Gig review/ The Next Dimension

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

The Next Dimension feat Gary Husband, Etienne MBappe & Ranjit Barot 

Genre: Jazz, world music

Details; NMACC Studio, August 29

Rating: ****

We've seen these gentlemen together on the same stage before, at Mumbai's St Andrew's, NCPA and Royal Opera House. On those occasions, they were giving company to legendary guitarist John McLaughlin, as part of his band The 4th Dimension.

On Thursday night, British keyboardist Gary Husband, Paris-settled Cameroonian bassist Etienne MBappe and Mumbai's very own drum chum Ranjit Barot got together as a trio at the NMACC Studio, under the name The Next Dimension. In keeping with that title, they produced jazz of the next level.

Barring a couple of technology-induced hiccups, the music flowed smoothly for 90 minutes, as the musicians moved between themes and tempos with pinpoint accuracy and effortless mastery. In one of the highlights, Gary left his keyboards to play a vibrant drum piece, in a duet with Ranjit, who recited konnakol (rhythmic) syllables. And that bass solo by Etienne on an adaptation of the Mahavishnu Orchestra piece 'Miles Beyond' was a textbook study of controlled improvisation.

The evening began with 'Immune System', a piece Gary had co-written with German drummer Benny Greb. 'Remember The Future', composed by Ranjit in memory of the great bassist Jaco Pastorius, came next. These numbers set the mood, and with the musicians instantly showing understanding and great coordination, one was ascertained of a great set.

Two McLaughlin tunes from The 4th Dimension album The Boston Record followed. 'Abbaji', dedicated to tabla great Ustad Allarakha, had intricate rhythm structures, with Etienne and Ranjit alternately singing the line "Love and understanding". Then, Gary displayed his virtuosity on 'Hijacked'. In their original form, both these pieces, along with 'Miles Beyond', were written with strong guitar parts. So they had to be adapted to fit the keyboard-led trio structure. Those who've heard the earlier versions may have missed the guitars, but the adaptations spoke their own language and had their own hues. 

Of the vocal tracks, Ranjit chipped in with his voice on Gary's creation 'Ancestors'. Etienne sang 'Sona Inon', originally heard on the album Bombay Makossa by Ranjit, Etienne and late mandolin wizard U. Srinivas. At best, it provided variety and added a world music flavour to the evening. The song has a melodic bass intro, but the mandolin soloing on the original was another thing altogether.

The trio rounded off their set with 'Raju', written by McLaughlin for a friend Raju (Rajamani Rajkumar) in The Boston Record, released in 2014. The crowd clearly wanted an encore but deadline time had approached.

It was a pleasure to see many musicians in the audience. Ace keyboardist Louiz Banks, tabla maestro Yogesh Samsi, mridangam expert Sridhar Parthasarathy, drummer Gino Banks, tabla exponent Ojas Adhiya, guitarist Adil Manuel and a host of young artistes were present, along with actor Kunal Kapoor.

The trio had performed in Bengaluru last week, and hopefully one will get to see them more often in Mumbai whenever collective schedules permit. You know, you know, such a meeting of the spirits can send listeners on a cosmic strut.