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Meeting of musical minds

FAYZA HAQ
Those who believe "ne'er the twain shall meet" about Eastern and Western music, had only to listen to the mellifluous notes at a recent concert at the Goethe Institut auditorium. Here played the French jazz expert Allie Defau at the piano while Meeta Pandit from India sang Indian classical songs to match the notes. They were accompanied on the tabla. Allie has composed for French films, ballets and the theatre, while Meeta belongs to a reputed musical family in Gwalior, and has won public recognition.
Allie began the piano at the age of six, having come from a cultural family where there were musicians, writers and painters. She studied at the Conservatoire Nationale Superiore de Musique in Paris. For further education, she went to Berkley in Boston, USA. After her classical studies, while writing music, she met a jazz player, Siegfreid Kessler. The duo developed a mutual regard for each other's talent. Subsequently, she was in several jazz bands and became keen on improvising music.
"We call our programme nouvelle musique as there is a lot of improvisation on jazz, contemporary world music, and classical music. It is a blend rather than a fusion. When you combine two cultures you must respect the other's culture. You must be very open minded. I met Meeta in Paris when she was there as artiste in residence. I had been recording with Indian musicians before. We sat and did improvisation together and were happy with her work. At first it was Meeta who was making me discover the music. I would catch on her singing and improvise on it and when things developed, I would propose some notes. We both get pleasure and a sense of discovery to what the other is bringing to music. It's like a conversation in each other's language, being aware of each other's medium and knowledge. Before I met Meeta, I did not know much about Indian music. I met Meeta about a year back in Paris and this is our first tour together. Knowing more about music makes me a better musician, " asserts Allie.
Meeta belongs to the Pandit family of Gwalior in India. Her father and grandfather, the famous LK Pandit and Pandit Krishna Rao Shankar were her gurus. " In our family we eat, drink and sleep music. Music has been my passion since day one," says Meeta. The repertoire of the Pandit family is khayal. Gwalior is the root of the subsequent gharanas of northern India and plays a major part in the development of the khayal, tappas and other songs. Adds Meeta, "Drupad is a very masculine style of singing. Compared to that khayal has much more variety.
It is a pure classical style. I'm not combining khayal with Allie's piano. I have a solid grounding in music. We have found a common ground to work on. The conversation is interesting and different in every concert. The beauty and freshness of the meeting is that we are gradually getting to know each other, through our music." Meeta's voice is deep, rich, penetrating with tremendous power, stretching over an amazingly wide range of three octaves.
So far the group has been to Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and Trivandrum, Kolkata and Chandigarh. The reaction from the combination of Indians and Europeans in the audience has been touching, says Allie. The musicians have not had the time to hold concerts in Paris but they have recorded four tracks, which will be released soon.