Measure For Measure

Thursday night, I was at the Burdock for an early show with Autorickshaw, an Indian-Jazz fusion trio composed of Suba Sankaran (vocals), Dylan Bell (bass, vocals), and Ed Hanley (tabla). Originally a going-away show before their tour of India, it became a vinyl release party for their latest album Meter.

This intimate venue was perfect for the kind of close listening this trio deserves. Let's not debate about typical technical chops between musical genres. But it is undeniable that the virtuosity and skill of these performers are quite high. Suba, with her perfect pitch, transitioned seamlessly between precise singing, Jazz scats, and South Asian ragas. Bell was on the right side of bass-playing wankery (no wonder he also plays in a The Police tribute band), and added some great vocals and beat-boxing. Hanley anchored every song with her intricate hand drumming.

With 15 years of playing and 5 albums, Autorickshaw's set spanned their whole repertoire instead of just concentrating on their latest release. They also had plenty of stories tied to the songs, and even small lessons about various musical techniques and traditions.