"A Triumphal Hurrah "

Sponsored by the Oberoi Group and the government of Australia with the assistance of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the Calcutta School of Music, the Australian Art Orchestra performed a varied programme of Jazz at the Rabindra Sadan before an appreciative audience. The programme was part of Australia India - New Horizons which is an effort to bring the two countries closer to each other.

The 18 members of the orchestra are individually accomplished instrumentalists and under the direction of their conductor Paul Grabowsky blended into a pleasing harmony of colourful tonal variations. They were joined in the second half by the eminent Carnatic musicians Karaikudi R. Mani and T. V. Vasan in a blend of the East and the West.

The opening number was The Ferryman composed by the drummer of the orchestra Niko Schäuble. This piece drew its inspiration from Schauble's early life in Germany when he had to travel from one end of the country to other quite often and had to make use of various modes of transport. The underlying rhythm gave a sense of movement and there was a clever imitation of the natural sounds of various modes of transport including the relentless throb of the engines of the ferry.

Some interesting improvisation livened up the proceedings and special mention must be made of violinist John Rodgers, clarinettist Tony Gorman, cornet player Stephen Grant and pianist Paul Grabowsky, their director.

Next came Green Phoenix on a Yellow Ground composed by Alister Spence who also plays the keyboard in the orchestra. This proved to be a much more elaborate and virtuosic composition with some very interesting and complex rhythms. Especially in the beginning, a fifteen beat rhythm was used to generate great excitement as each time the cycle was completed every member of the group joined into the general fanfare with a spontaneous climax. The music then launched into a four beat rhythm where the different players improvised, alternately generating great excitement and whenever the whole orchestra played together the blending of the reed instruments and the brass produced a perfect chorus.

In Ring the Bell Backwards the group looked back in nostalgia to its early years when all the present members had not joined it,. Composed by Paul Grabowsky the two numbers played were captioned Unter Dayne Vayse Stern literally meaning "under your white star" which originated from two Yiddish songs composed in the ghettos of Vilnius in wartime Lithuania. The first had the elements of a ballad and one heard some impassioned virtuosity in the improvisations on the saxophone by Sandy Evans. The other highlight of this number was the double bass solo by Gary Costello who wove a kaleidoscopic web of melody and rhythm with his magic fingers which left the audience enthralled. The second of these two compositions was called Ein Zwei Drei and orginated from the war songs of the partisans in war torn Lithuania. Its martial air was heightened by some soul stirring trombone solos.

The highlight of the second half was Vasantha Pravaaham composed by Karaikudi R. Mani and arranged by trombonist Adrian Sherriff who is also a student of Carnatic music. The arrangement and the orchestration was very cleverly done. Elements of western harmony were present in the arrangement while the essential purity of the ragas was maintained. One heard diverse variations and improvisations from the various soloists and the east and the west were in fine rapport together. Violinist John Rodgers was seen to revel in the Carnatic music and it suited his improvisation well. Sri R. Mani on the mridangam and T. V. Vasan on the Ghattam wove a rhythmic spell which gelled with the jazz elements. Finally after a long duet between Sri R. Mani and T. V. Vasan, when the entire orchestra joined them in a final flourish which sounded like the triumphal hurrah of ultimate success.