As a composer and improviser Jarry Singla is absolutely open-minded. His long-term collaborations with the Indian virtuosos in his ensembles “Eastern Flowers” and “The Mumbai Project” have led to an unconventional concept of combining Indian and Western ideas for composition and improvisation.
This concept is presented in the workshop “Jazz and Indian Music”. During the workshop some or all of the following topics may be treated. All topics are adapted to the ability and to the instruments of the participants:
- combining the South-Indian drum-language Konnakol and/or complex rhythmic subdivisions with Western harmony and improvisation
- harmonization of a rhythmic cadenza (“Tihai”) from North-Indian music
- “melodization” of Indian rhythmical phrases
- unconventional subdivisions of 16-bar-forms and odd metres
- arranging and harmonizing traditional Indian music (e.g. North-Indian Raga, South-Indian temple-music, South-Indian Thillanas) for a jazz-ensemble
- composing on the back of Indian scales, melodic fragments from Indian music and / or a combination of Indian rhythms with Messiaen Modes
- interpreting Indian melodies with Western instruments
- combining Western and African polyphonic concepts with Indian rhythms
The workshop offers possibilities for putting the topics to pratical use by playing along, clapping or singing. Moreover there will be ideas how to apply the information according to personal interests (e.g. for arranging jazz-standards or composing contemporary jazz-pieces).
In the past Jarry Singla conducted workshops on Jazz and Indian Music for professional musicians, music teachers and music students in Mexico, Germany, Argentina, Bolivia and India, for example …
- at the Universidad Nacional de las Artes (UNA) in Buenos Aires
- at the Colleges of Music in Cologne, Weimar and Würzburg and at the Akademie Remscheid
- at the Conservatorio Plurinacional de Música in La Paz
- at the KMM Conservatory and at the Goethe-Institut in Chennai
- at the Escuela Superior de Música in Mexico City.
Feel free to contact Jarry Singla if you are interested in a workshop.