Nandi est le trio composé du maitre percussionniste indien Ghatam Suresh, du bassiste Pascal Lovergne et du pianiste Stefan
Orins.La formule piano basse batterie se réinvente mêlant au jazz les apports rythmiques et mélodiques de la musique carnatique.Les deux univers s’enrichissent et se complètent dans un mix parfaitement équilibré. La virtuosité de Suresh aux percussions (ghatam, kanjira, morsing ) et au chant, le son original de Pascal Lovergne à la basse acoustique et le
lyrisme élégant de Stefan Orins créent une musique profonde et riche, puissante et originale. Un son nouveau, une rencontre magique...
Nandi is a trio composed of master Indian percussionist Ghatam Suresh, bassist Pascal Lovergne and pianist Stefan
Orins.A new piano bass drums trio sound is created by blending jazz and South Indian carnatic rythms and melodies. The two musical worlds complement
and enhance each other, in a perfectly balanced mix.Ghatam Suresh's virtuosity on percussions (ghatam kanjira and morsing) and vocals, together with
Pascal Lovergne's original sound on acoustic bass guitar and Stefan Orins' lyrical elegance create a deep and soulful original music, a powerful new sound. A magical encounter...
News
Nandi a joué le 25 décembre 2019 en Inde du Sud pour la saison musicale de Chennai au Youth Hostel Auditorium, avec en invités Amit
Nadig (fl - Inde), Prasanna Hariharan (gatham - Inde), Barahdwaj Sathavalli (morsing - Inde), Udupi Srikanth (kanjira - Inde), Mahjesh Mohanan (gatham - Inde), Shinu Gopinath (gatham - Inde),
Karthik Krishnasamy (gatham - Malaisie), Ishtar Bakhtali (konnokol - Pays-Bas)
Nandi played on december 25 2019 in Chennai's Music Season at Youth Hostel Auditorium, with Amit Nadig
(fl - India), Prasanna Hariharan (gatham - India), Barahdwaj Sathavalli (morsing - India), Udupi Srikanth (kanjira - India), Mahjesh Mohanan (gatham - India), Shinu Gopinath (gatham - India),
Karthik Krishnasamy (gatham - Malaisia), Ishtar Bakhtali (konnokol - NL) as guests
Nandi s'est produit à Mruthika Vaibhavam à Bangalore le 28
décembre 2019, avecen invités Amit Nadig (fl - Inde), Pranav Dath
(dr - Inde), Barahdwaj Sathavalli (morsing - Inde), Vin (voc)
Nandi has performed
at Mruthika Vaibhavam in Bangalore on december 28 2019, with Amit Nadig (fl - India), Pranav Dath (dr - India), Barahdwaj
Sathavalli (morsing - India), Vin (voc - India) as guests
Reviewof the concert
:
28 December 2019
Programme by: Ghatam V Suresh and party.
Topic: Mrttika Vaibhavam
Ghatam V Suresh, famous for his fusion style of Carnatic music with prominence given to various instruments, performed in Surabharathi today evening for the 5th
consecutive year.
He began the programme with a tamil song on guru, composed by himself. He said, he has worked with many foreigners across Europe, who appreciate and have adopted
Indian culture. His band performs various programmes consisting of Indian songs with a variety of different instruments from various countries, without ever diluting the Indian way of music, the
ragas and talas. He says his main objective is to propogate "Bharathiya Samskriti".
After a ragamalika of mohanam, shivaranjani and vasanthi, the team did an energetic jamming in Varamu. Then came the powerful kriti Ganamurthe in Ganamurthe
raga. It is one of the rarely sung compositions of Tyagaraja.
Just after this, he elaborately said various jathis in different paces, bringing the audience to rapid attention. The accompanying artists payed to the beats
equally well. Then came a composition in Raga Abhogi.
Just as Srinivasan Sir said, a true Vidyaavaan is not one who gains abundant knowledge, but the one who remains humble with abundant knowledge. Ghatam Suresh is
an example for this. With his ghatam, and his band he produced magical music that filled our hearts.
Tomorrow's programme is Yakshagana, our traditional Karnataka style dance form which narrates a story through music and dance. The Yakshagana Katha Prasanga
shall be rendered by Suvarna Prasadhana Yaksharanga. The topic is Krishna Arjuna Kaalaga.
Nandi a joué le 5 janvier 2020 dans le Kerala en Inde du Sud pour la saison musicale du temple de Chettikulangara, avec en
invités Amit Nadig (fl - Inde) et Arun Kumar (dr - Inde)
Nandi played on January 5 2020 in Kerala (South India) for the Chettikulangara
Devi temple with Amit Nadig (fl - India) & Arun Kumar (dr - India) as guests
Nandi a joué le 12 janvier 2020 à Chennai un concert caritatif à destination d'un public atteint d'un handicap
Nandi a joué le 19 janvier à Tirupati (Inde du Sud) pour le
Nadaneerajanam avec en invités Prasant Radhakrishnan (sax - USA), Prasanna Hariharan (gatham - Inde) etPramath Kiran (perc - Inde)
Nandi has performed inTirupati (South India) on January 19 at Nadaneerajanam with Prasant Radhakrishnan (sax - USA), Prasanna Hariharan (gatham - India) and Pramath Kiran (perc - India)
as guests
Nandi s'est produit au Goethe Institut de Chennai le 21 janvier 2020, avecen invités Amit Nadig (fl - Inde), Mathias Schriefl (tp - D), Delhi V Muthukumar (voc -
Inde) et Pramath Kiran (perc - Inde)
Nandi has performed in
Goethe Institut of Chennai on January 21 2020, with Amit Nadig (fl
- India), Mathias Schriefl (tp - D), Delhi V Muthukumar (voc - India) and Pramath Kiran (perc -
India)
Review of the concert :
by Shamanth Nag, independent musicians & sound engineer working for and with independent musicians.
I was sick for last few weeks, but i got up to attend the concert by the band "NANDI".
What a beautiful concert i have heard today. The music was in its true sense uplifting the mood of the audience. I must say the band has a unique sound to it.
Being a close follower of the band, and after attending more than 5 concerts now, I can see that their sound as a band is very dynamic and yet maintains a beautiful uniformity of their
uniqueness.
Today the most exciting piece was in the "Raga Ganamurthy" and the next piece was "Eka Aneka 2" the new version of their famous Eka Aneka 1.
As usual, nothing to say more about our great maestro Ghatam Vaidyanathan Suresh, who is the pillar of the band had the usual cheering up personality with
his complex yet an appealing musical genius to the audience. His balancing act of the band members was a treat to the ears and eyes. Nothing more can i say about his Ghatam in the band, the name
speaks for itself.
Pascal Lovergne 's bass was such a great backbone for the entire concert, his sweet acoustic bass was powerful at times and was solid in keeping time for
the entire band. His French accented konnokol was adding cuteness to the entire band and his passion for carnatic music was more contagious.
Amith Nadig, the very sight of this man made me get very excited. I still remember his last years performance when Ranjit Barot featured in the concert
at the same venue, I m sure amit would have played easily 40 - 50 Ragas (bit exaggerated out of excitement) by doing tonal shifts (Griha Bedham) I still remember, and today's concert his flute in
raga ganamurthy was something out of the world. And his precision at times and most of the times held the band together. Such a gentle person to speak with. Great musicians are like that i
believe.
Stefan Orins, I had a good fortune to meet him at my studio when we recorded, he was such an unassuming person one would ever meet, his jazz riffs on the piano
today were perfect in every sense. His konnokol was not only refreshing but also surprising, I never knew he can do that. His dynamics with the band was in such a balance that created the great
blend with bass and other instruments. A wonderful piano performance in the light of carnatic raga.
Pramath Kiran, I have heard about him a lot and been friends on Facebook and Orkut for more than a decade, but meeting/watching his performance,today was the
first time. I have seen many fusion Percussionist across india, I can easily say that pramath Kiran is a perfect blend of carnatic rhythm knowledge combined with Latin style handling of
percussions. His cajon was so refreshing, the reason is because of the unusual way of handling it by playing carnatic korvai on it but yet playing some Latin groovy rhythm along with the Congo on
his right. His sense of blending with the band was so perfect. Overall he kept time .
Delhi muthukumar, who sang a soulful composition in raga mukhari composed by maestro suresh , did justice to it in such a short span of time.though there was
some pitching issue as he started due to the monitoring difficulties, amit's timely help to show the tonic was quickly grasped and he displayed his mastery there on. The live music's charm is in
these kind of balancing act and how they successfully shine out of the hurdles. It was a good performance.
Last but not least, matthias schreift, played trumpet and fugle horn. I must say that he was one of the finest trumpeter i have witnessed in Indian concert
scene. His out of the world/scale jazz solos and his impeccable turnarounds with the band was just amazing. He was accurate in time and pitch. The best of all was his feat of playing trumpet and
fugle horn together and harmonizing it at the end was just out of the world and unexpected. I m happy that I have heard some fine trumpet in flesh and blood.
Though i feel weak as I type this,the enthusiasm when i think of the concert really takes me by hand and makes me post such a detail description. I must say i
missed Biju Paulose Anna in the band today, I guess he must be engaged in some other work. Its a great show. The evening was spent successfully well with great music and more than that
meeting these wonderful musicians and having a chat. I must thank Praveen Kumar as usual for making this evening wonderful and funny as he accompanied me to the concert.
Waiting for NANDI..!! Till then..!!
Nandi(Pascal Lovergne / Gatham Suresh / Stefan
Orins) sa été en tournée en Inde du Sud (Bangalore, Chennai, Udupi…) du 1er au 28 janvier 2018 ; avec en invités le percussioniste Israélien Zohar Fresco et le flûtiste IndienAmith Nadig !
The Band Nandi has performed concerts in South India(Bangalore, Chennai, Udupi…) between 1st and 28th of january 2018, with Zohar Fresco (perc) from Israel and Amith Nadig (fl) from India as guests
!
Le concert intégral de NANDI (Pascal Lovergne / Gatham Suresh / Stefan Orins), réalisé par Mister Bi! est diffusé sur Stingray DJAZZ depuis le 27
février 2017 ! StingrayDjazz est la seule chaîne TV entièrement consacrée au jazz, avec une diffusion internationale. Une très bonne nouvelle pour la suite du
projet !
The NANDI's full concert (Pascal Lovergne / Gatham Suresh / Stefan Orins) directed by Mister Bi! will be broadcast on Stingray DJAZZ from
February 2017 !
StingrayDjazz is the only TV channel dedicated to jazz, with international coverage. Very good news for the rest of the project !
Le trio Nandi est né de la rencontre entre deux Lillois, le bassiste Pascal Lovergne et le pianiste Stefan Orins, avec le percussionniste indien
Ghatam Suresh Vaidyanathan, un héritier de la tradition carnatique et hindustani, spécialiste du ghatam, une cruche en terre qui ressemble à un udu mais dont la sonorité se
rapproche davantage des tablas. Ghatam Suresh a joué avec Zakir Hussain (percussionniste que l’on a entendu, l’an dernier, au Middelheim, en compagnie de Pharoah Sanders et
Joachim Kühn), avec U. Sivaraman, autre spécialiste des percussions indiennes ou avec l’Australian Art Orchestra. Sur l’album « Mylapore », il joue aussi du kanjira, un
tambour à cymbalettes et pratique le konnokol, cette technique vocale basée sur des syllabes rythmiques qui a beaucoup intéressé Lovergne, au point de l’enseigner à ses élèves.
Diplômé du Conservatoire de Lille, Pascal Lovergne a opté pour la guitare basse acoustique et sa sonorité limpide. Il fait partie du Bortsch Orchestra et, passionné par l’Inde, a
rencontré Ghatam Suresh à de nombreuses reprises. Le troisième larron du trio n’est autre que le pianiste Stefan Orins. Avec son trio, constitué de Christophe Hache à la
contrebasse et de Peter Orins à la batterie, il a enregistré successivement « Natt Resa », « Bonheur temporaire », « Stöt » et « Liv », un
album chroniqué dernièrement. Le pianiste lillois est aussi un des membres du Grand Circum Orchestra, avec Julien Favreuille au saxophone et Aymeris Avice à la trompette. Enfin,
auparavant, il a fait partie du groupe Impression (formation primée par Jazzaround), en compagnie du guitariste Olivier Benoît, qui dirige actuellement l’Orchestre National de
Jazz. Avec lui, Stefan Orins a enregistré « Le bénéfice du doute » mais aussi « Encore remuants ». L’album « Mylapore » regroupe sept
compositions originales collectives. L’album s’ouvre sur Eka Aneka, composition sur laquelle Suresh et Lovergne se livrent à une véritable joute de konnokol, sur fond de piano.
Prélude To Durga Part 1 débute par une intro du piano, qui est bientôt rejoint par la guitare basse acoustique et le ghatam aux sonorités chatoyantes. Sur Prélude Part 2/ Durga,
la guitare basse brode sa trame mélodique sur les figures répétitives du piano, avant un nouvel exercice de konnokol. Sur Ananda, Suresh passe au kanjira et Pascal Lovergne
s’offre un beau solo. Paruppu Podi, repose sur un dialogue entre ghatam et guitare basse, un peu comme Mango Beans qui offre un large espace d’improvisation à Stefan Orins. Sur la
dernière plage, Aboghi, Suresh psalmodie le thème sur la ligne de la guitare basse. Une rencontre Inde-Occident. Plus qu’un trio, un vrai triangle équilatéral.
Voilà un disque qui accorde une large place au konnokol, cet art de la percussion vocale venu de l’Inde du Sud. Le bassiste Pascal Lovergne
et le percussionniste indien Gatam Suresh Vaidyanathan énoncent des formules rythmiques à partir desquelles le piano de Stefan Orins dessine des lignes
mélodiques et improvise. Un rapprochement assez convaincant (un de plus...) entre les formes musicales traditionnelles de l’Inde et le jazz.
Nandi is a trio made up of Ghatam Suresh Vaidyanathanv (ghatam, kanjira, konnokol, vocals), Pascal
Lovergne (acoustic bass guitar, konnokol) and Stefan Orins (piano), that started October 2014. In fact we are talking here of a classic line up of the piano trio of piano, bass and drums, but not
quite. Lovergne and Orins, both from Lille, France, are joined here by an Indian master percussionist, who not only introduces Indian percussion instruments, but also rhythms and melodies that
are rooted in the South Indian Carnatic traditions. Stefan Orins you may know from, his numerous collaborations released on Circum Disc. Lovergne has a strong interest in Indian music and is the
binding force of this
project I guess. Vaidyanathan is above all a master on he ghatam, a classical claypot instrument from India. Both Vaidyanathanv and Lovergne also practise konnokol on this album, a vocal
percussion technique. In seven collective compositions they create a convincing mix of Indian musical traditions with jazz. For sure an intelligent meeting of technically very advanced musicians,
and a first release for CJN records. Not on all moments it worked for me. When Orins plays in a lyrical jazzy style, it didn’t really combine with the ghatam playing by Vaidyanathanv. On other
moments when Orins is more involved in rhythmical aspects, it really worked well. Absolutely a very thorough work and an intelligent meeting. (DM)
––– Address: https://nandi.bandcamp.com/album/mylaporeNANDI – MYLAPORE (CD by Cjn Records)
Nandi
Mylapore
FRANCE CJN RECORDS CJN001 CD (2017)
The movement to combine Indian and European musical sensibilities arguably set in motion by George Harrison with the recording of Love You To in
collaboration with Anil Bhagwat and musicians from the Asian Music Circle in April 1966 continues unabated into the modern day with this collaboration of two French and one Indian
musician. Nandi is a group based in Lille, France; on Mylapore they are Paul Lovergne on acoustic bass and konnokol, Ghatam Suresh Vaidyanathan on ghatam, kanjira, konnokol
and vocals and pianist Stefan Orins. They aim to “…give the tried-and-true piano-bass-drums format a fresh new sound by blending jazz with South Indian Carnatic rhythms and melodies…” Ghatam
Suresh Vaidyanathan has previously played on records by Paul Simon. Lovergne is currently unknown to Discogs although I don’t hold it against him – it’s no bad thing to be untouched by the hand
of the digital revolution, perhaps. Stefan Orins, on the other hand, has a fairly substantial back catalogue mainly on the Circum-Disc imprint; run by a collective also operating out of
Lille.
The first offering is titled “Eka Aneka”, where Vaidyanathan’s vocalese tabla rudiments are doubled melodically by bass and piano. Those with an interest in Indian
musical forms may be familiar with this vocal rudiment technique. The pianist is encouraged to extemporise in a vaguely Weather Report style at three minutes… Vaidyanathan double tracks his vocal
break at the end. “Prelude to Durga Part 1” is for anyone who wondered why there was no such thing as Indian-flavoured cocktail piano jazz – now there is. “Ananda” seems to have a freer
arrangement to allow group improvisation, which apart from a slight hesitancy halfway through, works well. The European/Indian hybrid idea works at its best on “Paruppu Podi / Vijaya” which also
manages to additionally reference – perhaps only fleetingly, and to me only – Slint. There’s a willingness to subtly subvert the individual instruments in evidence, like when Orins plucks or
mutes the piano strings at the beginning of “Mango beans”. Later in the track, Lovergne quietly mutes his bass with his right hand; somehow making it sound like a heavy log rolling down a grassy
bank.
Nicely recorded by Didier Ducrocq, but as all sources are from acoustic instrumentation and closely mic’ed for a detailed and representative sound, it sounds, in
parts, a little dry to these ears. As you might expect, subsequent listens on headphones offer a more sumptuous listening experience; the players are of the stripe who favour the possibilities
afforded by overdub-less live performance and so this is the most appropriate way to record in this case.
Mylapore is on the east coast of southern India, in Tamil Nadu, adjacent to Chennai. The internet tells me that it is “…an affluent, traditional neighborhood with a
number of sacred sites and cultural venues. These include Arulmigu Kapaleeswarar Temple, with its elaborately decorated, pyramid-shaped tower; the colonial-era Luz Church, with an ornate,
frescoed interior; and the Gothic-style Santhome Cathedral, built on the burial site of Saint Thomas. Nearby, The Music Academy hosts popular South Indian concerts and dance.” Whether any of the
constituent personnel of Nandi have a personal connection to the place is not stated, but judging from this description alone, and the photographs of the city on the front and back of the cd
sleeve, it is clear that Mylapore is an attractive destination. This group clearly hold it up as a beacon. Nandi are a cracking trio, already motoring, and only at the beginning of this
particular journey. I’ll be looking out for their follow-up.