fR314 PAGES 51-52-53 1/7/09 15:01 Page 1
51f
East Westerly
Guitarist Gary Lucas and ghazal singer Najma Akhtar
put together a collaborative project at a distance, but it
all coalesced perfectly when they met. Garth Cartwright
picks up the story behind Rishte.
G
ary Lucas is talking with great work is constantly innovative: soundtracks, could work in an Indian/ blues fusion he
enthusiasm about the first dance music, ambient jazz, avant rock and sought out Lucas and made the introduc-
blues-meets-Asia fusions he forays into ‘world music’ – his delightful tion. Najma and Lucas hit it off and imme-
heard in the late 1960s. “Paul 2001 album The Edge Of Heaven was sub- diately got to work (“We wrote three
Butterfield released this album titled Plays Mid-Century Chinese Pop and songs on the first day together,” Najma
called East-West and it featured Mike found him reinterpreting 1930s-era songs tells me). As they live in different cities
Bloomfield playing incredible electric gui- that had graced pre-Revolutionary Chinese (Najma also spends a good part of the year
tar ragas within a Chicago blues frame- cinema. Najma Akhtar was on the cover of in India/ Pakistan), songs were often
work. Davey Graham had done his own fR51 way back in 1987, the feature focused worked up over a considerable period of
interpretation of ragas and blues and on her just-released album Qareeb (Earth- time. Both musicians – I spoke to Najma in
folk guitar, and Jimmy Page, who I first works) and suggested she was spearhead- Karachi and Lucas in New York – empha-
heard in The Yardbirds, started imitating ing a movement of British Asian music. sise that working via MP3 was not a hin-
Davey and doing his own thing. At the Najma has certainly gone on to develop drance and when they did get together
same time I discovered Ravi Shankar and into a highly rated singer of ghazals – a everything flowed very easily.
will never forget seeing a concert of Ali form of sung poetry which has its roots in
Akbar Khan and Alla Rakha at Syracuse seventh century CE Persia – while being
University in 1967. It was sensational! I willing to push the envelope of exactly
got high without having to smoke pot! how this music can be performed. Her
The timeless quality of the music, ancient public image was never higher than when
“T
he album came together
surprisingly quickly,”
says Najma. “We took a
huge risk as we were
self-funding but every-
yet modern, real trance music.” Jimmy Page and Robert Plant invited her
thing came together so well – it was great
Gary Lucas now joins the pantheon of
to sing with them – you can still find the
teamwork. There needs to be a catalyst
East-West guitar heroes, on Rishte (World
YouTube clip of her fabulous duet with
who makes it happen and that was Gary
Village), an album he has recorded with
Plant on The Battle Of Evermore.
Nesbitt. I’d mentioned to him being inter-
vocalist Najma Akhtar. Regular fR readers Coming together on Rishte they have ested in incorporating elements of blues
will be familiar with the work of London- created an extraordinary album, the col- into my material in the same way I do jazz
based ghazal singer Najma Akhtar and laborative process complementing both – singing with Page and Plant turned me
New York guitar magician Gary Lucas, artists, so creating some of the finest music on to a lot of blues – and when Gary Nes-
both being virtuosos in their chosen fields. in their respective careers. The concept bitt made the connection with Gary Lucas,
Lucas (last seen in these pages in fR230/1) that became Rishte appears to have begun I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew his
is celebrated as guitarist to Captain with Gary Nesbitt, an American who is a work with Jeff Buckley and Gary invited
Beefhart and Jeff Buckley while his solo vocal fan of Najma’s. Believing her voice me to his London show at The Luminaire.”
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