Dallas Smith, Aditi Bhagwat, and Susan Mazer at a previous show

It’s no surprise then, that the artiste will be joined by Smith, a woodwinds veteran who has shared a close bond with Hindustani music for over four decades. “My explorations of Hindustani music are rooted in my fascination with the late Pandit Pannalal Ghosh, a veteran flautist. His works led me to India and inspired me to pick up the bansuri,” he shares, adding that soon, like Bhagwat, he realised how jazz and Hindustani were closely linked. “Just like a Hindustani musician would play with the notes within a raga, jazz musicians are used to improvising within a scale or key. Even as we swap the usual drumkit out for a tabla, the similarities between the rhythms like the seven and five beat cycles that are reflected in certain taals help us adapt to the change,” 
he remarks.

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Harmonising with Smith on the stage will be his partner, Mazer, who believes that the harp, often harmonised over by other instruments, deserves a spotlight of its own in jazz. “In most performances involving a harp, you probably can’t even identify what part of the vast soundscape is coming from the instrument,” she sighs. The upcoming performance, Bhagwat assures us, will change things for the better. A purely improvisational section of the performance will witness Bhagwat and Mazer engage in impromptu storytelling. “Mazer will play a solo piece on her electro-acoustic harp. What she plays will be dictated purely by her emotions at the moment. Drawing parallels with the navarasa mentioned in the Natyashastra, my steps will follow,” she concludes. 

ON March 24, 11 am
AT Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu.
LOG ON TO insider.in
ENTRY Rs 500 onwards