Tonbruket performs for a small Indian audience. Jazz meets indie rock with a dab of Western classical. Winners of the Swedish Grammy album of the year.

 

My time in India is just about up. What I’ve started to realize, and only after two countries, is that the world through the lens of music small. Yes, there is an expanse of genres and approaches. But it’s still driving at the same thing. In India alone I’ve seen countless ties back to Sweden, my first project country. Indian classical musicians I know lived in Sweden, absorbing its culture and music. Last week, but a five minute walk from my place in Bandra, two awesome Swedish jazz groups were featured: Tonbruket and the Jan Lundgren Trio (and Lundgren played jazz takes of lots of European folk music). My response to a friend: “Haha, this sounds so damn Swedish…” Other Swedes I’ve encountered performed in hybrid groups with Indian classical musicians, a definite blend harmonizing two contrasting traditions.

Music royalty. Zakir Hussain, Trilok Gurku and friends in Bombay.

 

What’s crazier is that this is but one relationship. Add Germany, Pakistan, Argentina, France, England, China, and many more to this list… and of course the U.S. These are all relationships I’ve experienced just by being here, wherever here is: Bombay, Chennai, Delhi, Goa or Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen… anywhere. It’s a natural universality of music that everyone talks about, but few really understand. I am not one of these few, but my beak is wet, so to speak.

 

Delhi, in sum, was good. The Chivas jazz musical I performed in was great fun: a heavy dose of Bollywood and then some. On the other hand, Delhi reinstalled patience in me that I’ve honestly been losing in Bombay. Things just didn’t line up well. My trip to Srinagar, Kashmir was cancelled due to weather. Seven hours on a plane and I end up right back in Delhi. Sessions and gig dates didn’t come together. A gig in Bombay that dictated my return home was cancelled last minute. On top of all this I got a train experience to rival my “Human Tetris” story coming back from Agra (Taj Mahal). Apparently you need to buy tickets a week in advance to get a seat in a decent car… so I stood. I stood for a very long time pressed against a lot of different people. A Danish chick in the same predicament nearly passed out had I not looked back at her right as her eyes rolled back. Eventually I found a comfy seat on the floor… You make the most of it. But I also have the music community in Delhi to thank—turning a frustrating week into a pleasant stay in restrospect.

 

Expect tons of media once I settle in Cape Town come January. For now, I’m taking some time off to visit Bhutan and to see my long lost family in Thailand for the holidays. And of course, the horn is joining me.

 

To greener pastures… Kanheri Caves in Gandhi National Park just an hour out of Bombay.