The Jazz Project - Album 88: Joe Harriott - John Mayer Double Quintet - "Indo-Jazz Suite"

            To further my understanding of Jazz, I'm listening through Jazzwise Magazine's "The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World". Each album is presented with my stream-of-consciousness thoughts for each track, my general thoughts of the album as a whole, and any relevant information I can capture about the album. Also included is my drink of choice while taking the album in. Thank you for joining me on my journey to [partial] Jazz enlightenment.

Album 88
Joe Harriott - John Mayer Double Quintet - Indo-Jazz Suite
Drinking: Ardbeg 10

Photo credit: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61Ycf2gn8-L._SL1280_.jpg

1. "Overture": This song starts with some pleasing sitar music and traditional drums. Another instrument I don't recognize jumps in and immediately starts this fun interplay with the sitar and percussion. Soon after, traditional jazz instruments stop by and start riffing over the original instruments and it's awesome! It's got this intoxicating groove. About a minute and a half in the music jumps over to a more stereotypical jazz rhythm section while keeping the original percussion around. I can't keep my head from bobbing while these changes happen. I'm imagining a bustling town on a hot and muggy night. The muted trumpets provide this searing sound that keeps the track popping. A cool flute solo cuts in, like the narrative of the song jump-cuts to a jazz club and Sarah Vaughan was performing, but with a small hint of that Indian flavor added in. The band keeps riffing around each other as the song starts thinking about closing, and in the last minute and three quarters, the traditional instruments return, backboned with that upright bass. What a tantalizing track!
   
   
2. "Contrasts": A cool percussion piece works under a solid walking bass line. A piano starts to riff in and around the bass and percussion. Soon the flutes and trumpets square off for the melody. Something about this track is quite conversational in it's feeling. I get a slight Vince Guaraldi vibe to the piano at times. The bass goes into a solo right before the Indian instruments return. After it's solo the bass slicks right back in to keep the groove going. The sitar adds some welcomed atmosphere to the track as the flute solo in this section kicks in. It reminds me of Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull fame. It wouldn't surprise me if he was influenced by this album in some way (Anderson that is). With four minutes left on the clock, the muted trumpet surgically slices its way into the song to provide a sharp solo. The sitar/flute interplay returns though the transition is not as sharp as the previous track. However, a saxophone solo comes out of nowhere, similarly to the earlier trumpet solo, it's an excellent solo though. The syncopated drums are very pleasant as they bring the track to a close. I'm shocked at how easily the flute fits in with the Indian instruments.  
   
   
3. "Raga Megha": I'm loving this instrumental. This track is very soothing. I found burning some Palo Santo wood really brought something to this experience, especially with the smokey scotch. A few minutes into the song there is this weird, jarring solo, but it quickly is replaced with a great section focusing on the traditional Indian instruments. A pair of flutes join in and make the section pop. The two groups interweave with each other so well in this song, I'm amazed two rather different styles could mesh so well. It's interesting though, I didn't get sucked into this track as much as the previous ones, but I found it the most pleasant to listen to thus far. 
   
   
4. "Raga Gaud-Saranga": This has the most serene opening. It sounds like a misty sunrise over the ocean. It almost has a Celtic vibe to it before the sitar joins in the mix. Very pleasing. The sitar solo is amazing. It's so easy to get lost in the moment. It's followed by a ripping flute solo that just blew me away! The shred is strong on this track. Out of nowhere the muted trumpet announces its existence and suddenly we're transported into a swinging jazz tune. It gets even better when the mute comes off the trumpet and you can hear it's full glory. At about four minutes and fifty seconds, we start hearing both worlds start crashing into each other, each vying for attention before the piano comes in to calm everyone down. The interplay continues as the song finishes. I'm saddened and disappointed that we didn't get to go back to that amazing intro. 

Overall Thoughts: It was the fastest 35 minutes I think an album has ever been. It was really cool to see every instrument get a turn in this mad experiment gone so totally right. It's not in my top 10 favorite albums, but I'd buy it if it had a semi-good deal on it. What kept it from being truly blowing me away was the fact that both styles were dancing back and forth. There wasn't any true blending of styles into something new, and I was hoping the album would go there. 

Info: This album was released in 1966 via EMI Columbia. It was one of the first successful blends of Jazz and Indian  music. Jazzswise Magazine's blurb says it was "not as successfully integrated as their subsequent Indo-Jazz Fusions I and II," which I will seek out on my own time. It features Joe Harriott on alto saxophone, Coleridge Goode on bass, Allan Ganley on drums, Chris Taylor on flute, Pat Smythe on piano, Diwan Motihar on sitar, Keshan Sathe on tabla, Chandrahas Paiganka on tambura, Kenny Wheeler on trumpet, and John Mayer on violin and harpsichord. 

Listen to the album here! 

If you loved the album, you can buy it here!