Charlie Mariano with his nadaswaram in the early 1970's
One of the legendary alto saxophonist Charlie Mariano's greatest and lasting legacies has been exposing an entire generation of Western musicians (including yours truly), primarily in Europe, to the highly intricate beauties of South Indian (Carnatic) Classical Music culture.
Carnatic Music probably contains the most sophisticated, mathematically derived rhythmic system on the planet. It's no wonder that the city of Bangalore, Karnataka, a megalopolis of 8.5 million people, is considered the "Silicon Valley" of India.
"But with all that math", you ask yourself, "can the music swing"?
Oh man, and how!!
Mariano himself was first exposed to this deep musical culture in the late 1960's on a trip to Malaysia, and began serious study of the Nadaswaram, the popular Carnatic double reed instrument, with a teacher/guru named M. Muthaiah, in India.
One of the musicians, originally introduced to Carnatic music through Charlie Mariano, and who has really gotten into it seriously, is bassist and long time friend Dave King. Dave is originally from Louisville, KY, and is currently a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Mannheim, Germany.
Carnatic Music probably contains the most sophisticated, mathematically derived rhythmic system on the planet. It's no wonder that the city of Bangalore, Karnataka, a megalopolis of 8.5 million people, is considered the "Silicon Valley" of India.
"But with all that math", you ask yourself, "can the music swing"?
Oh man, and how!!
Mariano himself was first exposed to this deep musical culture in the late 1960's on a trip to Malaysia, and began serious study of the Nadaswaram, the popular Carnatic double reed instrument, with a teacher/guru named M. Muthaiah, in India.
One of the musicians, originally introduced to Carnatic music through Charlie Mariano, and who has really gotten into it seriously, is bassist and long time friend Dave King. Dave is originally from Louisville, KY, and is currently a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Mannheim, Germany.
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