
azz
and
Karnartic
usic,
ndividualx-
pression
s
sustained
hrough
o-operative
ocial
nd
performative
ractices.
mpro-
visation,
n this
ontext,
an
be seenas a
zone for he
rticulationf differencend
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12/27
Tanya
almanovitch.
azz
ndKarnatic
usic 145
even dissent.
ompared
o
the
oloist-centred
orth ndian
lassical
performance,
Karnaticmusic's nsemble
oncept learly
rticulatesctive olesfor
hythmic
nd
melodic
ccompaniment.
he
accompanists
re
responsible
or
he same musical
matierial
s
soloists,
ndare
required
o
mprovise
xtensively
ithin
concert
er-
formance.
n
both
azz
and Karnatic
music,
musician's
nique
sound"-
a com-
plex
mix
f
nstrumental
one, imbre,
nd
technique,
s wellas the se of
character-
isticmelodic
atterns
nd
diosyncraticxpressive
evices- is a
prized uality.
3.3 Curriculumoals
In our nitial
eport
e outlined
sample
urriculumor
azz
students
nd ndianmu-
sic
students,
hich
epresented
hemost
useful
oncepts
hat ould
be
adequately
represented
ithin ne month's
tudy.
The
study
fKarnatic
music
may
enefit
azz
students'
usicianship
n
three
ri-
maryways.
First,
study
fthe
Karnatic
hythmic
tala)
system trengthens
unda-
mental
hythmicechnique.
econd,
tudy
fKarnatic
music'smelakarta
melodic)
system rovides
tudents
ith n
expanded
melodic
alette
nd n enhanced
ware-
nessof the
elationships
f scale tones nd tensions.
hird,
he ral
ransmissionf
informationnd he rimacyf he oice trengthenusicians' itch iscrimination,
intonation,
nd
bility
o
represent
usic
ocally.
he
primacy
f
he oice
n ndian
musical ulturelso carries he
potential
o
bringazz
vocalists
nd nstrumentalists
together,ddressing
n
enduring
ender
ivide
n
azz
education. ther
ignificant
benefitsf
Karnaticmusic
tudy
nclude
xposure
o
ts
ompositional
orms
f
Kar-
natic
music,
ndthe
philosophical
ndthe
piritual
ramework
nderpinning
lassi-
cal music
ractice
n
South
ndia.
Karnaticmusicmakes se of
concepts
uch s metricmodulation
ndodd
metres
in a
highly eveloped
nd
clearly
rticulatedashion.
hese
techniques
re used to
generateension ndrelease, dding notherimensiono themprovisingndcom-
posing
musician's reative
alette.
hythmicrainingenerally
roceeds y
way
f
vocal
solfeggio ystem
alled
konnekolr solkattu
hat s
highly
lexible
ndcan be
used to
strengthen
tudents'
hythmicechnique egardless
f
genre
r
nstrument.
Dr Subramanian
as
developed
numberf
xercises hat each n awareness f
var-
ious
subdivisionsf
pulse.
n his
"Displacement
xercise"
he tudents
taught
o
perform
series f
rhythmicatterns
ver n 8-beat
ycle
adi
tala)
subdivided
n
4
(caturasra
ati),
n which
he
attern
s
sequentiallyisplaced
y
one
subdivision
n
each offour
ycles
see
Figure
).
Studentslso
benefitrom
earning range
f
Karnatic
hythmic
echniques,
uch
as the ollowing:
korvai
also
known
s
mora):
contrasting
r
concluding attern,epeated
hree
times nd
resolving
o
the irst
eat,
hatmarks he ndof
a
section,
percussion
solo,
or
a
melodic
mprovisation;
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13/27
146
theworld
f
music
7(3)-
2005
Fig.
1.
Displacement
xercise.
Displacement
{adi
tala
)
K.S. Subramanian
Transcribed
y
.
almanovitch
1.
Keeping
he
ala,
hant
Takadimi"ntil
ou
ave
irmy
stablishedheubdivisionf our. hen
ou
are ecuren
his,
egin
hexercise
elow.
2.On heast
eat f he irst
ycle,
hile
aintaining
he
ubdivision,
ay
Tadigenaka"
r
Taka
Takita"o
ive group
f ive. hen
ou
egin
he ext
ycle,
ach
roup
f our
Takadimi)
ill
e
displacedy
/16ote.n heast eatf he
econd
ycle,
dd he
roup
f ive
gain.
epeat
hisn
thehird
ycle
s
well,
esolving
heast
roup
f ive.racticehis
xercisentil
ou
re
ery
ecure.
3.
Next,
dd he
hythms
romPatternsf our".
se ach
hythm
orfull
ycle,
nd
xplore
he
differentensionsreatedgainsthe eat.Oneatternsnotatedere.)4.Use ombinationsf
atterns
i.e.
a-dim
im-ta).
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14/27
Tanya
almanovitch.
azz
ndKarnatic usic
147
koraippu
systematic
eduction f
a
melodicor
rhythmichrase.
Also
per-
formed s a
dialogue
between oloist nd
accompanists
n which
mprovised
phrases
re
repeated
n
call-and-responsetyle,
nd
progressively
alveduntil
they
re n
unison;
gatibheda
variations
n
the ubdivision
gati
ofthe
beat,
n
3,4,5,
7
or
9;
and
trikala
literally,
hree
speeds',
in
which he
pulse
remains
onstant,
ut a
rhythmic
r melodic
attern
s executedn
double,
reble r
quadruple
ime.
The modern arnatic
ystem
f
ragas
melakarta
ystem) omprises
2
ragas
r-
ganizedbysix scaletypes. ach scale is composed f sevennotes svara)chosen
systematically
rom
2
pitch ositions
svarasthana),
hich
orrespond
o the
12
tones
sed nWesternlassical nd
azz harmony.
f
the 2
melas
approximately
4
are
of
realmusical
ignificance
n Karnaticmusic
Powers
000:
177).
Mostofthese
are differento those ncountered
n
azz
harmony,
nd a
study
f the
melas hould
expand
he
azz
musicians'melodic
alette.
arnatic
agas
are derived rom he 2
melas which re
reference
cales devoidof themusical
eaturesmbedded
n
the
concept
f
raga.
A
raga
s
neither scalenor
melody,
but ather continuum ith
scale and tune t its
extremes"
ibid.'.US).
Ragas
can be described
y
their onal
qualities pitch
rder r
intervallic
tructure
n
ascending
nd
descending
orma-
tions) ndmelodic ualitiesnoteswhich eceive mphasis, oteswhich re used
transitionally,
ndmelodic
atterns
hich re
highly pecific
ndwhich haracterize
a
given
aga).
The melodic haracteristicsf
ndividual
agas
are laborated
y system
f
ga-
makas.
The
usual
conceptualization
f
gamaka
s
"ornament"
s
incomplete,
s the
term enotes
very spect
fthe
erformance
f
given
vara
n
the ontext f ra-
ga
the
gamaka oncept ncorporates
hich
itch
note
s
to be
approached
rom,
how
t s
to
be
attacked,
ow
t s
tobe
held nd
released,
ndwhich
motifsreto
be
applied
o
t.
These
vary
urther
till
y
the
peed
f
the
erformance.
Instruction
n
themethods f
developingmprovisations
n themelakartas
ro-
vides he
azz
student ith new
way
o ookat
developing
melodicmaterial f
any
sort.
tudy
f
raga
and
gamakas
ffers
range
f
expressive
evices ndextended
techniques,
nd
challenging
tudentso
think
eeply
nd
differently
bout
herela-
tionship
fnotes
n
melodic ontext.
We
developed
jazz
studies urriculumor he ndian
articipants
ased on our
experiences
s
collaborative
erformers.
urfocus
hroughout
as
to
provide
he n-
dianmusicians ith
hose
musical
omponents
nd
aesthetic
rinciples
f
azz
that
we
thoughtecessary
oenternto
meaningful
ndmutual
xchange.
n
addition
o
the xercises
resented
n the
following
ections,
e
encouragedazz faculty
em-
bers ocriticallyhinkhroughheir wn ssumptionss Westernerformers,ndto
use their
xperiencestudying
arnaticmusic o thinkbout
homologous
erms nd
concepts.
or
example,
major
cale couldbe
very oughly
escribed s
raga
San-
karabaranamor4/4 ime escribeds adi tala.
We
asked hat
azz participants
llus-
trate ll
points
oth
hrough
heir wn
performance,
nd
by nvolving
he ndianmu-
sicians
n
performance
t
every ossible
ccasion.
hrough
his,
we
hoped
o
provide
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15/27
148
theworld
f
music
7(3)
2005
the ndian
articipants
ith
store f
heoretical
nowledge
nd
practicalxperience
to
bring
o futureollaborations
ithWestern usicians.
Indian lassicalmusic s
performed
ver fixed
onic,
nd
ndianmusicians
er-
ceive melodic
tructures
n
relationship
o the onic. he movementfrootnotes
n
Western
armony
an thereforee difficultor ndianmusicians o
understand,
xe-
cute
nd
respond
o.
We
proposed
hat he
azz
participants
ntroducendian
artici-
pants
o harmonicmovement
n
azz through
he
tudy
f basic forms uch s the
three
hord
lues.While he
azz
teacher
layed
r
sang
n
mprovisation,
he ndian
participants
ouldbe
guided
n
singing
he
moving
oots.As
they
ecome
familiar
with his, he eacher ould ing rplay he oots ndhavetheKarnatic articipants
improvise
ver he
moving
onic.
Additionally,
he
azz participants
oulddemon-
strate
oncepts
fchord/scaleubstitutionsver fixed
onic,
uch s
Coltrane-style
tension ndrelease
atterns
ver form uch s
"Impressions"
Coltrane 998).
Polyrhythm
s
twodifferent
et
omplementaryhythms
n
play
tthe ame ime.
The
ndian
hythmiconcept
s
inear,
ot
olyrhythmic;
s a Karnatic
oloistmodu-
lates nto new ubdivision
gati)
of he
ulse,
he
ccompanying
usicians
ill
fol-
low
heror him.We
proposed eaching imple
wo-handed
hythmic
xercises hat
could be used
to
introducehemusicians o the dea. For
example,
hemusicians
couldbe
taught
ow o
play rhythm
f
hreen
one
hand
gainst rhythm
f wo
n
theother. o
visually
ocumenthese
xamples,
we
suggested
lternate otational
aids,
uch s theTime
Unit
Box
System
TUBS)
notationf
4
over
Figure
):
Fig.
2. Two
Cycles f
4
over
Polyrhythm
n Time
Unit
ox
System
otation.
We also
suggested
hat
jazz
drummeremonstrate
ypical
Afro /8
drum et
rhythms,
o
that he ndianmusicians ould
ry
mprovising
n
turn ver he3
pulse
andthe
pulse
nherent
n
those
atterns.
The
concept
f four-
nd
eight-bar
orms irects he tructures
f
nearly
ll
azz
melodies,
orms nd
mprovisations.
our- nd
eight-barycles,
n
particular,
orm
the
asis
of lmost
ll
azz improvisation.
n Karnatic
omposition,hrasesmay ary
in
ength
epending
n the ictates f he
melody,
utKarnaticmusicians o notnec-
essarily
rganize
ala
cycles
nto
nyparticularroups uringmprovisation
other
than he nherenturationf he ala
tself).
azzmusicians
orking
ith
ndianmu-
sicians ften uild olo lines owards resolution
oint
t the ndofa four-barr
eight-barhrase, nly
o find he
ccompanying
ndianmusicians o not
respond,
due to their
misunderstanding
f
theWesterners'
hrasing.
ikewise,
azz perform-
erswithout
rior xperience
n
Karnaticmusic
will
not
ecognize
arnatic
oloists'
methods f
building
nd
resolving
ension
n
mprovisation.
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16/27
Tanya
almanovitch.
azz
ndKarnatic usic 149
In
order o resolve
his,
we
suggested
hat he
azz
instructor
resent
standard
32-bar
rogression
n AABA
form,
ndhave he ndianmusicians
lap
on
the own-
beatof
every
our
ars s
they
isten.
nce
they
ecome
omfortable
ith
his,
he
Indian
musicians
hould
mark hename
of
the
point
n
theform ut oud
e.g.,
call
out
A'
on the
1st
nd 9th ars-
'B'
on the
17th- nd
A'
again
on the
25th)
s the
teacher
lays
he
melody
nd
mprovises
ver he orm. he
azz participants
hould
demonstratehe
methods
y
which
hythm
ections nd soloists
mark ff our- nd
eight-barhrases.
Swing
s
the
African-American
hythmic
radition
hat
ives azz
from ouis
Armstrongo SteveColeman tsunique lavour. ecause t s a specialized erfor-
mance
ractice, eveloped y
he ndividual ver
years
f
tudy,
e
proposed
nly
simple
echnicalmodelfor he ndian
articipants
o
build
upon.
We
suggested
hat
the
azz
instructoread
the ndian
articipants
n
clapping long
with
azz
recording
on the
nd
nd
4th
eats f 4/4
ar.
After
his,
he
or
he would emonstrate
he asic
jazz
ride
ymbal
eat,
hen ave he ndian
musicians
epeat
ton the
ymbal.
inal-
ly,
heorhe would et
up
a
metronome-
rask some
participants
o
keep
di tala-
and ead
everyone
n
a
call-and-responseattern
f
syncopatedhythms.
One of he
most
mportanthings
e felt
azz participants
ould
give
othe
ndian
participants
as an
understanding
f the
history,
thos,
nd aestheticsf
azz
from
the ractitioner'soint fview.Wesuggestedhat n nstructorrom heazz school
lead a discussion f the
history
f
azz
as an intercultural
usic,
ncluding
treat-
ment fthe
history
f
azz
in
ndia
nd ndianmusic's
mpact
n
azz.
We also rec-
ommended
hat he
following opics
be addressed n discussion nd
llustrated
y
live
performance
r
by
recorded
xample:
Whatmakes
good azz
solo?
How free
s
the
azz
soloist o
deviate rom heharmonicorm
nd he
tructure?
hat,
f
ny,
i-
erarchiesre
present
ithin
azz
ensembles?What s a
jazz rhythm
ection?
How
does nteractionunction
ithinhe
hythm
ection nd
withinhe nsemble?
3.4 TheNew
School
n
ndia
The
Jazz nd
Contemporary
usic
Program
t
New School
University
ffers
n un-
dergraduate
urriculum
asedon
the raditionf
artist-as-mentor;
aculty
redrawn
the iverse
ool
ofactive
azz
musicians ho iveand
perform
n New York
City.
A
large ercentage
f he tudent
ody
s
foreign,
ndnumerouslassroom ourses
nd
ensembles ocus n
musical raditionsutside f
azz, providing
tudents
ith
xpo-
sure o
a
diverse
musical ndculturalducation. ntil
he
xchange rogram,
ndian
musichad notbeen formal
art
fthe
urriculum,
utwas touched
pon
n
rhyth-
mic nalysisessons ndworldmusic lasses.
New School tudentsnd
faculty
ndicatedheirnterest
nthe
xchange rogram
after memowas
circulatednthe all f2003. Martin
Mueller,
xecutive irector
f
the
azz program,
hose six
participants
fter e conducted
nterviews;
articipants
were elected asedon
an
expressed
nterest
n
Karnatic
music,
willingness
o
par-
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17/27
150
theworld
f
music
7(3)
2005
ticipate
n n
equitable xchange,
nd he
bility
o
carry
he inancial
urden,
s their
was
no
funding
or ravel r accommodations.hree
faculty
members,
assistJo-
hannes
Weidenmuller,
axophonist
Arun
Luthra,
and
percussionist
ristina
Kanders,
ere
oinedby
taff
ember/vocalistlaudia
Atkinson,
nd
hree tudents:
saxophonists
icholasMenache nd Evan
Herring-Nathan,
nd
drummer
oody
Shaw
II.
The New School
participants
ad
varying
evelsof
exposure
o
Karnaticmusic
prior
otheir
ourney.
run
uthra nd
Woody
hawhadbeen o ndiabefore. uthra
hadtraveledhere wicewith is ndian atherndrememberedindustani usic
s
part f the oundtrackf his childhood. e was interestedrimarilyn whathe de-
scribed s "the
ver-arching
piritual
ocus" f
ndian lassical
music,
s well as
in
developing
heKarnatic
hythmiconcepts
e had first
ncountered
s
a studentt
theNew School
Luthra 004a).
Johannes
Weidenmuller,
German
assist,
was
aware f ndianmusic
mainly
hrough
akirHussein.
He
had
been
working
n met-
ric
modulation
n
his own
performance,
ndhad been
planning
o
study
n
ndiafor
some ime.He was
not
pecifically
ware fKarnaticmusic ntil he
xchange ro-
vided
"theneeded
push"
Weidenmuller003).
Kristina
anders, oo,
reported
long-standing
ream f
tudying
n
ndia.
he
hadbeen
xposed
o
Hindustani usic
while
rowing p
n
Germany,
ndhadbeen
xposed
o Karnatic
hythmiconcepts
by fellow rummer.laudiaAtkinson as nterestednthe xchange rograme-
cause
mportant
usicians he
admired,
ike
Coltrane
nd
the
Beatles,
had been
n-
fluenced
y
Indian
music.She
was
interested
n
learning
ndianvocal
technique,
though
he had ittle dea what
o
expect
Atkinson 004).
Drummer
Woody
haw
III had
pursued
n
undergraduate
egree
n
ethnomusicology
nd had
previously
traveledoNew Delhito
study
industani usic.He
wanted o
tudy
he
mridangam
and
translate
ts
anguage
o thedrum et.
Saxophonists
van
Herring-Nathan
nd
Nicholas
Menache
ad
achbeen
xposed
o ndianmusic
hrough
heir
wnmusical
explorations,hough
ever
hrough
ormal
tudy.
ickMenache
ommented,
I
had
listened lot o themusic, o I expected omethingohappen.t's such rich cene,
and
there's wealth f nformationhere-
here
as
clearly
omething
o be
gained
from
oing"
Menache 004).
All
of the
participants
eredrawn
o
the
pportunity
to
study
n
ndiaunder structurednd
organized roup etting.
The New
School's
visit
o
Brhaddhvani
as scheduled o coincidewith
he
win-
ter reak nd
Chennai's
usy
music estival
eason.
Many
fBrhaddhvani'teachers
are
busy
with ehearsalsnd
concerts
uring
his ime ndnormal lasses
re
gener-
ally
uspended,reeing
he chool'sfacilitiesor he
xchange
isitors.
Dr. Subramanian
tructuredhe
program
o culminate
n
a
collaborative
erfor-
mancewithKarnaticmusicians
n
January
0.
Forthe irstwoweekshe
presented
daily lassesduring hich hefundamentalaterials,esthetics,ndphilosophyf
Karnatic
musicwere
aught.
tudents ere lso
given
daily
nstruction
n the ala
system y mridangamist
amakrishnand
in
raga
and vocal
technique
y
Usha
Narasimhan.r. Subramanian
lso
arranged
isits rom numberf
guest
rtists,
n-
cluding
mridangamist
richy
ankaran,
fusion"
ercussionist
. Murali
Krishnan,
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18/27
Tanya
almanovitch.
azz
ndKarnatic usic
151
and Tamilfolk
inger uppuswamy ushpavanam.
ield
trips
were
organized,
n-
cluding
temple
ance
performance,
arnatic
oncerts,
nd
special
udience
nthe
home fthe elebrated amil
film
omposerlayaraja. articipants
ere ble to
ar-
range
dditional
nstruction,
ccording
otheir
nterests,
ith
mridangamists
. A. S.
Mani and B.
C.
Manjunath
n
Bangalore
nd n
Chennai
withKarnatic
axophonist
Kadri
Gopalnath.
As the
performance
rew
loser,
articipantspent
more ime n rehearsalshan
in
classes. Some New
School
performers
ere
able to
spend
xtensive imewith
master outh ndianmusicians uch as
Trichy
ankaran
nd
Pushpavanam up-
paswamy. he NewSchoolparticipantsnd Brhaddhvaniacultyehearsedwoof
Dr
Subramanian'
compositions,
o be
performed
ithKarnatic iolinists
algudi
G. J.R. Krishnannd
Vijayalakshmi,
nd he
New School
participants
orked ode-
velop
selection f
azz pieces
o demonstrateheir radition
o
ndian udiences.
The
concert,
itled
Beyond
oundaries: Dedication oWorld
Harmony,"
as
held n
January
0th t the
mage
Auditorium
n
Chennai.
t was
the econd
n a se-
riesof twoconcerts
marking
rhaddhvani's
4th
nniversary,
s well as the nd of
Brhaddhvani'
"Lalgudi
Year",
commemorating
he minent arnatic iolinistnd
composer algudiJayaraman.
ntendeds a fundraisero
help
defray
rhaddhvani's
exchange
rogramxpenses,
he
oncert
as a
well-produced
vent eld n a
large
hall,
extensively
ublicized
n the ocalmedia.Posterswere
hung hroughout
he
city,
nd
commemorative
rogram
ook
was
produced.
t
the
enue,
large
ack-
drop roclaimed
he chool's ndthe
ponsor's
ames,
nd
photographers,
camera
crew,
nd
sound
technicians
moved
throughout
he
stage
area,
documenting
he
event.
The
program
eatured
anjore
olk
music,
arnatic
music,
nd
azz, separate
nd
in
collaboration,
s
well as a series f "cross-cultural
ompositions' y Trichy
an-
karan,
avid
Reck,
Karaikudi
ubramanian,
nd
EeroHameenniemi.
roductione-
lays
aused late tartothe
ongprogram,
nd series f
peeches
nd
presentations
honoringheperformersndspecial guests urthertretchedut theproceedings.
The
concert
ad
tobe
truncated,
nfortunately,
nd
ompositionsy
David Reck
nd
Subramanian,
ncluding
hatwhich he ollectivemusicians ad
spent
hemost
ime
rehearsing,
ere mitted.
Over the ourse f their ime
n
Chennai,
heNew School
participants
ormed
close bondswith he ndian
articipants
nd
developed
heir wnmeans f nstitut-
ing xchange.
ristina
anders
nd
Claudia
Atkinson,
or
xample,
egan
o nstruct
Usha Narasimhann drum et and
Western
musical
notation.
mong
hem,
New
School studentsnd
faculty
ollected substantialonation o Brhaddhvanio
pay
for he ostof
purchasing
drum etfor he chool.
Group
inners
n
private
omes
and restaurantsere lso arranged,ncluding memorableotluckunch f South
Indian ishes
rranged
y
the
aculty
nd tudentst Brhaddhvani.
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19/27
152
theworld
f
music
7(3)-
2005
3.5
Brhaddhvani
n
New York
Originally,
oth
r
Subramaniannd
faculty
ember ankiri rishnan
ere o
par-
ticipate
ntheNew
York
eg
of he
xchange.
owever,
unding
onstraints
ltimate-
ly permittednly
Subramanian
o travel o New York.He
arrived n
January
1,
2004,
n
time obe featuredntwo
vents tthe nnual onference
f he
nternation-
al
Association orJazzEducation.
Thefirstf hesewas a
panel
discussion,
oderated
y
David Liebman nd
itled
"Jazz nd ndianMusic: The
Global Conversation
ontinues".
articipating
n
the
discussion ere ubramanian,amesh hotham,onanGuilfoyle,udreshMahan-
thappa, ijay yer,
ndme. The
secondwas a
performance
ith
n ensemble
fthe
New
School
participants
nd
guests,
amed TheJazz nd ndian
Music
Collective".
The
featured
uest
oloists
were
David
Liebman nd
Subramanian,
nd
oining
he
New School
faculty
nd
tudents
ere
avil
layer
amesh
hotham,
usical
irec-
tor
Ronan
Guilfoyle,
nd the uthor. he
program
eatured
ompositions
f Subra-
manian,
.
A.
Ramamani,
nd one
traditionalarnatic
omposition.
he
standing-
room-only
udiences eceived he
concert
nd
panel
discussion
nthusiastically.
Both ventswerefeatureds
highlights
n
coverage
f
the
onference
n
All About
Jazz
ndtheNew York
imes
Donohue-Green
004).
Theperformanceas gratifyingor veryoneoncerned. ickMenache om-
mented,
Thehall
was
packed,
he andwas
tight
ndwe all had
blast. Theaudi-
ence
really
eemed o
enjoy
tself'
Menache 004).
Dr
Subramanian as
gratified
by
he nterest
hown
y
from
azz
musiciansnd ducators.
ater,
onan
Guilfoyle,
Martin
Mueller,
nd
presented
n
oral
report
n the
xchange
rogram
n
a
meeting
withmembers
f
he
ASJ
nd
requested
hat he oard
onsider
permanent
evelof
involvemento sustain
he
rogram.
Where he
ndian
eg
ofthe
xchange rogram
elied n the
xisting
esourcest
Brhaddhvani,
o similar
nfrastructurewaited r.
Subramanian,
o the
New York
leg of theexchangewas comparativelyess defined. ubramanian'sime nNew
York,
cheduled o coincidewith he
AJE
onference,
nfortunately
ell
during
he
first
ays
ofthe
pring
004
semester
t
theNew
School.
With
o Brhaddhvanitu-
dents
resent
nd theNew
School semester
ewly
n
session,
herewas
limited
p-
portunity
o execute he
ther ndof the
xchange.
ubramanianelivered
work-
shop
t
the
New
School,
uthisNew
Yorkvisitwas cut hort
y
ommitmentstthe
University
f
Massachusetts,
mherst,
assar
College,
ndYork
University.
In
the
pring
f
2004,
1
consulted
ith
he
dministration
t
Brhaddhvanind
he
New
Schoolto
prepare
detailed
eport
nd
setof
program
ecommendations.his
report
was
presented
o the
board
of the
ASJ
in
June 004 at their
meeting
n
Freiberg, ermany.he board esolved o take n the xchange rograms a core
activity,
ecommending
inancial
ponsorship
or
r
Subramaniannd
his students.
Theboard
uggested
hat
ubramanian's
xpenses
e
paid
for
im
oattend
he 005
meeting
n
Warsaw,
where e couldbe introducedo the
membership.
owever,
n
the
ntervening
onths he ASJ
ost
major art
f ts
operating
upport
hen he
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20/27
Tanya
almanovitch.
azz
ndKarnatic usic 153
Koninklijk
onservatorium
n
den
Haag,
the
Netherlands,
hich adbeen
providing
the ASJwith
ffice
pace
nd
part
ime
taff
ember,
ecided ot orenew
ts
up-
port.
he
organization
s
newly trapped
or ash andunable o
support
henew
ni-
tiative.
n
a November 004
meeting
ithMartin
Mueller,
learned hat heNew
School
ntends
o
further
elp
he
rogramy pplying
or
upport
ithin
he niver-
sity
o
bring
ubramanian
ack
to
teach
s a
visiting uest
rtist. he ASJhas
af-
firmedhat
ur
report
n
the
xchange roject
will
be
printed
nd
distributedo
all
IASJmember
chools,
whichwill
bring higher
evelofawareness fKarnaticmu-
sic
n
general
ndBrhaddhvani's
rogram
n
particular.
4.
Discussion
In
absolute ermstwould eem hat
r
Subramanian'idealofa true
xchange
was
not
ully
ealized. ecauseoffinancialnd chedule
onstraints,
e was unable o n-
gage
n
collaborations ithWestern
erformers
nd teacherswhile
n
New York.
The
teaching
urdenwas
unequally
oaded,
withBrhaddhvani's
aculty roviding
thebulkof the ducational ontributionnd few
opportunities
or heNew School
participants
o
reciprocate.inally,
he nstitutional
upport
hat
we had
hoped
o
would ustain he rogram asnot ltimatelyxtended,nd tsfutureemains ncer-
tain.
Considered
s a
pilot roject,
owever,
number
f
positive
utcomes hould e
noted. he
exchange
as
potentially
aid the
groundwork
or n
equitable edagogi-
cal
exchange,
nd thas
certainly
ointed
othe
reater ains
hat ouldbe made
with
modest
material nd administrative
upport.
considerationf the
hallenges
we
faced
n
realizing
he
project
makes lear he
nduringisproportion
hat eed o be
addressed,
nd
uggests
hemeans