Harmony of varied sounds

A fabulous confluence of music happens when artistes from different parts of the world come together. Seven world class musicians joined hands recently to enthrall the City.

This group, which has no name as such, comprises performers like Rolling Stones band member Tim Ries on the saxophone, Kevin Hays on the piano, Karsh Kale on percussion, Katayoun Goudarzi on vocals, Ustaad Shujaat Khan on sitar, Karl Peters on bass and Yogesh Samsi on tabla.

When asked about the kind of music they play or the genre they stick to, they looked at one another. With a twinkle in his eye, Shujaat Khan replies, “After a lot of thinking, we have come to the conclusion that we do not play any particular kind of music nor do we follow any genre.”

“We enjoy music together and we give our best through our respective fields. We have spent a lot of time, thought and energy in our areas of interest. Now, we are putting all that together and are here for sheer enjoyment through music,” adds Shujaat. The rest of the group agrees. Says Katayoun, “It is a natural marriage. It is magic, we get along well with each other’s music and most of all, we totally enjoy it.”

The interesting factor about this group is that they do not plan what to play before hand. Everything happens on the spot while performing. “A new baby in the form of music is created on the spot,” says Katayoun.

The team goes on stage keeping in mind their basic themes. The rest is about communication and reaching within oneself to bring out the best.

Though they create music on the spot, none of them faces any kind of trouble while performing. “The only problem,” say the members, except Karl and Yogesh, “is that we are sleep deprived. We are always travelling and because of the varying time zones, we lose sleep.”

Karsh Kale says, “When we listen to each other, automatically the rest will flow and fall into the right place.”

As for their memorable moments as a team, they say “Each meal we have together, each time we say good night to each other, every flight we take together are the best moments of our life.”

During the performance in the City, the group came up with a collaboration of  the instruments they are masters of. Some of the songs sung were Sajana, Ae Mere Sur and an Iranian poetry by Katayoun with soothing background music.