Sandhya Sanjana mesmerizes the audience at Goa Chitra
Last weekend, as part of the ongoing Great Music revival series, Goa Chitra presented Indo-jazz fusion diva Sandhya Sanjana live in concert with her band 'Random Access Melody' featuring Vishnu Prabhu on bansuri, Bob Tinker on trumpet, Xavier Peres on keyboards, Colin D'Cruz on bass and Dennis Coelho on drums. Sandhya co-founded India's pioneering fusion band 'Divya' in the early eighty's before migrating to Amsterdam where she went about recording and performing her own compositions with artistes from all over the world. Her recently launched album, also called 'Random Access Melody', has received rave reviews in the international circuit and her current live performance repertoire is largely based on tracks from this album.
For the music buffs that landed up, the evening can only be described as a breath taking performance, where global sounds of music seemed to seamlessly blend in to each and every composition belted out by a tightly knit band. Sandhya opened the concert with a tune called 'Sanny' that set the tone for an enchanting evening. The crowd was immediately mesmerised by Sandhya's amazing control over her vocal chords. Something that can only be possible after years of hard work or 'Riaz' as Indian classical artistes call it. Sandhya is one of the few Indian jazz singers who went through Indian classical training in order to offer India's contribution to the world of jazz. And this has earned her great respect in the west where she has been invited to perform alongside legendary international jazz artistes. Sandhya's compositions had all the elements of a great jazz tune. Rhythm, melody and harmony with space for spontaneously improvised contributions from each member of the band. All her compositons seemed to be platforms that displayed individual virtuosity in a team effort. Considering the band being put together in a couple of brief rehearsals after her arrival in Goa, the concert was nothing short of incredible. The final track called 'Change' explained how change is the only constant thing in life and even onstage, when a funky blues track changed into a steamy unplanned jugalbandi between the trumpet and bansuri, leading to individual bursts of brilliant soloing by the keyboard, bass and drums and finally Sandhya getting the crowd to join in the action, coaxing them into singing along to take the end of the great music revival concert to a literally 'breathtaking' crecendo.
Featuring coming Saturday, February 26th, The Great Music Revival Concert Series 2010-2011; presents the Trio Brouwer-Akihary-Bhattachary from Netherlands live in concert at the Goa Chitra amphi theatre. A creative initiative to raise funds and bridge the gap between the past and the present; the concerts are conceived to showcase local and international talent and serve as a platform for musicians from across the world to create, express and love.
The success of this Netherlands based Trio- Brouwer-Akihary-Bhattacharya (BAB) derives from the particular way in which the three musicians have been collaborating since 2004. Tabla player Sandip Bhattacharya, vocalist Monica Akihary and guitarist Niels Brouwer bring to life the intimacy of the songs. The gripping and fresh musical interaction, with Akihary singing partly in Haruku, the acoustic created sounds, melodies and rhythm of Niels Brouwer and the tabla is enrapturing. This is a trio in total control of its musical environment and its strength lies in the musical empathy between the three musicians. Through various concerts and tours world over the trio continually develops a unique musical vocabulary, through which sounds and elements from different traditions acquire new meaning. Full of lyrical angles and a richness of diverse nuances, a musical experience of exceptional art, this concert will be a unique experience.
The connoisseurs of fine music shall finally get an opportunity of listening to their great music while supporting a cause. Be a member of Goa Chitra and avail of discounts for all our exclusive events. The event shall commence at 8.oo pm on the 26th of February and is inclusive of Buffet dinner. For details, booking and membership please call 0832657087, 08322772910, or email [email protected].
Photos: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150156364741788&id=1314605210 Goanet A-C-E! Arts ~ Culture ~ Entertainment
