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indo-jazz fusions |
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Fusion is unique in musical conception. Eastern and western music are widely different in many respects, but in this orchestra elements to various cultures combine to perform the music of John Mayer and other composers. |
Indo-Jazz was something of a first. It was certainly the first ensemble to succesfully introduce jazz, classical and Indian music to each other, and it was the first band to use the term ' fusion ' in its name. It was the first time some of the structures and sonic patterns of Indian music was used as a framework for jazz musicians to improvise on.![]() In these early days Mayer was working with established jazz figures who, after years of gigging around had a certain degree of inflexibilty. As Mayer puts it "...they were all hard boiled professional musicians...Joe Harriott was like a tree...I mean when the tree's grown, you can't bend with it can you? ". By contrast he feels the present band are more inclined to try translating Indian techniques on, say, the sitar, to the keyboard, or from the tablas to the drums, and that all promotes a cohesiveness to the outfit. " There's not the isolation that there was before..there is now a closeness in the band which is so nice" extract of article by Robin Broadbank ©1996. indo-jazz fusions composers and musicians |