Groovier than average

Indian master percussionist Trilok Gurtu, along with his latest collaborators the Arke String Quartet from Italy, will perform tonight at Tel Aviv's Zappa Club.

By GAVRIEL FISKE
trilok gurtu 88 (photo credit: )
trilok gurtu 88
(photo credit: )
Indian master percussionist Trilok Gurtu, along with his latest collaborators the Arke String Quartet from Italy, will perform tonight at Tel Aviv's Zappa Club. Gurtu has been a legendary, genre-hopping musician since the 1970s and 80s, when he began experimenting by mixing of sounds from his native land with jazz, rock and other ethnic-percussion styles. He grew up in a highly musical family and besides being a master tabla player, has developed his own unique and remarkable style of mixing tablas with western drum set and various other percussion instruments. Associated with the jazz fusion movement but also known for cross-cultural collaborations, he has performed, toured and recorded with a who's who of the world music and jazz worlds. A respected clinician, solo performer and composer, Gurtu is an extremely influential musician and has received numerous awards over the course of his career. He is also considered by some to be the godfather of the Asian Underground movement, the synthesis of Indian and Pakastani music and electronic dance grooves that rose from a local phenomenon in England to international prominence in the late 90s. His latest album Arkeology was released last month and is an extended duet between Gurtu and the Arke String Quartet, who are groovier than a normal string quartet because they substitute double bass for the traditional cello. This release is a clear departure for Gurtu, who has not collaborated much with western classical musicians, and the result is a heady mixture of western, Indian, jazz and Mediterranean motifs, grounded by Gurtu's driving rhythms. In a surprise, unscheduled appearance, Gurtu also played with pop-songstress Miri Mesika and her band at Hangar 11 in Tel Aviv last night. Trilok Gurtu and the Arke String Quartet will perform Thursday March 15 at 9 p.m. at Goldstar Zappa, Raoul Wallenberg 24 in Tel Aviv. Info: 03-649-9550. NIS 175.