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Trilok Gurtu
Sanchita
Farruque
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TRILOK GURTU was born (30 October 1951 in Bombay, India) into
a highly musical family in Bombay, India where his grandfather
was a noted Sitar player and his mother Shobha Gurtu, a classical
singing star and constant influence. He began to play practically
from infancy at the age of six. Eventually Trilok traveled to
Europe, joining up with trumpeter Don Cherry (father of Neneh
and Eagle Eye) for two years. From 1984 until 1988 Trilok toured
the world with Oregon, the highly respected jazz group and was
an important part of the quartet that L. Shankar led with Jan
Garbarek and Zakir Hussain.
In 1988 Trilok performed at European Festivals with his own group,
finally being able to present his compositions on the debut album
"Usfret" which many musicians claim as an important
influence; young Asian musicians from London like Talvin Singh,
Asian Dub Foundation and Nitin Sawhney see him as a mentor and
so Trilok's work finds its way onto the turntables at the hottest
dance clubs 10 years later. But back in 1988 Trilok met The Mahavishnu
Orchestra and its leader, John McLaughlin. He suggested they play
together. For the next four years Trilok played an integral part
in the John McLaughlin Trio, cutting two albums and playing alongside
John as the featured soloist on all their enormously successful
tours across the world. Trilok's unique instrumentation and singing
became an important focus in that group's set; "when John
and Trilok trade licks the audience is inevitably drawn to such
a climax that encore follows encore", as New York audiences
know well from their Blue Note club appearances. The classical
performers Katia & Marielle Labeque invited Trilok to accompany
them in their piano duets on their Japanese and Australian Tours
during this period. As a result classical audiences had a rare
treat!
The summer of 1993 saw a flurry of activity, Trilok toured his
own trio in support of the album named The Crazy Saints, which
featured not only Joe Zawinul but also Pat Metheny. Audiences
were enthralled by his compositions that linked subtle Indian
rhythms and Indian singing with elements of modern jazz and rock.
The following year the band was expanded to a quartet and touring
extended to include a US coast-to-coast tour and 40+ European
shows. Unanimous approval from audiences took the form of standing
ovations which often followed one after another at the same concert.
When Trilok hit the live performance circuit with his new group
of 3 Indians and 2 Africans, sales of the African Fantasy CD zoomed
way over those of any previous recording. Audiences saw the group
with special guest appearances by Nitin Sawhney in London and
by Angelique Kidjo & Salif Keita in New York. In between a
hectic schedule of group performances he has appeared at a number
of prestigious solo percussion recitals and given guest performances
on albums by John McLaughlin, Pharoah Sanders, Nitin Sawhney,
Lalo Schifrin, Gilberto Gil and Bill Laswell.
In 2000, for African Fantasy, Gurtu's Verve/Blue Thumb debut album,
he developed an innovative marriage of African and Indian musical
traditions. Lauded in The New York Times as "world music
as one-world music, promising mutual understanding along with
a delight in exotic differences," the album brought Gurtu's
skills as a composer to the fore.
For his next project, Gurtu paired with West-African producer
Wally Badarou. Gurtu and Badarou drew deep inspiration from African
Fantasy as they traveled to the capitals of Africa and India,
gathering rhythms, street songs, and musical friends, preparing
to record the project. Released in June 2001 The Beat of Love
showcases over a dozen guest players and singers from across Africa
and India. Individual voices stand out from the rich mix of sounds,
underscoring the specific intent of each track.
Recorded in February this year Remembrance is Trilok Gurtu's latest
album and first recording made completely in India with Indian
musicians, many of whom are giant stars in their own country,
including the world renowned Zakir Hussain and Shobha Gurtu. The
recording has a wonderful blend of ancient and modern as we would
expect from Trilok Gurtu, the remix of 'Jhulelal' by Ranjit Barot,
retitled 'Evening in India' brings the 2002 sound right into focus
and reminds the listener once more that Trilok is right up to
date.
Performed with: Joe Zawinul, Don Cherry, Philip Catherine, John
McLaughlin, Jack Bruce, Pat Metheny, Larry Corryell, Salif Keita,
Fredy Studer, Neneh Cherry, Danny Gottlieb, Jan Garbarek, David
Gilmore, Charlie Mariano, Ernst Reijseger, Dom Um Romao, Manfred
Schoof, Louis Sclavis, Jasper Van't Hof, Nana Vasconcelos, Matthew
Garrison, Gary Poulson, Bobby Malach, Mike Mossmann, Shoba Gurtu,
Kai Eckhardt de Camargo, Jaya Deva, Steve Lukather, Irmin Schmidt,
Bill Laswell, Ivano Fossati, Nguyen Le, Paul McCandless, Jan Erik
Kongshaug, Manfred Eicher, Gerd Dudek, Ralph Towner, Charlie Mariano,
Andy Emler, Jaya Deva Oregon.....and many more
Awarded Best Percussionist in DownBeat's Critics Poll for 1994,
1995, 1996, 2000 and 2001! (the only Indian musician ever to have
achieved this recognition). Awarded Best Percussionist in Drum
Magazine Readers Poll for 1999.
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"What made his playing so
fascinating was its constant aura of surprise" LA Times
- …It was World Music as One-World music, promising mutual
understanding along with a delight in exotic differences.
- …Songs from Mr Gurtu's new album, "African Fantasy"
easily juggle multiple systems of rhythm, melody, structure and
timbre. Those systems don't melt down to find some innocuous common
denominator; instead, various approaches move in and out of the
music's foreground, overlapping when it's possible and taking
turns when it's not.
- …The compositions had long Indian rhythmic cycles arching
over funk vamps and melodies that suggested Indian modes, then
African ones; they had recurring sections and also, in the Indian
style, melodies that expanded each time they returned.(New
York Times, November 2000 - Jon Pareles)
- …it was the group pieces, ranging from richly coloured
tapestries of temple music (using Gurtu's unique palette of bells,
gongs, distantly mysterious booms, running water effect and tiptoeing
footfalls), to Weather Report-like orchestral funk and staccato
Asian-fusion themes reminiscent of the leader's projects with
John McLaughlin, that brought the crowd to its feet for encores.
- …with Kabongo's voice investing already capriciously inventive
material with sinewy twists and dives. World music without a cliché
in earshot. The Guardian, October 2000 (John Fordham)
- "A phenomenon at work." - (The Guardian, London)
"We make bridges, not barriers" says
Gurtu "This is what the world requires".
CÉLIA REGGIANI
She has been playing piano and keybord, composing and arranging
for the world music scene in France and Europe for the last 15
years. She has worked with a number of artists from different
parts of the world, such as: Tupingo, Monica Passos and Marcello
Fereira from Brasil; Toure Kounda, Henri Dikongue, Tom Diakite,
Jeoffrey Oryema, Mokhtar Samba and Habib Faye from Africa; as
well as with the French singers Bernard Lavilliers and Victor
Laslow. She has been touring with Trilok Gurtu since March 2003.
She is currently working with Sanchita Farruque on her next project
as a solo singer.
SANCHITA FARRUQUE
Up until now, Sanchita's most prolific role has been as singer,
touring with Nitin Sawhney for two and a half years, but that
has all changed when she left to concentrate on her own material.
Sanchita Farruque was born in England with Bangladeshi roots,
music has been her love since she could walk, and was writing
and producing before she even started singing. When she was fifteen
she started a band with her friend at school and wrote her first
song. Music was encouraged by her parents but only as a secondary
thing to studies. Her mum had wanted her to study medicine (which
runs in the family) and she says this is the one thing she didn't
argue about. She genuinely wanted to become a doctor but as time
went on the music bug set in and so she went to local classes
to learn how to use studio equipment and kept up her music through
university. During her final year she was introduced to Nitin
Sawhney via Elliott - now her manager - who was then working at
Outcaste Records. She played him some of her material, he liked
it and asked her to sing one of his songs. Her most memorable
Nitin gigs were at the Jazz Café and Glastonbury and she
toured all over the world with the band. She has fond memories
of being on the road in the tour bus, jamming with all the other
musicians. As an Asian girl it was hard for her to break through
to crowds in clubs where predominately black music was played
and her worst gig to date was in the early days when she was booed
off stage before she even started singing. But she likes a bit
of a challenge and she proved them wrong - the moment he started
singing, they cheered her on. Her music tastes are diverse ranging
from Coldplay, through to soul, gospel and "world" music.
If she could work with anyone in the world, it would be Stevie
Wonder. Sanchita hung up her stethoscopes a few years ago and
is now Music Director for the Community Music Group in Hackney.
More information at - www.sanchita.co.uk
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