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Nitin Sawhney

This page is provided only for information, it does not apply to the 2002 festival.

This afternoon's crowd voted with their feet and packed a still chilly Jazzworld stage for the magical musical experience of the first day's bill. Nitin Sawhney's new collective are a response to the call of success, namely of his last and most widely recognised album to date - Beyond Skin. Breaking in the main into slinky funk grooves augmented by tables and authentic Indian singing, the group drew in the crowd with a seductive blend of melody laced with soul and a unique take on a myriad of styles. Nitin's approach to making music flows from his classical guitar studies and his ability to improvise on the piano - that despite freezing winds whipping the stage and chilling fingers - retaining his composure during an initial technical problem to play a truly stunning set. Concentrating on tracks drawn from the album the diverse talents of the two supremely talented female singers and the dynamite charisma of MC - JC 001 connected with ease the crowd. Shiri, the other male voice on stage, set things alight with vocal percussion at BPMs Roni Size would have been proud of. Songs like Migration, Beyond Skin, and the drum & bass of Rivers all possess captivating melodies twisting any assumptions of how music should sound whether it be funk, soul or jazz. The one important thing is 'Is it actually a good song or not?'. In Nitin's case, he's got a shed-load of them. The instrumental piece of the afternoon has to go to Sawhney's bassist extraordinaire and tabla maestro in an electrifying duel - snapping bass met by machine gun bursts of beats both building to a tablas-bass onslaught. Nitin is presently between labels but is starting his own - Positive ID - on which he plans to release his new album in September. Currently on tour, this group is one of the most talented and versatile around, playing some of the most beautiful songs and producing great gigs like this one. Asian music has arrived - as if you didn't already know that! Mike Flynn

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