Larry Coryell (guitar); Ned McGowan (flute); Ronu Majumdar (Indian flute); Rajesh Rajbhatt (tabla).
Was it jazz? a question posed by one or two. I think so. Was it good? I know so!
Of course it was jazz - with Coryell in there pitching it couldn't be any other. In fact it was quite an amazing session with, for my money, Majumdar's Indian flute playing getting the gold. The things he could do on those keyless flutes was simply amazing. McGowan's much vaunted contrabass flute was, in effect, used sparingly and didn't really add much to the gig unlike his concert flute playing which was melodic and, at times, aggressive. The two flute blasts were exciting. Was McGowan improvising? I don't know and I don't really care - he is a supreme flautist.
Rajbhatt produced some stunning rhythms and tonal variations on the tabla.
As for Larry - well he did everything that was required integrating easily into the ragas and playing a couple of features that showed he is still a player.
The ensembles were frenetic. Flutes intertwining with guitar, tabla firing staccato off beat rhythms, one number could have been a jig written by the offspring of an Indo/Irish marriage.
I went with reservations - I left without them!
Good gig and thanks to Gateshead Council, Jazz North East and Gem Arts for making it possible. They were rewarded with a good turn out.
Lance.
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