What is Raga Jazz?
I use Raga Jazz to symbolize the symbiosis of influences in my music. Ragas are the core melodic forms of Indian classical music. Each raga has it’s own personality that is created through what I like to call it’s distinct musical phraseology. The very specific melodic pathways & stresses that must be adhered to are what creates the individual rasa (feeling) of each raga. What I’m doing is taking these forms, along with the rhythmic elements of Indian music, and putting them into contemporary pieces that incorporate various styles & grooves with improvisation to stretch and explore the territory of the raga & pieces. Some pieces have chord changes, but many are either modal (deeply exploring the raga sound) or utilize what I call tone changes, whereby the soloist will improvise around different notes of the raga as the band changes the tonal focus every 4, 8 or 16 bars, while driving the soloist in their accompaniment. But really for me the jazz influence is like the spirit of jazz mor
