Gig review/ Amyt Datta Electric Power Quartet

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Band: Amyt Datta Electric Power Quartet

Genre: Jazz-rock

Details: NMACC Studio, September 1

Rating: ****

(Picture taken by blogger)

Somewhere in the second half, three musicians of the Amyt Datta Electric Power Quartet stepped aside, letting the frontman do his own thing. What one heard guitarist Datta do on the solo track was pure magic. It wasn't as energetic as some of the previous pieces, but touched a chord with its sheer soul. Sadly, the track's name wasn't announced and only after the show did we discover it was called 'Camellia'.

On the rest of the pieces in the hour and 45 minute set at the NMACC Studio on September 1, Datta was accompanied by keyboardist Samrat Mukherjee, bassist Aakash Ganguly and drummer Sambit Chatterjee. The Kolkata-based musician was in supreme form all through, proving yet again why he's respected as one of the finest guitarists in the country. He had the right blend of technical wizardry, raw emotion and improvisational ability, which was transported to the rapt audience in a very unique and individualised manner.

Formerly with the bands Shiva and Skinny Alley, and now mentor to many younger guitarists, Datta was playing in Mumbai after five years, in his first appearance in the city with this line-up. The style could loosely be termed jazz-rock, though one sensed doses of progressive rock and contemporary guitar jazz. The tunes were culled from his albums Ambiance De Danse, Amino Acid and Red Plant, released over the past 10 years. 

After the jazzle-dazzle of 'Ironic Bironic' and 'Pulse', Datta slowed down to play the melodious 'Remembrance'. Moving through 'Stain' and 'Introit', they closed up with an outstanding drum solo on 'The Chase' and marvellous improvisation on 'Dark City'. Though one missed favourites like 'Neelima' and 'Rio Arriba', it was a fairly representative set.

Interestingly, Datta mentioned the names of tracks in bursts, and even skipped some. For instance, 'Ironic Bironic' was announced two songs after it ended. 'Camellia' was one of the high points, but nobody knew what it was called and why it was given that name. Datta said he didn't talk much at shows, understandably so as he lets his music do the talking. But a bit of context about the tunes would help. Maybe the organisers should start distributing pamphlets with the set list, specially in cases where the bulk of the audience is not familiar with track names. One can always go back and re-listen on the streaming platforms.

Of the accompanists, drummer Chatterjee was a delight, totally rocking it on the solo. Someone said he displayed an influence of Rush's Neil Peart, though I personally found a bit of Jethro Tull's Barriemore Barlow. Of course, one didn't understand that bit when he suddenly stopped with no sound on stage for a long time, before suddenly springing back in action. Had he taken a nap behind the kit? Or were they inspired by the use of silence in that famous Oppenheimer scene?

To be sure, one couldn't hear much of Ganguly's bass ('Stain' was an exception) and one heard Mukherjee's keyboards only at specific times when the guitar and drums toned down (though one admired the way he swayed while playing). A similar thing was noticed during the rocking Blackstratblues show at the same venue on August 26 - Adi Mistry's bass and Beven Fonseca's keys were drowned in Warren Mendonsa's guitarwork and Jai Row Kavi's drumplay. Either it was deliberately done to play up the guitar, or it had to do with the mix.

Despite these 'crib' points, it was a fantastic display of guitaring genius all through. Often, the admiration a musician commands is seen when many other musicians give up on commitments to attend a show just to listen. We saw that with Shakti and with jazz pianist Jesus Molina's show earlier this year. For Amyt, the attendees included Ranjit Barot, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonsa, Zubin Balaporia and Mark Selwyn of Indus Creed, Suneeta Rao and Isheeta Chakrvarty, besides many younger artistes. They surely left on a happy note, like everyone else in the small, intimate auditorium.