Jazz: Charu and Sharmi

After the grand reception her last performance received, pianist and composer Charu Suri sang about love at Mumbai’s gorgeous Opera House. She sang romantic jazz classics, beginning with La Vie en Rose, last heard right across the world after a movie about the iconic singer, Edith Piaf. La Vie, of course, expressed love, just when the last World War had ruined and killed so many and humans had to learn to hope and love again.  She sang her own compositions, well-loved Louisiana songs, songs in French and Italian, (with admirable accents!), and finished with Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a wonderful world’. 

Singer Charu and her sister, pianist and composer Sharmi, spoke and sang about New Orleans, Louisiana Blues, and surprisingly, about their song and jazz composition about Verona. Not Verona in Italy but in New Jersey! A fast, tripping lively work which, yes, does remind you of walking in nice urban streets. Their blurb says, ‘Drawing inspiration from the heart of New Orleans, this programme brings the intimate traditions of the Crescent City to the hallowed halls of the Royal Opera House’. Their next performances are in Florida, California and right across the US, in New York. From the tender and sad moments in ‘La Vie En Rose’ to their own spirited and very talented singing and compositions, this performance celebrates jazz’s ‘profound ability to express human emotion’. 

Actually, it tugs at you and reminds you of the hard time Blacks had in the US and how they fled to New York city, etc just to survive. The much appreciated and vaunted Rolling Stone magazine describes the Suri sisters’ work as, ‘Rags and ragas sees Suri take fusion adventures like few other artists out there’.

Charu Suri, the award-winning pianist and composer, delivered a mesmerising concert titled ‘Love Songs from New Orleans: The Romance of Jazz’. Her unique fusion of New Orleans jazz with Indian ragas created major musical moments.

Accompanied by Sharmi Surianarain (vocals), Shashank Das (bass), and Arjun Chakraborty (drums), Charu performed a loved repertoire and classics like La Vie En Rose and Louisiana Fairytale. These were interspersed with Charu’s original Raag Jazz compositions in Raag Hemant and Charukeshi. The fusion blend of Indian and Western musical traditions captivated everyone, and the musicians received enthusiastic acclaim. Fans can look forward to her returning to India for more performances.

The audience had people from across the world and they gave the musicians a standing ovation. 

Box

‘All about Jazz’ said

Pianist Charu Suri was born in India, where the raga holds sway, and she listened to the ragas her father played on the radio. But she left her homeland and has lived in four continents. New York, at this writing, is her current home. But the raga has stayed with her, on her albums Book Of Ragas (2019), Book Of Ragas Vol II (2022) and Ragas and Waltzes (2022), all on Amala Records.

Rags and Ragas came about after several of Suri’s trips to the Crescent City, where she experienced the New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Band. She then found a way to blend New Orleans rag-time with the songs of India. Her effort is a beguiling brew of the timelessness of the music of India and the exuberance and playfulness of The Big Easy, with a dash of funk thrown in for good measure.