The crowd at Hotel Landmark that evening was kept spellbound after witnessing Jia's exploits with the harmonica. Armed with an array of harmonicas of different shapes and sizes, Jia amply showed the immense potentialities of the harmonica as a musical instrument, which till now, had been languishing in the shadows. A very humble and unassuming man, Jia-Yi He has received numerous awards in international festivals and competitions in England, Germany, Israel, Japan and United States. Besides serving as a member of the judging committees in the Asia-Pacific Harmonica Competition in Taiwan, Malaysia and Hong Kong, Jia has recorded harmonica music for a number of movies, radio stations and CDs and was also invited to perform in the General Assembly Hall at the United Nations. Not surprisingly, a number of Harmonica players appeared from several nooks and crannies of the State to watch the performance of Jia, who is presently a harmonica teacher at the Turtle Bay Music School in New York City. One such enterprising harmonica player Dr. Angshuman Bhagowati, who came all the way from Tinsukia to attend the concert, said, I had never expected to witness a harmonica player of Jia's stature in the State. But when the Yahoo harmonica group (India) posted a scrap on the upcoming festival and I got in touch with the Rockarolla Music Society, I knew the moment had indeed arrived. Hats off to Jia for a fabulous concert!...
And a fabulous concert it indeed was! In a way, the �Virtuoso in Concert' show was a defining moment in many a ways. If we were to list them all, firstly never before had a musician of Jia's stature ever performed in the city. Secondly, never before had so many musicians, music lovers and creative professionals for together to form a �comprehensive' music society in the city. I use the word �comprehensive' here because the objectives of the society is not limited to just one particular genre of music; it encompasses all genres. In fact, the society has successfully managed to do what has never ever been attempted in this corner of the planet – that is, bring musicians of three different generations on a common platform. The fact that research work on the fast disappearing musical and oral traditions of the region is also in progress under the aegis of the society is what makes it even more interesting!
Coming back to the concert and moving away from the visiting maestro, both the other performing bands managed to leave a deep impact on the minds of the audience. The success of both the bands, who are primarily working on experimental music, demonstrates that dedication, confidence and a platform are all that is required for our home-grown acts to prove their mettle. I would like to talk about Strange Frequency here first. Working on a new brand of instrumental music with a line-up, comprising three bassists and a drummer, the band produces a soothing sound, even though it might be on a strange frequency. Led by bassist Larry and with Noel and Rupert, this closely knit trio was a welcome change from the rock-centric outlook of Shillong bands. In fact, Noel, who was highly creative with the drumsticks and who kept improvising throughout the show, ensured that the mesmerizing quotient of the band remained constant throughout. However, the highlight of the show had to be the performance by Abiogenesis, the experimental band from Nagaland which is currently blazing across the international circuit.
For those who don't know, Abiogenesis is the only Indian experimental rock band to have been nominated for the Grammy awards. Besides creating a perfect fusion of western rock with Naga tribal beats, the band has successfully managed to showcase the best of regional sounds in front of a global audience. They have developed their own brand of music - which they like to call �Howey music', and have invented the bamhum – one of the very few musical instruments to have been developed in the world over the past century. One cannot say that the band is ultra-refined or polished in terms of global music, but I can definitely say that they play high... music in terms of skill and technical exactness. Their captivating strangeness... in terms of previously unheard of sounds is actually their strength, an enchanting appeal to world sojourners, to earnest seekers of roots and homelands.
I have always found it a bit strange to note that very few people have heard about Abiogenesis even after the band had been nominated for the Grammy Awards twice. Similarly, the crowd at Hotel Landmark was a bit apprehensive when they saw the band members, all dressed in grand traditional Naga finery, get onto the small stage. And once Arenla took over the microphone and began the proceedings with a pulsating Naga war-cry, I knew that there would be no stopping this band that evening. Their success could be gauged from the mad rush for their latest album at the small counter which was selling CDs of local bands outside the venue. The chief guest of the evening, the King of Tripura His Highness Pradyut Manikya Debburman, brought the bamhum in a symbolic bid of promoting local music and musicians. This kind of support is required for our local acts if we want them to carve their own identity. The King also released Northeast Beats – the first music-based journal of Northeast India which is being brought out under the editorship of Rashmi Narzary. Veteran western classical musician of Assam Rajeswar Bordoloi was also felicitated for his lifelong contribution to the development of western music in the State.
The crowd at Hotel Landmark that evening was kept spellbound after witnessing Jia's exploits with the harmonica. Armed with an array of harmonicas of different shapes and sizes, Jia amply showed the immense potentialities of the harmonica as a musical instrument, which till now, had been languishing in the shadows. A very humble and unassuming man, Jia-Yi He has received numerous awards in international festivals and competitions in England, Germany, Israel, Japan and United States. Besides serving as a member of the judging committees in the Asia-Pacific Harmonica Competition in Taiwan, Malaysia and Hong Kong, Jia has recorded harmonica music for a number of movies, radio stations and CDs and was also invited to perform in the General Assembly Hall at the United Nations. Not surprisingly, a number of Harmonica players appeared from several nooks and crannies of the State to watch the performance of Jia, who is presently a harmonica teacher at the Turtle Bay Music School in New York City. One such enterprising harmonica player Dr. Angshuman Bhagowati, who came all the way from Tinsukia to attend the concert, said, I had never expected to witness a harmonica player of Jia's stature in the State. But when the Yahoo harmonica group (India) posted a scrap on the upcoming festival and I got in touch with the Rockarolla Music Society, I knew the moment had indeed arrived. Hats off to Jia for a fabulous concert!...
And a fabulous concert it indeed was! In a way, the �Virtuoso in Concert' show was a defining moment in many a ways. If we were to list them all, firstly never before had a musician of Jia's stature ever performed in the city. Secondly, never before had so many musicians, music lovers and creative professionals for together to form a �comprehensive' music society in the city. I use the word �comprehensive' here because the objectives of the society is not limited to just one particular genre of music; it encompasses all genres.
In fact, the society has successfully managed to do what has never ever been attempted in this corner of the planet – that is, bring musicians of three different generations on a common platform. The fact that research work on the fast disappearing musical and oral traditions of the region is also in progress under the aegis of the society is what makes it even more interesting!
Coming back to the concert and moving away from the visiting maestro, both the other performing bands managed to leave a deep impact on the minds of the audience. The success of both the bands, who are primarily working on experimental music, demonstrates that dedication, confidence and a platform are all that is required for our home-grown acts to prove their mettle. I would like to talk about Strange Frequency here first. Working on a new brand of instrumental music with a line-up, comprising three bassists and a drummer, the band produces a soothing sound, even though it might be on a strange frequency. Led by bassist Larry and with Noel and Rupert, this closely knit trio was a welcome change from the rock-centric outlook of Shillong bands. In fact, Noel, who was highly creative with the drumsticks and who kept improvising throughout the show, ensured that the mesmerizing quotient of the band remained constant throughout. However, the highlight of the show had to be the performance by Abiogenesis, the experimental band from Nagaland which is currently blazing across the international circuit.
For those who don't know, Abiogenesis is the only Indian experimental rock band to have been nominated for the Grammy awards. Besides creating a perfect fusion of western rock with Naga tribal beats, the band has successfully managed to showcase the best of regional sounds in front of a global audience. They have developed their own brand of music - which they like to call �Howey music', and have invented the bamhum – one of the very few musical instruments to have been developed in the world over the past century. One cannot say that the band is ultra-refined or polished in terms of global music, but I can definitely say that they play high... music in terms of skill and technical exactness. Their captivating strangeness... in terms of previously unheard of sounds is actually their strength, an enchanting appeal to world sojourners, to earnest seekers of roots and homelands.
I have always
found it a bit strange to note that very few people have heard about Abiogenesis even after the band had been nominated for the Grammy Awards twice. Similarly, the crowd at Hotel Landmark was a bit apprehensive when they saw the band members, all dressed in grand traditional Naga finery, get onto the small stage. And once Arenla took over the microphone and began the proceedings with a pulsating Naga war-cry, I knew that there would be no stopping this band that evening. Their success could be gauged from the mad rush for their latest album at the small counter which was selling CDs of local bands outside the venue. The chief guest of the evening, the King of Tripura His Highness Pradyut Manikya Debburman, brought the bamhum in a symbolic bid of promoting local music and musicians. This kind of support is required for our local acts if we want them to carve their own identity. The King also released Northeast Beats – the first music-based journal of Northeast India which is being brought out under the editorship of Rashmi Narzary. Veteran western classical musician of Assam Rajeswar Bordoloi was also felicitated for his lifelong contribution to the development of western music in the State.
