Jazzmandu’s flashed past once more, without last year’s dilemma of having to choose it over its cousin, the Himalayan Blues Festival. Even made it to Gokarna Jazz Bazaar for the first time in years, and what a change its higher profile has wrought. Last time around, it was more of a chillout in the chill than a real jazz fest, with Nepali bands modifying their bluesy tunes into ‘jazz jams’. This year, Alukomarai and Ari Hoenig proved Nepal’s a worthy destination for the grand tradition of jazz.
Not that the straight-up offerings of The Bug, the ethno experimentation of Indonesian outfit Simrik Dialog, and the fiery set from the Adrian d’Souza Quartet weren’t quite fine thank you, given the dreary rock sludge that washes over Thamel every weekend through the year. Alukomarai, however, were in a league of their own, plenty of thanks to incendiary Thai saxophonist Pharadon Phonamnuai and the sparring of the drummer and bassist. It boggled the mind that they were on so early, especially given Pharadon’s exploits with Vatchapuj in last year’s edition. Ari Hoenig, American drummer extraordinaire, charmed the crowd with his rendition (on drums, yes) of Resham Phiriri, but it was his absorbing domination over the grooves laid out by his bandmates that really impressed, in Gokarna and especially at the festival finale at Shangri-La last night, where a trip-hop spread (complete with Ari’s handcrafted reverb) had me over the moon. There’s something about improvisation with a percussionist, where, perhaps more than with any other instrument, you can get the sense of a talent lashing out in all directions…and making it work.