Singer Mahesh Kale On Fusion Music, Abhangawaari & Celebration In Classical Music
Stanford Jazz Festival’s Indian Jazz Journey
On June 23, renowned Sunnyvale-based Hindustani Classical singer Mahesh Kale performed at the Dinkelspiel Auditorium in Stanford as part of the Stanford Jazz Festival’s Indian Jazz Journey. The fusion concert featured a stellar ensemble including Kale, jazz, and Indian Classical saxophonist George Brooks, and the renowned Carnatic percussionist V. Selvaganesh, among others.
Brooks and Kale first collaborated for Indian Jazz Journey at the 2017 edition of the Stanford Jazz Festival. Since then, it has been a regular fixture of the festival, co-hosted by the Indian Classical Music and Arts (ICMA) Foundation, established by Kale.
Along with Brooks, Selvaganesh, and the rest of the ensemble, Kale delivered an enthralling concert, exhibiting his extensive musical range by singing a devotional song, a bandish, and a ghazal among other songs. Before the concert, India Currents caught up with the vocalist about the value of collaboration in music, the musical traditions close to his heart, and his upcoming concert titled Abahngawaari on June 30 in San Jose. Edited excerpts below:
Q. Can you tell us a little about the Indian Jazz Journey?
Mahesh Kale (MK): Indian Jazz Journey started in 2017, when I was invited to sing for the Stanford Jazz Festival to collaborate with saxophonist George Brooks. George studied music under Pandit Pran Nath, one of the stalwarts of Indian Classical music, so he has a good pulse of what Hindustani Classical music is all about. I saw that there was a scope for ICMA to come in and collaborate because I thought they added value to how the concert was conducted. We sold out that show and then it became a yearly ritual, where Stanford Jazz invited ICMA to co-host Indian Jazz Journey. George and I curate the band every year, so we bring in new musicians, every year so that the the journey remains unique every single time.
Q. For this year’s performance, the band consists of accomplished musicians from different musical traditions. How much time and preparation do you need for a set like this?
MK: Preparation was tricky because Selvaganesh lives in India and I also travel all the time. But we had a few Zoom sessions and I met George in person in San Francisco and had a couple of sessions to figure out the pieces and arrangement. Then we met with the entire band in person only yesterday! Since the music was all transcribed and sent to them earlier, they had a sense of what we were going to play. Then when we actually all played together yesterday, we figured out a way to make it work for everyone and get some joy out of it.
I’ve played with all of them at some point in time, but yesterday was probably the first time that we all played together. That’s basically it.
Q. This year, the band is not just a combination of Hindustani Classical and jazz, but also Carnatic music, since Selvaganesh is from that tradition. What is your approach to composition to ensure that you retain an essence of all three genres but also fuse them coherently?
MK: You know, it’s like taking a trip to a place that you have a rough idea about, but haven’t been to yet. Some time ago, I went to Ireland for the first time to perform but I knew that Ireland is always cold and rainy. So I did the basic prep, but then when I was there, I had to figure out the nuances.
Selva has been playing World Music for a long time. We have played together a bunch of times in the past. He has a very good understanding of Jazz and Hindustani and of course Carnatic music. Over the years, I have also done a few collaborations with other Carnatic musicians like Aruna Sairam, Abhishek Raghuram, Trichur Brothers, Sandeep Narayan, and Ghatam Udupa. So I have developed a sense of how to make a meaningful conversation between the two forms.
In the end, what you try to do is understand the spirit of a certain piece at play, and how you can contribute to the joy of that piece. So all of us are in our own languages – musical languages – focused on making it a comfortable and joyous ride for all of us together.
Mahesh Kale sings during the Indian Jazz Journey concert in Stanford on June 23, 2024. Image credit: ICMA.
Q. In both Indian Classical music and jazz, improvisation is key. How much of today’s set will be improvised and how much of it is predetermined?
MK: There is one piece I’ve never sung in my life. Two other pieces I have never sung in this setting. [thinks for a few seconds and then laughs] And the fourth one also I have never sung in this setting. So yes, it’s mostly improvisation.
It’s like you have a map of a trail that you want to go to. So you start following it. But when you’re on the trail, if you see a beautiful flower on the side, you feel tempted to go and smell it. That is what ends up happening in these kinds of settings, and I personally, love to take those detours!
Q. You come from a Hindustani Classical background. Why do you think it is important to mix genres or broaden the horizons of any genres?
MK: If you look at it, a genre itself comes into existence because of some kind of mixture. When a sa exists with re and ga, it forms a melody; when melody mixes with rhythm it forms a composition; when improvisation mixes with the composition, you have something called aalaapi. So aren’t we mixing something within itself anyway?
That said, why do you want to limit yourself to one kind of cuisine if you have all wonderful cuisines to choose from? The world’s becoming a smaller place with globalization, with the internet and everyone has access to all information. So this can be a way to connect with more people, outside of your regular audience.
For example, there are people here today who have come for a jazz concert and will be introduced to Hindustani Classical because of our set today. So collaborative experiments like this allow me to introduce my musical tradition to a wider audience.
Q. So in a way, it’s opening up the genre to newer audiences?
MK: Totally! Another example: I played for NH7 Weekender (an Indian music festival featuring a variety of genres), and I remember Joe Satriani (a rock and metal guitarist) was playing on another stage close by, and the audience in front of me was holding beer mugs and there were no seats, everyone was standing. That is not something I am accustomed to! Usually, I see a seated audience sitting very obediently. So I was a little confused at the beginning because the decorum was so different.
But you know, I asked them to close their eyes, and they started to sway, in rhythm with Classical music and I was like, “I got them now!” And guess what, now a bunch of them follow me to my traditional concerts and even maintain the required decorum there. So I go to their places and then bring them to a place where they start respecting Indian Classical music. That’s where collaboration is key.
Q. Could you talk a little about ICMA and its overarching mission?
MK: The mission of ICMA is to preserve, nurture, and celebrate Indian Classical music. In terms of preservation, we organize concerts and raise awareness about the music throughout the Bay Area. We also give scholarships to students who are really talented but are challenged by resources, so that’s one of the ways in which we nurture talent.
As part of the celebration, you will see that ICMA concerts always have a sense of festivity. All audience members get a welcome drink, and there are art installations, and you get traditional sweets at the end. Indian Classical music has always been a part of celebration in Indian social life. It got commoditized and has an entertainment value, which is why it came to the performance arena. We want to definitely keep it in the performance arena, but surround it with a sense of cultural preservation through celebratory experiences.
Q. Finally, could you talk about your upcoming concert on June 30 titled Abhangawaari which is a part of BMM 2024?
MK: I grew up in a tradition where abhang (a form of devotional music for Lord Vitthal in Maharashtra) was a part of my routine. I grew up in Pune and I remember going often to Gondavle, which is a place of worship that also fosters a lot of abhangs, and so abhangs have always been a part of my life.
What we are going to present on the 30th is a special concert curated for these abhangs. It’s not going to be me singing back to back, but we’ve written a nice theme around it to make it a little more accessible to the Bay Area audience, including youngsters. My friend, Prajakt Deshmukh has written the script. Celebrated actor Mukta Barve will be narrating, Achyut Palav, who is a very well-known calligrapher; sculptor Bhagwan Rampure; and another friend of mine called Shubhada who does beautiful sand art, will also be performing as part of the performance. With this rather elaborate ensemble, we will be taking everyone on a journey of abhang.
To book tickets for the upcoming Abhangawaari concert on June 30, click here. To learn more about BMM 2024, click here.