Maya
Artist: Trilok Gurtu
Country: India 2001
Album: The Beat of Love
A reaction by Frances, Charlie, Gibson and Helen.
All of these statements are true reactions to Maya by people who don’t consider themselves to be professional musicians or ethnomusicologists.
So… Who is he?
Trilok Gurtu is a percussionist and composer who was born in Mumbai, India in 1951. Raised as Hindu, Gurtu attended high school but his main focus was always his music as he learnt to play the table under teach Shah Abdul Karim. Moving on from table, Gurtu began to play the drum kit in the early 1970s and from this he developed an interest in jazz. For much of his early career Gurtu would play for other musicians alongside releasing his own solo material, a notable collaboration being with John McLaughlin. Together they created many vocal improvisation techniques as well as oral drumming notations for teaching drum patterns. Gurtu was known for his unsual way of play, this included playing without a stool in a kneeling position on the floor as well as mixing table and western drums. Gurtu joined the band Oregon after the death of their drummer and remained with them for four years, but his solo career was calling him back, so in the early 1990s he resumed this. Gurtu is recognised as being one of the most ground breaking percussionists in this world with his open-mindedness towards all music meaning his inspirations came from all over the world. He is best known for jazz, though, playing behind some of the most famous jazz musicians of the time; Charlie Mariano, John Tchicai, Miles Davis and Don Cherry.
So… What’s the song?
Maya is the first song on Trilok Gurtu’s 2001 Jazz Fusion album The Beat Of Love. The lyrics have not been translated into English but there are small pieces of information that can be gauged about the song. Sang by Indian film singer Roop Kumar, the upbeat groove which is present throughout this song provides a repetitive yet infectious beat which indicates of what is to come on the album.
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