WL 365 - Sunday, May 27 – 10pm
Purveyors of: Indo-jazz hybridism

It's encouraging to see that February's 7th anniversary Wavelength panel wasn't just an exercise in exchanging hot air. Much was made of Wavelength's resolve to expand its focus; to look beyond the comfortable indie/experimental spheres that usually characterize Wavelength shows. Sure enough, Eritrean-Canadian Krar-strummer Daniel Nebiat and T-dot emcee Mindbender played to (I'm told) enthusiastic audiences in March. Having Tasa play in May shows that Jonny, Ryan and Kevin are keen on sustaining the momentum created by these shows and to book acts that reflect the talent and diversity of Toronto's musicians without simply paying lip service to the notion of cultural inclusivity. Tasa are a fitting embodiment of diversity in a musical context – ringleader Ravi Naimpally is a classically trained musician in the tradition of Hindustani (one of the many North Indian classical schools), while his bandmates are a motley crew of jazzheads and improvisers. Pras Rajagopalan pressed Ravi further via email and received a very prompt, detailed reply.

Could you give us a brief history of the band? Who are you guys and how did you come together?

The band came together in 1999 after returning from a trip to study tabla [North Indian percussive instrument] in Kolkata, India. While I was in India I had a vision of putting a band together to play my compositions. The core of the band consists of Ernie Tollar, John Gzowski, Alan Hetherington, Chris Gartner, and myself. After I moved to Toronto I had worked and or been in jamming situations with all of these players in one context or another so when it was time to put a band together it seemed natural to pick these players.

When did you first start listening to jazz and when did you start to envision the possibilities of a Hindustani/jazz fusion?

In my childhood I mostly listened to Hindustani music since that was what my parents and family were into. Later in high school I did listen to some American and British pop music. It wasn't until I went to Carleton University in Ottawa that I started taking an interest in jazz music. I had an instant liking for it because both jazz and Hindustani music share the element of improvisation. It wasn't until much later when I moved to Toronto that I would find players who could improvise and had an interest in music from other cultures.

When did you come to Canada? Could you describe your initial impressions of this country? How did you get started in the music making process here?

I was born in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh and moved to Canada after my first birthday. My father used to arrange concerts in India and continued to do so after we moved to Canada, so I grew up listening to some of the top players. In fact they would stay with us so I had the opportunity to really connect with them. My first experiences of playing music were accompanying my mother who is a very good singer and composer. We would have family music sessions once a week. This gave me my first foundation. Later I was sent to Mumbai to live with my uncle, Nikhil Ghosh who was a great tabla master and taught me the repertoire and techniques of the Farukkabad style. All his three children are musicians of a very high caliber so I gained a lot of experience in music making from them.

Could you give us a very, very basic introduction to the tabla and how it is played?

The tabla consists of two hand drums. The right drum is made of wood and is called the tabla or dayan and the left is made of copper or brass and called bayan or dugga. Both drums have a goat skin top that have black spots called shahi in the middle of them. The right drum produces high sounds and the left drum produces bass sounds. When played properly the drums sound like a voice that is speaking. In fact the repertoire of the drums can all be spoken with the mouth. These are called bols. To learn the tabla requires a good teacher and a lot of practice.

Describe the Tasa composition process.

Usually I start with a raga or with a rhythmic idea such as a tihai or korvai and develop it into a composition. Much like Indian classical music I try to create areas of fixed composition and spaces where players can improvise.

Some of your jazz influences are, at their purest form, markedly at odds with the more obvious Indian ones. They are almost like different languages - how do you successfully meld them without losing something in translation?

I think the expertise of the players in the band is such that they are able to create a synergy between the two languages. A few of the guys of the band come from a jazz background but have done extensive studying in the Indian tradition.

I feel that in Indian classical music, traditionalism by and large is really revered. While innovation is always welcome within the laws that govern classical music, you are incorporating a whole new realm, governed by its own set of rules into the system. In this sense, how have you been received by the Indian classical music community?

I have never tried to capture the Indian classical music community for our audience. Though many of them do come to our concerts and appreciate what we are doing. A lot of people who are into Indian classical music do tend to be purists and though I do like listening and playing pure classical music, I also like other kinds of music. With a tradition like Indian classical music change occurs in small steps not giant leaps. The tradition does encourage innovation but the next step always has to be strongly connected to the previous one. The ultimate compliment for me was when my teacher Anindo Chatterjee said he really liked the sound of the band and the compositions. Coming from one of the world's greatest tabla players, that really means a lot.

How have you been received by people who know nothing about Hindustani music?

We have played all over Canada and in some pretty remote areas and people seem to really respond well to our music. I think there is something in our music that everyone can relate to.

Playing a show like this may not seem like the most obvious fit, which is precisely why I think it's a good idea. Would you be up for playing more shows of this nature?

We love to play for different audiences because it gives us a chance to play our music to people who might not normally come out to one of our gigs. I would love to play more shows like this one. We are really excited about this opportunity.

By Pras Rajagopalan