21 August,2012 09:41 AM IST | | Ruchika Kher
Rajeev Raja, known for creating magic with silver and bamboo flutes, wanted to have an arrangement where he could have a flexible group of musicians that can be part of a composition if the sound required. Thus, Rajeev Raja Combine was born two years back. Under this concept, Raja adds or let goes of musicians depending on the composition.
u00a0"I've always been wanting to set a group of musicians. So we created a concept, which has the flexibility of sounds. For example, if I want an extra element like a tabla or a sitar, I can bring that in and out as per the demand of the composition. I wanted that kind of flexibility where the core group remains the same but there is a flexibility of other musicians coming and going. That's why it's called a combine, everything happens as per the requirement," says Raja.
Members of Rajeev Raja Combine during a performance
Fronted by Raja, Rajeev Raja Combine plays a fusion of Indo-Jazz imbued with elements of Jazz, Indian Classical and Latin music. They are gearing up to take music lovers by storm tonight.
"We are going to perform all our original compositions, which are a mixture of a lot of eclectic influences of music, but a very strong Indian soul to it," he informs.
When quizzed whether he has kept the sound of his band universal for a wider reach, the musician explains, "I cannot speak for other bands, but we are not creating music so that we get a particular market. The objective is to create music that comes naturally to us. It just so happens that it is Indo-Jazz. It's not something tailored for any market."
At the same time, Raja also reveals that audiences have really opened up to world music and appreciate originals today, than anything else.
"These days, people are appreciating a lot of varied sounds. Originals are liked, which was not the case 10 years ago. They are more open to experiments nowadays," he confirms.
For today's performance, the band will have a line-up including Raja: Flutes, Tala Faral: Keyboards, Adrian D'souza: Drums, Hitesh Dhutia: Guitars, Kenneth Rebello: Bass, Ryan Sadri: Saxophone Gautam Sharma: Tabla and Percussion.
