Gig review/ Indialucia and The Neil Mukherjee Trio

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

It's always a pleasure to hear music built around the acoustic guitar. There were two such shows over the past few days, featuring Polish flamenco guitarist Miguel Czachowski and Kolkata-bred, Mumbai-settled Neil Mukherjee, respectively. Here are some highlights:

Indialucia feat. Miguel Czachowski

Genre: Indo-flamenco fusion 

Details: NMACC Studio, February 22

Rating: ****

The group Indialucia was formed almost 25 years ago by Czachowski, with the view to blending the flamenco music of Andalucia, Spain, with Indian melodies and rhythms. Hence the name. This mix has otherwise been attempted by sitar player Anoushka Shankar in Traveller, her 2011 collaboration with Spanish producer and guitarist Javier Limon.

In their self-titled 2015 album and the 2017 follow-up Acatao, Indialucia featured a wide variety of artistes. For the show last Thursday, Czachowski was accompanied by flautist Ravichandra Kulur, ghatam exponent Giridhar Udupa and percussionist Pramath Kiran. The set consisted of fresh arrangements of earlier Indialucia tunes.

After the introductory solo piece, Czachowski called on Udupa and Kiran to play a 'Bulerias', a fast-tempo flamenco piece in a 12-beat cycle, with shades of raag Basantmukhari. The track 'Indialucia' added Kulur to the line-up and 'Aroma de Cilantro', which translated into "the essence of coriander leaves" brimmed with joyous melody.

'Gangaquivir', whose original version had violinist Ambi Subramaniam and cajon ('seat drum') player Paquito Gonzalez, this time featured a remarkable konnakol (Carnatic vocal rhythm passages) by Udupa.

A flute solo in raag Kapi was followed by the exuberant 'Tres Notas Para Decir Te Quiero', which translates into 'Three words to say I love you'. The jaw harp morsing was prominent on this piece.

Czachowski has been a brilliant composer with a deep understanding of Indian music, as he's shown in the two Indialucia albums. Besides his intricate flamenco guitar, he doubles up on the cajon. Here, he was accompanied by three marvellous musicians from Bengaluru, making way for some ethereal music.

The Neil Mukherjee Trio

Genre: Multiple acoustic guitar styles

Details: Prithvi Theatre, February 25

Rating: ****

Cut to Sunday morning and the monthly Jazz@Prithvi event featured guitarist Mukherjee, accompanied by Aditya Jayakar on piano and Shravan Samsi on drums. Though the electric guitar was kept on stage, it wasn't needed. The audience was treated to 90 minutes of melodious bliss, as the pieces transported listeners to different lands, near or far.

Though it was obviously never on Mukherjee's mind, the set seemed to continue from the Indialucia gig, as he began with a flamenco solo piece. The next song 'Waking' used elements of raag Bilaskhani Todi, along with flamenco.

Soon, the guitarist was to diversify into other styles through his own compositions. 'Mumbai Tango' had a Latin touch, 'Song Of The Mountain' used Nepali folk, and 'Swan Song' was named not because it was the last song but because it was based on raag Hamsadhwani.

There was this interestingly-titled 'Calcutta Theke Constantinople', inspired by Deepak Majumdar's literary work of the same name, and 'It Could Be Rain', influenced by the rain raags. 'Proteas', named after the bird formed in South Africa, had vibrant rhythms by young Samsi.

The compositions had lilt, and one never felr the absence of bass. Mukherjee has trained in classical guitar and specialises in flamenco and finger-picking styles. Besides being with the Kolkata band Krosswindz, he has played with many film music directors including A.R. Rahman and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, and  recorded with Sufi and devotional singer Radhika Sood Nayak. That's a lot of variety.

The series, presented by jazz supremo Louiz Banks and curated by Gino Banks, was started in January last year. It has had different styles within the larger jazz umbrella, and this one added a fresh element.