Saxophone and tabla : Raagas and Rythmn 2

How does a person who can't recognise a musical note describe any production of songs -  the "skin growing" at the powerful percussion and the chorus of voices of the 8 singers; the foot tapping and clapping at some of the qawali and other songs; the water coming to the eyes listening to a forgotten man's poem being brought to life almost a hundred  years after he wrote it; the slight annoyance at the late start (coolie time) or when sometimes the sound mixing was a bit off and you couldn't hear the voices of the singer; the joy at hearing the saxaphone and tabla and djembe improvisations .. or just feeling after Guyana's normal polarizing and divisive politics and civil life - the deep cohesive energy among people who came together to make music.

A little over a year ago, Amar and Rena Ramessar produced the first Raagas and Rythmn . Their second production on 5 July, 2014 reflected a year of realizing dreams, learning and commitment to their music.







Amar composed  Sakhi Uthi Kar - written by Lal Bihari Sharma in 1916 as a tribute to 176 years of Indian immigration. Ghazals might not be many person's favourite but Amar's live launch of this composition was for me the most powerful part of the programme linking Saturday night with Lal Bihari and with older musical traditions.




This show came at the end of a week  when descendants of the Indian indentured labourers were confronted with one of their jahaji cussing up the American Ambassador at his house (we coolies used to think that we don't go tek invitation to people house and cuss dem ) so it was refreshing to see another side of Guyana.

The production was tight.. with the mostly young singers and musicians moving smoothly from one item to another. A woman who knows about these things said that this kind of flowing is sometimes a challenge for the adjustment by the sound engineers. The production team could now learn how best to arrange the programme to enable the rapid changes. I guess in other places other persons have a bit of talking  in between items.

I know I do not like the sound of the electronic keyboard so I might be biased when at times I wish the keyboard was not so loud.

The repertoire in the programme was diverse - with different genres and ranging from the soulful Sakhi Uthi Kar to the pleading Azeem O Shah Shahenshah to the energetic Dholak Bajai.

Click on image to see full programme.

Saxophonist Francis Bailey add his flair to the second half of the programme.  It was amazing watching and hearing him with the notes from the singers and musicians.  The rendition of O Re Piya/Rolling in the Deep caused one of the 'skin growing' periods of the evening.

 
There are no other places in Guyana where you would hear a saxophone and tabla and djembe in the same space. Thanks to Amar and Rena and their team for reminding us of Guyana's other possibilities.