How does an Indian teen from Boulder CO who thinks he's, in his words- "white," come to grips with imparting his Asian heritage, sound, and voice upon his beloved "native" (he's always known the US as home and thoroughly American) music- jazz??
While studying jazz at North Texas Mahanthappa realized he didn't "fit" in the African American or white populations. Rudresh Mahanthappa has created something that is more than a simple East meets West. Mahanthappa studied with Kadri Gopalnath, a master of South Indian Carnatic music. As the NPR piece describe "with Indian music is there is no harmony — there's only melody and rhythm," Mahanthappa says. "What my vocabulary is informed by is a lot of harmonic stuff. It comes from the fact that you can play this chord, and you can play this chord on top of it." So, Mahanthappa wrote pieces that accommodated both approaches. For more of the story and sound check out
What I love about this is the FUSION!
Wow, crazy energy, and power as old tools and techniques are coming together in fresh expressions. I wonder what this means for the Church? I'm curious about the possibilities as THIS generation experiences and reflects the Risen Christ in the here and now. There is a tremendous place for experimental Christianity today which expresses similar convergence and energy while retaining the very best of the "old" and engaging the "new."
2009-- Here we come!!
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