• country:
  India
• region:
  Orient
• style(s):
  Brass Gypsy
• artist submitted by:
  Kawa Music

Sound the brass and the drum!
Who has never enjoyed the frenzy of a brass band.
In India, as everywhere else, it appeals to its audience.
The first time was in 1750. The British Empire presented an English brass band in Calcutta.
A century later, clarinets, trumpets, trombones, tubas, side drums, bass drums played for all festivities, on whoever's initiative: British or Indians, whatever the purpose: religious, popular, military or sportive. The repertoire was western as well as Indian.
Brass bands today belong to the Indian tradition. They accompany events such as national or religious celebrations, popular festivals and also life events such as weddings. In India, no marriage is without a brass band! They play in procession through the congested and noisy street, from the home of the bridegroom to that of his betrothed, followed by the enthusiastic party family dancing on rolling percussions and strident clarinets.
Hameed Khan Kawa, a tabla maestro and artistic director from Jaipur, in Western India, is also familiar with this style, since in Rajasthan a brass band is a very popular feature of life itself. He had even played with some bands at special occasions.
Hailing from a long family lineage of musicians, exponents of both Hindustani classical and Rajasthani folk music, he was soon appreciated by the elders for the subtlety and quality of his playing and accompanied well-known classical vocalists and instrumentalists in India. He, then, joined the university of Rajasthan, as a music teacher.

Having been invited to France in 1984, Hameed started very soon sharing his musical knowledge with both Hindustani classical and Western traditional musicians such as Trio Erik Marchand, a subtle fusion of French Brittany, Arabian and Rajasthani style, Narendra Bataju, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Lakshmi Shankar, Chico Bouchiki (Gypsy King), Najat Aatabou, Thierry Robin, Gulabi Sapera, Natacha Atlas, Lo'jo, Henri Texier ...and choreographers such as Carolyn Carlson; and experienced, he founded his own group: Musafir.

Going from one festival to another, Hameed was exposed to different
music styles, from Africa, America, Asia and Europe. He noticed that
among all this diversity, brass bands were always very popular.

By realizing that the fantastic Indian brass band is not a part of this fabulous world of bands, Hameed developed the idea of creating his own one, selecting the most talented musicians from the best local bands, with a repertoire blending popular themes of Bollywood films, traditional music of Rajasthan with distinctively Gypsy sound and even adding a touch of Hindustani classical music...to deliver an unexpected performance.
All tuned and prepared, Jaipur Kawa Brass Band made its debut in 1995,
in Europe, where its roots originate...An amazing, almost unbelievable
journey!

All musicians of Jaipur Kawa Brass Band belong to families with ancestral ties to their art. The father transmitting his own knowledge of this style to the children, as they, like all Indian traditional artists in turn, now teach their progeny.
The danseuse with the band hails from the Sapera- Kalbelya community, traditional snake charmer nomads from Thar desert of Rajasthan. They belong to the most ancient gypsy tradition from where all bohemians originate. They live with snakes, the guardian of spiritual truth, perform devotional dances whose contortions evoke the movement of a dancing cobra.
The fakirs, likewise come from a very ancient tradition of wandering
entertainers, going from village to village, and in the past, at the
royal courts to amuse and surprise with their daring acts of dancing on
nail beds, swallowing swords, etc...Their skills are mind-boggling.

Jaipur Kawa Brass Band has firmly established itself on both the local and international music scenes, giving successful performances in many festivals such as Roskilde Festival 2004, Dunya Festival, Mar de Musica, Forum des Cultures Barcelona 2004, Venice Carnival 2004, Expo Suisse 2002, Paléo Festival, Sfinsk Festival, WDR, BBC Radio 3, Commonwealth Games 2006 in Melbourne...

All arranged by Hameed Khan Kawa, the melodies and songs are developed in a very refined way, with well-structured solo performances and dazzling improvisations on the clarinet and the trumpet. The percussionists: a cymbal player, a side drum player and a bass drum, elaborate fast and spontaneous playing with the sophisticated Indian rhythms, providing accompaniment to the Gypsy danseuse in her delighted snake dance, the fakir in his astonished acts and of course the band itself.

All together with an amazing and playful energy and humor, the ten artists of this extraordinary brass band, wearing traditional clothes: a dazzling colorful turban, a typical Rajasthani jacket, a piece of clothe wrapped around the waist and shiny camel leather shoes, play on stage or walk in parade and offer nothing less than the soul of the contemporary Indian's feast.

Links

• Jaipur Kawa Brass Band, Hameed Khan Website