Sound the brass and the drum!
Who has never enjoyed the frenzy of a brass band? Inherited from the British Empire, the brass bands belong, in India nowadays, to the tradition and are a feature of life itself. In India, no marriage without a brass band!
Hailing from an ancestral family of musicians from Rajasthan, the original land of Gypsies, Hameed Khan Kawa, a talented musician (tabla) and a renowned artistic director, founder of Musafir as well, is familiar with the fantastic sound of the Indian Brass Band since his birth. As sharing his life between Jaipur and Paris, exposed to different musical styles: Classical Hindustani music, Indian and Western traditional music and jazz, and being a great brass band enthusiastic, Hameed Khan Kawa developed the idea of creating a brass band: the spectacular “Jaipur Kawa Brass Band”, with Western instruments: clarinet, trumpet, trombone, tuba, sousaphone, saxophone, bass drum, side drum... but undoubtedly with Indian soul.
He gathered talented musicians from renowned bands of Rajasthan, chose a wide repertoire ranging from Indian traditional music with its distinctive Gypsy sound to the popular songs of Bollywood movies. He then adds the sophisticated structures of North Indian classical music. The melodies and songs are developed with much refinement, featuring virtuoso solos and dazzling improvisations. The percussionists elaborate their fast and spontaneous playing with the sophisticated rhythms of India, providing counterpoint to the Gypsy Kalbelia danseuse and the fakir in his astonishing acts, and of course the band itself to deliver, all ten together, an unexpected and rousing musical extravaganza, the soul of the contemporary Indian's feast.
For the past ten years, Jaipur Kawa Brass Band has firmly established itself on the international music scene since 1995, and its performances include Belgium (Les Nuits Botaniques of Bruxelles, Gypsy Festival, Sfinsk Festival ..), Canada ( Roots and blues festival, Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Montreal jazz Festival, sunfest…), Czech Republic (Akropolis), Denmark (Roskilde Festival), France (Le Cabaret Sauvage in Paris, La Carnavalcade - Football World Cup 1998, Les Accroches Coeurs in Angers…), Germany (Essen, Masala Festival, WDR Radio…), Greece (Brass Band Festival- Thessalonique), India (Jaipur, Delhi, Mumbai…), Italy (Venice Carnival, Canto Nomade…), Ireland (Festival of World Culture - Dun Laoghaire), Korea (Jeonju Sori Festival), Morroco (Festival Mawazine – Rabat), The Netherlands (World Roots Festival – Amsterdam, Hockey World Cup, Binnenhof Festival..), Spain (Etnosur, Forum des Cultures…) , United Kingdom, Usa, (grand performance, Orange county festival), Slovenia (Okarina), Sweden (Stockholm), Switzerland (Expo 2002 Mondial..) etc…
Also see Musafir and Kawa Circus |
