Sitar and Tabla Concert in Dana Library

Yesterday afternoon the Dana Library was filled with the sounds of sitar and tabla. Indrajit Roy-Chowdhury and Dibyarka Chatterjee performed an hour long set of classical Indian music. I took a few photos that Mary Grace Oania (who also took these awesome Homecoming photos last year) edited for me.

The concert featured what's called an afternoon raga. A raga is traditional Indian music going back thousands of years. There are ragas for each time of the day. I hope to have a video on our YouTube channel once it's edited and approved.

Indrajit and Dibyarka were really great and down to earth and they taught the audience a few things about the instruments and music. Did you know that the big bowl part of the sitar is not made from wood, but rather from a hollowed out gourd? And that the frets on a sitar move up and down for each tuning?

The tabla is just as fascinating. For one, it can be tuned. Dibyarka played it more like a piano than a percussion instrument; his fingers flying all over the place.

Similar to jazz, there is a lot of improvisation and conversation back and forth between the musicians, which was very impressive and seamless. And all the more amazing when we found out that while Indrajit and Dibyarka are both highly accomplished performers, this was actually the first time they'd ever played together.

This concert was part of the Arts at Newark series; the next concert will be the New York Scandia Quartet performing at the Robeson Gallery on March 31. (More details)

Dharma Jazz Concert

Hope everyone had a great summer and has settled into their classes and fall routine by now. Last week we had our first free concert at the Dana Library, up on the fourth floor where the Jazz Institute is located.

The concert featured our very own professor of Jazz and musician Lewis Porter, along with Dharma, a group that blends Middle Eastern music with jazz. At left is Freddie Bryant on guitar.

The set included songs that Porter has arranged along with some improvisation and jamming, and even audience participation for one piece.

I recorded video for one of the songs and even got permission to post it but unfortunately am having technical difficulties getting it transferred from the camera to my computer (it's a large file). Hopefully I'll have it resolved soon so you can all hear how great they are for yourselves!

In the photo below, Dr. Lewis Porter on piano and synth.

Below, Karttikeya plays miscellaneous percussion - as you can see from the photo, he had quite a collection of different instruments (most of which I can't name unfortunately), and he was constantly switching over from one to another during each piece.

Below, Badal Roy on tablas. He also contributed vocals to one of the songs (and got the audience in on the act too)


Several of the band members have their own websites where you can find out more and listen to clips at the locations below.

WEBSITES:

Lewis Porter: www.lewisporter.com and myspace.com/Lrpjazz
Freddie Bryant: www.freddiebryant.com

Karttikeya: www.TheRedHawkFly.com

Dharma Jazz: myspace.com/Dharmajazz