Quicksilver energy

 

The city is lucky to have saxophonist Charlie Mariano performing at the upcoming Jazz Utsav 2005, lively as ever, even in his 80s.  His energy and passion to constantly try out new musical ideas and adapt to different situations is unparalleled for any musican schooled in the bebop generation.

At one point, he has even played the shehnai and nadaswaram and recorded an album with Rama Mani and local musicians in Bangalore. The current concert has been organised by the Max Mueller Bhavan.

A talented alto sax player, he honed his skills at the famed Berklee College of Music in Boston. Early on, he was dismissed as a clone of Charlie “Bird” Parker—the immortal guru of the jazz bop movement—but he soon emerged from his shadow and developed his own distinctive style.

In the late 50s, he played with the famous big band of Stan Kenton, and also with the other bebop czar, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, and drummer Shelly Manne. By the 60s, Mariano was already playing with the ensemble of the great Charles Mingus. Mariano has played memorable solos on Mingus’ immortal recording Black Saint Sinner Lady.

As a musician Mariano has always been a keen innovator. He broke away not only from the Parker  mould, but also from mainstream jazz and musicians like Mingus and Manne, who were spoken of in hushed tones.

By the ’70s he got onto the jazz rock bandwagon, the emerging music of that time, with German bassist Eberhard Weber and played with groups like Embryo, Ambush and Steely Dan. Sensing that the US was not conducive to experimentation, he moved to Cologne, Germany. From a ‘Bird’ man to a jazz rock reedist, he has flown a long way.

Soon Mariano was fascinated by the exotic sounds and rhythms of Carnatic music. In 1983, he recorded the album Carnatic College of Music with Rama Mani and Bangalore musicians, and tried to blend bebop—which is at the heart of modern, mainstream jazz—with South Indian sounds.

He had no difficulty switching to the shehnai and the nadaswaram. The nadaswaram, of course, is a south Indian clarinet—a reed instrument like the flute, shehnai and saxophone—with air blown through a reed at its tip.

Mariano then played with varied talents such as the flautist Chris Hinze, big band leader Vince Medoza and guitarist Christy Doran. His ease playing in a dozen different musical environments and his passion for innovation is truly mind-
boggling.

He returned in 2000 to record the album Bangalore and has cut several albums recently. Particularly engaging are Savannah Samurai and Not Just a Ballad. There’s a certain edginess in his alto sound that sharpens the sweetest music.

To hear him light up a seasoned group of pros, listen to the very fine Savannah Samurai recorded in Cologne with guitarist Vic Juris, bassist Dieter Ilg (who plays with him in Mumbai) and drummer Jeff Hirshfield. While Mariano plays in short riffs, his ideas are fulsome.

On Waltz for Dani, a melodic model of quaint twists, Mariano comes out on top. Terrific team man that he is, he gets the best out of his sidemen. These recordings were made after he turned 75—hats off to Mariano.

Jazz swaras

Mainstream jazz commonly involves the piano, bass, drums, trumpet and reed instruments. But Charlie Mariano also uses the elegant ebony nadaswaram and has created a niche with Carnatic music as his creative platform.

The Swiss Jazz Orchestra has used a mountain horn and a Scandinavian has used a bass saxophone 12 feet high. Carnatic rhythms have also been employed by Maynard Ferguson.

The saxophone, a reed instrument, comes in five versions of varying tones—small alto, soprano, tenor, baritone and bass sax. The clarinet, flute and oboe are also reed instruments.

(Saxophonist Charlie Mariano will perform with double bassist Dieter Ilg and drummer Wolfgang Haffner as part of the Jazz Utsav 2005 at the Homi Bhabha Auditorium on November 19, 8.30pm)