Activist theatercore meets free jazz: Amirtha Kidambi's Elder Ones #1 at NSL
There are different types of bands. There are often those who sound better on record than on stage. In contrast, there are pure concert bands, so-called killer bands, who literally blow your mind with their presence and ability to improvise.
The fact that Amirtha Kidambi's Elder Ones, an avant-jazz quintet from New York, belongs to the latter category is not only due to the fact that the five musicians are damn good on stage. You expect that from performances at jazz festivals anyway. It's also not just because Carnatic or classical vocals, accompanied by wind instruments, double bass, drums and modular synthesizers, sound hypermodern and sexy. It is mainly due to the fact that the various compositions that the band performed on Sunday evening in the Neues Schauspiel each created self-contained atmospheres. As such, the ensemble's live performance offered a completely different experience to the sound of their current album "New Monuments", which was released this year. Under the direction of Amirtha Kidambi, the pieces sounded at times emotionally sublime, at times experimental and psychedelic, at times intensely theatrical or punky and classical, making you wonder at times how this is even possible.
Turning a concert into a political issue, as Kidambi did on Sunday and will no doubt continue to do, is a matter of taste. For some, it may be bold, superfluous or even transgressive. For others, her commanding and precise activist monologues expand the meaning of her musical performance. For example, as a US citizen of Indian ancestry, she denounced the consequences of colonialism and the death of George Floyd as a result of racial profiling, among other things, while also calling for a ceasefire in Palestine. It became clear why this concert is part of her "Right to resist tour". Her remarks can also be seen as a structural tool: Because since almost all the pieces played exceeded the 10-minute limit, they served as welcome breaks between songs. This allowed the band to create different sound units without overtaxing the audience.
During the concert, Kidambi used her voice to create complex melodic lines in the style of classical Indian music. She sang with powerful dramaturgy, accompanied by the sometimes hyper-emotional, sometimes even aggressive horns of Alfredo Colón (tenor saxophone) and Matt Nelson (soprano saxophone and pedal effects), the experimental playing of Lester St. Louis on double bass and the hypnotizing drums of drummer Jason Nazary, whose playing was almost machine-like. Kidambi also played harmonium and synthesizer. A highlight of the evening was the guest appearance by Ryan Easter from the noise hip-hop and free jazz quartet WRENS, to which Nazary and Louis also belong. His trumpet playing and rap art made the concert even more genre-fluid than before. Is there a name for this? Maybe: theatercore meets free jazz. But who knows exactly what that is...
TEXT: LIBIA CABALLERO
