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The blues on black and ivory
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Madhav Chari, who has made a name on the international jazz scene, charmed Chennai-ites recently, with his virtuoso performance on the piano.
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HE DOES look like he should be working the keys, but the ones on a computer keyboard, not those of a piano.
Though Madhav Chari looks like a coding whiz, he's actually one of the better-known players on the international jazz scene. But the mathematical ability is there too — he went to the U.S. in 1986 on a full scholarship to study mathematics at Dartmouth University and took jazz courses on the side. He then went on to the University of Illinois but soon abandoned the Ph.D-academia route to become a full-time jazz pianist.
Over the years, Chari has performed with musicians such as Chico Freeman, Jeanie Bryson, Tim Ries, Ray Spiegel, Ira Colman, Carlos Gomez, Herbie Hancock and Ron Blake. The mathematician-turned-jazz pianist mesmerised an audience with his exceptional playing at the Max Mueller Bhavan over the weekend. "Jazz is an improvised art form," he said. Music depends on emotion to make a connection with the listener, so that he can truly experience rather than just understand the music. Jazz, because of it's unique characteristic of improvisation, is supposed to symbolise this feeling. And it's also this improvisation that makes jazz seem so dynamic and new.
In classical forms, musicians conform to certain qualities but jazz thrives on the players' individual sound. But that doesn't mean the musician just pulls it out of the air. It's just that the structure of jazz music is flexible enough to allow the player to perform various alterations and go in different directions depending on the moment's inspiration. "So jazz is probably the best form of fusion music. It's like trying barbeque sauce and mango chutney," said Chari, who's been living in Toronto, Canada for a while now.
Most of the pieces he played were "spanking new compositions," that ranged from melodious ballads to fast-paced Cuban and Brazilian sounds. His fingers raced across the keys, creating intricate rhythms and variations, playing jazz music with a touch of salsa, Carnatic and blues. He explained that jazz is derived from blues and swing. The swing gives jazz music its forward momentum, while the harmony comes from the European school. He said that the thought process behind jazz is almost identical to Hindustani.
The music sounds different but they're both based on colouration — ragas are a colouration of the mind, as is blues. Chari began training in classical piano at the age of six under Tony Menezes in Kolkata and later. switched to jazz. "Back then there were many more Western musicians. The climate for learning western music in India is not as good as it was 30 years ago," he said, adding that it was his father, A.K Chari who introduced him to the instrument and family friend Ashok Gupta, who helped "with his huge collection of John Coltrane records."
SHALINI UMACHANDRAN
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