8-10 September 2014- Istanbul, Turkey
Proceedings of SOCIOINT14- International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities
ISBN: 978-605-64453-1-6
Rakha were a good fit with the extended jams of rock groups such as Cream, (who cite Indian music as a
direct influence), Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, The Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, and others.
Pt. Shankar loved to mix the music of different cultures. In 1978 he collaborated with several prominent
Japanese musicians — Hozan Yamamoto, a shakuhachi player, and Susumu Miyashita, a koto player — on
“East Greets East”. The collaborations between Ravi Shankar and violinist Yehudi Menuhin (symbolically
called East Meets West) also won a Grammy Award in 1967 for their joint album. Shankar not only
popularized Indian classical music in the West but also pioneered the concept of organizing music concerts
to raise fund for humanitarian causes and was a guiding spirit behind the hugely successful 1971 Concert for
Bangladesh in the New York. He was rightly described as Indian‟s first and best-known cultural ambassador
by Ronen Sen, a former diplomat. Other international high profile musicians include conductor Zubin Mehta,
as well as fusion artist Alla Rakha Rahman, who has made it to the list of Time magazine‟s world‟s most
influential people and is trained in both Western classical and traditional Indian music.
The fusion of Indian music with pop music was primarily the result of the creative endeavours of The
Beatles, who had experimented with different mixtures of sounds and instruments. A numbers of Jazz
musicians, among them Miles Davis and John Coltrane, initiated sharp changes in style under the influences
of Shankar‟s music. Guitarists, especially, were attracted to the sound of Indian sitar, among them Jazz
guitarist John McLaughlin and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead (Wetzel, Richard 2012, pp. 28).
One another artist who popularized Indian music was Jeffrey Kagel (Krishna Das) who was the most
popular Kirtan singer in the world. He did a lot of experimentation with Rock and Roll, and after that turned to
Indian classical and studied under Guru Neem Karoli Baba. He learnt the art of Yoga and devotion in India.
He has reproduced Kirtan to the world and led the devotional music of India to new corners of the world. He
played a key role in bringing together the western and the Indian music as he uses the best of the both for
his compositions. Indian music still makes an occasional appearance in pop, for example Paul McCartney's
use of the tabla in Pipes of Peace.
Another musician who stood as a classic example in this act of globalization is Zakir Hussain. A classical
tabla virtuoso of the highest order, he has established himself as a national treasure in this country. Along
with his legendary father and teacher, Ustad Allarakha, he has elevated the status of his instrument both in
India and around the world. His contribution to world music has been unique, with many historic
collaborations, including Shakti, which he founded with John McLaughlin and L. Shankar, Sangam with
Charles Lloyd and with other various artists. His music and extraordinary contribution to the music world
were honored in feb 2009 Grammy award.
In the Indian cinema the renowned Indian filmmaker, Satyajit Ray, also brought classical Indian music to
the attention of Westerners through the music scores of some of his early films, which were composed by
Ravi Shankar and Vilayat Khan. In the course of time collaborations ensued between Indian musicians and
Western musicians and a new kind of experimentation on fusion music begin. Pakistan-born Adnan Sami
was the first person to play Indian Classical music on electric piano (Kumar, Raj 2003, pp. 3).
5. THE INFLUENCE OF INDIAN MUSIC ON JAZZ
Jazz and Indian classical music—two of the great musical idioms of the world—at first would seem to have
little in common. Indian music, with roots going back to thousands of years, developed in the courts and
temples of India, and now is performed in concert halls around the world. Jazz, whose journey started in jam
sessions, the black church, night clubs, and even brothels, is now heard as well in concert halls around the
world.
Indian music's influence on jazz is pervasive and longstanding. Its beauty, grace, and unique melodic
phrasing has inspired musicians for decades, and it‟s exciting rhythmic language has given percussionists,
instrumentalists, and even vocalists new resources upon which they have drawn. For few jazz musicians, the
influence is so strong, it is immediately apparent at every level of their music (www. sessionville.com).
Since 1970s, South Indian musicians have seen the connections between jazz improvisation and India‟s
classical music traditions. From the awareness the genre known as “fusion” was born, and this, intern, starts
an interface between East and West that continues to excite a younger generation of music and listeners. In
2000s, the Australian singer Susheela Raman fused carnatic kritis with an electric, hard driving Chicago