My first Qawwali concert experience couldn’t have taken place in a more auspicious setting. I took in a transcendent performance by Riyaaz Qawwali at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine on Saturday, January 19. About two-thirds of the audience of approximately 500 were Desi, but their responses to the devotional Sufi music weren’t uniform. Some closed their eyes and assumed solemn postures of prayer. Others stood and gesticulated wildly. The boldest move, however, consisted of cavorting to the front of the stage and flinging money at the musicians with dramatic flourishes. Overwhelmed by the swirling echoes in the world’s largest cathedral, I was sympathetic to all three delirious reactions. Sonny K. Mehta, the leader of the Texas based group, humbly suggested that Riyaaz Qawwali was simply striving to honor the tradition established by Qawwali greats such as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Had the group been any better, I might have died of excessive beatitude.
---
I shared my thoughts on Al Foster’s 75th birthday party at the New York City jazz club at Plastic Sax.
---
I write weekly concert previews for The Kansas City Star.
---
Michel Legrand has died.
---
Toro y Moi’s insistently uplifting Outer Peace sounded amazing in the subterranean Harlem rental I occupied during my trip to New York City. Here’s “Freelance”.
---
I don’t know if I’ve gone soft or if James Blake has simply veered into territory that’s more appealing to me, but Assume Form is easily my favorite album by the art-pop innovator. Here’s “Here’s the Catch”.
---
The Motet’s Death or Devotion is an outstanding homage to funky R&B acts like Tower of Power and Bobby Caldwell. Here’s “Highly Compatible”.
---
Skronk doesn’t get much groovier than What Is To Be Done, an invigorating collaboration between saxophonist Larry Ochs, guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Gerald Cleaver.
(Original image captured shortly after the conclusion of Riyaaz Qawwali’s concert by There Stands the Glass.)
No comments:
Post a Comment