News & Events
In 2016
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At a Lecture & Demonstration -
An Introduction to Indian Classical Music
on 12 November
Photo credit: NK
Lecture & Demonstration – An introduction to Indian Classical Music
with live singing and tabla on 12 November 2016
Graves Room, St. John's College, Oxford
On 12 November we attended a lecture and demonstration on North Indian classical music by Pradnya Deo (vocals) and Anup Joshi (tabla) to a small select audience (invitation by email). It was a most enjoyable introduction to North Indian Classical Music, including the basics of singing and playing tabla… but not quite basic as there was a wonderful demonstration of a 7 and ½ Taal and also a demonstration of all the chromatic potential notes in a Raga. They talked a little about the fundamentals of Indian Classical Music, for example: Taal (Rhythmic time cycles) and Raga (Modes/scales) as being the two primary aspects of Indian Classical Music.
Anupji, a student of Ustad Zakir Hussain, and Pradnyaji, a student of Pandit Raghunandan Panshikar, both live in Pune, Maharashtra, where they teach tabla and vocals - Anupji at the Tabla and Beyond Music Institute and Pradnyaji at Nirvikalpa.
Thank you very much to Oxford India Society for hosting this event. These events are rare now in Oxford so please do more and fill a gap...
At the Schulich Music School on 24 October
On 24 October we were guests of Shawn Mativetsky during his tabla class at the Schulich Music School of McGill, in Montreal. It was nice to meet Shawn and Caroline again, this time during the autumn colours.
Photo credits: NK
At a Tabla and Sitar Concert in NY on 15 October
We were so looking forward to being at this concert, by Zakir Hussain and Niladri Kumar, hosted by the India Center Foundation. It was the ICF's inaugural event.
A big thanks to Zakir jee and Niladri jee and to the ICF...
For us it was a highly enjoyable and most memorable concert
Photo credit: NK
At the Psychedelic Circus in Oxford, one night
in September
All Photos by NK
On 24 September we were in The Cellar, to accompany Layla Tutt and her band at the Psychedelic Circus.
The Cellar's promotional write-up of this event, which we think is highly entertaining and very evocative of what was about to happen, is below:-
'Join us down the Rabbit Hole. Enter a transformative space where nothing is as it seems, or as you remember it. Are you in a LUCID dream? Become part of a collective psychedelic experience like nothing you've seen. Dress Wild, express your inner child. Bring someone, or something, special. Unique 60s films & projections, light-show, eye-frying art & décor, interactive installations, walkabout performers, sideshow cabaret acts, mind-expanding talks & deep music. This is YOUR event, YOU are the PSYCHEDELIC CIRCUS.’
We captured a moment of interaction with the spellbinding light machine
At the Psychedelic Circus with Layla Tutt and her band
by Caroline Tapp
Layla Tutt was very together, had got it sussed and had drawn to herself quite an amazing band of musicians for the occasion and the result was a continuous interwoven variety of sounds, rather like a musical batik, and I was so happy to accompany them.
Layla is a great admirer of the music of Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin and she is naturally drawn to Indian music and the 'kirtan' style for which she wanted the one instrument that they didn’t have - namely the tabla and this is where I came in.
With Layla and her band, I met a crowd of really wonderful people, happy to share whatever they had and incredibly appreciative of whatever skill one had to present. Their supportive and positive attitude to each other and to me was very evident and they loved the sound of tabla.
While waiting for it seemed hours because the show was running late, Neil and I wandered around watching other acts and things going on. We were drawn to a man being interviewed about his life taken on a high, having tripped every day on LSD for many years, and to his captivated and erudite audience… and by the way, isn’t it extraordinary that before 1966 it wasn’t illegal. Another key moment during our wandering was when we found the eye-catching, interactive and very spellbinding light machine.
Layla and her fellow musicians prepared themselves before playing with the painting of each other’s faces with glitter and a group hug, which included me and Neil. On stage they and me rose up from the hug and went straight in to the performance literally and a girl band member took a hula hoop and balanced this on her hand making slow Tai chi like gestures interacting with the circle – it was quite beautiful.
In conclusion, Layla and her band were definitely far out... Yay!
At Pandit Kumar Bose's Masterclass on 10 September
We had a great time at the Pandit Kumar Bose masterclass on 10 September in Mayfair at 90 Piccadilly, hosted by Kaashi Ashram (the educational arm of Kaashi Arts).
Tabla players and musicians spent the day learning from Pandit ji about techniques focused on practice, performance & presence.
Neil and I were enthralled by Kumar Bose and very awed of course by him and much inspired by him too.
We hope you enjoy the photographs we took of the event.
Photo credits: NK
Oxford Tabla played at the Restore Garden Cafe
on 2 July
On 2 July we performed at the Garden Café in Manzil Way, Oxford. Here we gave a short lunchtime concert, part of Restore's Wellbeing Day. The garden there looked beautiful and idyllic that day. This is very much one of our favourite places in Oxford.
Photo credit: SP