Bohemian Rhapsody

Friday night, I went to a yoga space called Bohemian Palace, tucked at the back of a church on Roncesvalles. Indo-Jazz group Autorickshaw was having a small concert. There were some benches and chairs, but most people sat on yoga bolsters and cushions. I took advantage of the yoga props to do some stretching and twist before the show. If only all live performances had such a relaxing atmosphere.

Autorickshaw, currently composed of Dylan Bell (bass), Ed Hanley (tablas), Suba Sankaran (vocals) was joined by guest guitarist Justin Abedin. Appropriately enough for the venue, they started with a mantra invoking the Hindu deities. Their music is truly fusion: combining jazz, Indian rhythms, ragas, and traditional folk songs such as Saraswati and Snake Charmer. They arranged pop songs (Bird On A Wire, Me and Julio Down By The School Yard) into complex South Asian pieces. For me, they were at their best on Jazz  songs, whether standards (Night In Tunisia, Caravan) or their own (So The Journey Goes) done with South Asian flair. In particular, Caravan was a tight, propulsive performance to end the night.

There were also forays into Bollywood and it seems that their new songs on their upcoming 4th album have a playful, comedic feel such as The Trouble With Hari. Since both Jazz and South Asian have strong improvisation tradition, there were lots of extended solos and free-form playing. I felt some of it got a little tiresome in the aggregate, especially the bass solos. But Suba's vocal improv, from Jazz scats to micro-tonal Indian chants, was quite impressive.