The subcontinent produces profound feelings in Europeans. There are those who hate it. This is the type of person arrives for a two-week holiday and flees the following day, vowing never to return. “The crowds, the filth, the poverty, the strangeness of the place. Let me out of here!”
Then, there are those who simply can’t get enough of the place. “The people! The food! The colour! The spirituality of the place! Please don’t take me away!”
That's the kind of reaction many American and European jazz musicians have had to South Asia. Often, they have been as hypnotised by the sounds of Indian classical music as the cobra by his village charmer. The tales of the visits of Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck and Louis Armstrong to India in the 1950s and ’60s have been told many times. The great men themselves recorded albums that documented their encounters with Indian classical and jazz musicians.
But far off the beaten musical track, other Western artists have found inspiration in the easy rhymes offered by the subcontinent’s geography. Both factions are represented here today: those that think India is the spiritual fountain of youth as well as those that can’t get out of town fast enough.
Little Feat
New Delhi Freight Train
This groovy barroom classic by one of America’s greatest rock bands tells the story of wanderlust and murder in the American hinterlands. Though the song gets our attention with the international name drop, there are, in fact, many New Delhis sprinkled across the American map: New York, Louisiana and Illinois. And this is where this New Delhi line runs!
‘Champion’ Jack Dupree
Calcutta Blues
The mighty barrelhouse blues pianist “Champion” Jack Dupree made many recordings about ugly women, tough mothers-in-law and hilarious sexual situations of all kinds. Like many African-American artists, he found Europe to be a better place to live, settling in the UK in the late 1950s. As this rare video clip depicts, in the late 1960s he was responding to the times with a long-haired backing band, ornate costumes and peppering his songs with references to India. “I’ve got a sweet little baby/Sweeter than apple butter/she’s the little girl I fell in love/way over in Calcutta”. A cheap and easy rhyme? Perhaps. But as researchers have shown in recent years, the African-American music world was well aware of India as a hot jazz destination. I prefer to think the Champ may really have fallen in love with an Indian beauty.
Carla Bley
Rawalpindi Blues
Ms Bley’s magnum opus, Escalator Over the Hill, from 1971 is a period piece full of grimy grunge-rock guitar runs and hippie-esque lyrics blended together in a 12-minute jazz-rock stew. With an all-star cast that included Jack Bruce (Cream) and John McLaughlin (Mahavishnu Orchestra; Shakti), this was a serious attempt to bridge not so much East and West, but jazz and rock. Having lived in Rawalpindi for years, I can only wonder what experience inspired this 12-minute epic to a British cantonment town in Pakistan. Drugs, no doubt, had a lot to do with it. Lines like “when we were alone/when she grabbed me by my wishbone” seem to indicate this is more miss than hit. But then some lovely Don Cherry trumpeting comes to the rescue and the piece rolls into Rawalpindi with a beautiful and impressionistic muezzin’s call.
Alice Coltrane
Stopover Bombay
Alice and John Coltrane shared a deep fascination and reverence for India’s spiritual wisdom and musical depths. So much so, they named their son, Ravi, in honor of Ravi Shankar. This track is a simple and alluring tribute to the land which gave them so much inspiration.
Alabama Three
Ain’t Goin’ to Goa
Alabama 3, an English blues and roots band, made their fortunes by penning the theme to the hit American TV series, The Sopranos. In this outing they eschew the whole neo-hippie, new-age, trance dance culture of the current generation and firmly declare, “I ain’t goin’ to Goa”!
Age Tendre
Madras Express
Obscurity defined. A French funk outfit makes tracks to Madras, but since I don’t speak the language of romance I can’t really say whether that southern city gets a good or bad rap.
Listen to these numbers as a single playlist here on our YouTube channel.
Nate Rabe was born and raised in India. He comments on South Asian culture and music from Kuala Lumpur. He also nurtures two blogs dedicated to music: The Harmonium Music Blog and Washerman’s Dog.
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Then, there are those who simply can’t get enough of the place. “The people! The food! The colour! The spirituality of the place! Please don’t take me away!”
That's the kind of reaction many American and European jazz musicians have had to South Asia. Often, they have been as hypnotised by the sounds of Indian classical music as the cobra by his village charmer. The tales of the visits of Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck and Louis Armstrong to India in the 1950s and ’60s have been told many times. The great men themselves recorded albums that documented their encounters with Indian classical and jazz musicians.
But far off the beaten musical track, other Western artists have found inspiration in the easy rhymes offered by the subcontinent’s geography. Both factions are represented here today: those that think India is the spiritual fountain of youth as well as those that can’t get out of town fast enough.
Little Feat
New Delhi Freight Train
This groovy barroom classic by one of America’s greatest rock bands tells the story of wanderlust and murder in the American hinterlands. Though the song gets our attention with the international name drop, there are, in fact, many New Delhis sprinkled across the American map: New York, Louisiana and Illinois. And this is where this New Delhi line runs!
‘Champion’ Jack Dupree
Calcutta Blues
The mighty barrelhouse blues pianist “Champion” Jack Dupree made many recordings about ugly women, tough mothers-in-law and hilarious sexual situations of all kinds. Like many African-American artists, he found Europe to be a better place to live, settling in the UK in the late 1950s. As this rare video clip depicts, in the late 1960s he was responding to the times with a long-haired backing band, ornate costumes and peppering his songs with references to India. “I’ve got a sweet little baby/Sweeter than apple butter/she’s the little girl I fell in love/way over in Calcutta”. A cheap and easy rhyme? Perhaps. But as researchers have shown in recent years, the African-American music world was well aware of India as a hot jazz destination. I prefer to think the Champ may really have fallen in love with an Indian beauty.
Carla Bley
Rawalpindi Blues
Ms Bley’s magnum opus, Escalator Over the Hill, from 1971 is a period piece full of grimy grunge-rock guitar runs and hippie-esque lyrics blended together in a 12-minute jazz-rock stew. With an all-star cast that included Jack Bruce (Cream) and John McLaughlin (Mahavishnu Orchestra; Shakti), this was a serious attempt to bridge not so much East and West, but jazz and rock. Having lived in Rawalpindi for years, I can only wonder what experience inspired this 12-minute epic to a British cantonment town in Pakistan. Drugs, no doubt, had a lot to do with it. Lines like “when we were alone/when she grabbed me by my wishbone” seem to indicate this is more miss than hit. But then some lovely Don Cherry trumpeting comes to the rescue and the piece rolls into Rawalpindi with a beautiful and impressionistic muezzin’s call.
Alice Coltrane
Stopover Bombay
Alice and John Coltrane shared a deep fascination and reverence for India’s spiritual wisdom and musical depths. So much so, they named their son, Ravi, in honor of Ravi Shankar. This track is a simple and alluring tribute to the land which gave them so much inspiration.
Alabama Three
Ain’t Goin’ to Goa
Alabama 3, an English blues and roots band, made their fortunes by penning the theme to the hit American TV series, The Sopranos. In this outing they eschew the whole neo-hippie, new-age, trance dance culture of the current generation and firmly declare, “I ain’t goin’ to Goa”!
Age Tendre
Madras Express
Obscurity defined. A French funk outfit makes tracks to Madras, but since I don’t speak the language of romance I can’t really say whether that southern city gets a good or bad rap.
Listen to these numbers as a single playlist here on our YouTube channel.
Nate Rabe was born and raised in India. He comments on South Asian culture and music from Kuala Lumpur. He also nurtures two blogs dedicated to music: The Harmonium Music Blog and Washerman’s Dog.
