Menage A Trois/ Menage A Trois

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Menage A Trois/ Menage A Trois

Genre: Fusion-jazz

Label  Inkk Audio

Rating: **** 1/2

Barely a minute into the self-titled album of Menage A Trois, you're hooked. It begins with a blend of old-school bebop and vintage soundtrack score, before trumpet phrases and scat vocals take over. Clearly, this is hi-energy, eclectic fusion-jazz.

The basic line-up consists of German-American guitarist-pianist Ed DeGenaro, multi-genre vocalist Ujjayinee Roy and seasoned Mumbai trumpeter Kishore Sodha. But there are many others in the arena, including saxophonist Raj Sodha, and different drummers and bassists. Indrajit Sharma 'Tubby' handles string arrangements.

Beginning with 'Dancing In The Rain In Gangtok', the coordination between the three main musicians is perfect. On the title track, Ujjayinee's vocal phrases alternate with Kishore's intense solo phrases, before Ed chips in with a brief guitar part and Raj's saxophone teases along in the backdrop.

'Song For Emmanuel' is a beauty. It talks about the  break-up of a relationship - "not to wake up next to you, and not to love and not to laugh and not to cry together, I'd still fall in love with you Emmanuel". Yet the highlight is Kishore's soaring and melodic trumpet, backed by strings straight out of the Hollywood style sheet. There's an operatic part before Ujjayinee talks of "the silence, cold and dark", and boom, an abrupt, dramatic ending.

'Bageshree's Lover' begins in Indian classical style, blending saxophone and piano. Once again Kishore's trumpet takes over before the vocals "Ja ri ude, ja ri ude kagwa", leading to sargams in jazz style, scat vocals, taans and even improvised guitar lines. In each case, the transitions are smooth and seamless.

'Don't Be Afraid Of The Crown' has traces of vaudeville, but yet sounds contemporary, and 'This Feels Right' is a simple vocal pop-jazz song about distance and waiting. 'The Happy Song' is in an opposite mood, upbeat and swinging, though here one feels the vocals, brass lines and the back-ups should have been toned down. It seems a bit cluttered after a point.

Appropriately, the album concludes with the Menage A Trois interpretation of 'Tutu', a 1986 track written by bassist Marcus Miller and popularised by Miles Davis. There's a lovely dialogue between trumpet and vocals , besides a crackling electric guitar stretch by Ed and deep bass lines. The song was originally dedicated to South African anti-apartheid leader Desmond Tutu, who passed away recently. 

All through, the compositions are filled with improvisation, and the trumpet clearly dominates the sound, with Kishore excelling. With most Indian jazz music these days focusing on keyboards and guitar, brass sections have taken a back seat. Two years ago, saxophonist Rhys Sebastian's EP tried to fill in the gap on his quartet EP Bombay Brass. Menage A Trois continues in the same direction, and the best thing is that it blends the traditional and modern so effortlessly. 

There are brief occasions when one feels things have gone over the top, with too many things happening together. But they return quickly to the equilibrium. Overall, this is a brilliant effort, confident, adventurous and technically dazzling at the same time.