One of the great pleasures of being a critic—and one of the things that keeps me from becoming jaded—is when you find a musician or a group you've never heard before who performs music unlike anything you've ever experienced. While sometimes this means they are doing something that's truly original, other times it just means the approach they have taken to what others have done before is as fresh and invigorating as if it were brand new. However, no matter what the case is, hearing them is usually enough to remind me there are still musicians our there willing to experiment and, more importantly as far as I'm concerned, playing music for the sake of playing music—not to become rich and famous.

In recent years, as the music from various cultures from around the world has become more available, there have been more attempts at fusing the music of North America with music of other cultures. While it's obvious how many African musicians are able to find a common thread for their music with what's currently popular in North America, the same cannot be said about those from India. Yet, while there is no denying there are differences between West and East when it comes to ideas about rhythm and the structure of music, much of the East is East and West is West and the never-the-twain-shall-meet idea that has been perpetuated about music arose out of the differences between Classical Indian and European music.

Once you break away from the rigid confines of 18th and 19th century Europe when it comes to music, you suddenly see that there's plenty of common ground to be found. Now I don't know as much about classical Indian music as I'd like, but I do know that, much like jazz, improvisation around a theme is a key element. So although I remember being surprised when I first found out about the popularity of jazz in India, the more I understood about classical music in that country, the more I saw the connection. Therefore, when I first heard the New Delhi based band Indian Ocean's DVD, Indian Ocean Live In Delhi, I was not overly surprised by their sound's the marked jazz influence.

Indian Ocean has been together in its current line up since 1994, and have built up an enormous following in India. While they have played in North America before, the tour they are currently embarking on is their most ambitious to date as they are criss-crossing the United States over the next month, giving people from New Mexico to Ohio a chance to hear their unique fusion of jazz and Indian music. However, those of you planning on attending one of their concerts and anticipating seeing sitars and other instruments you associate with India will be in for something of a disappointment.

Article Author: Richard Marcus

Richard Marcus is the author of the recently published What Will Happen In Eragon IV? and has had his work published in print and online all over the world. The not so long-haired Canadian iconoclast writes reviews and opines on the world as he sees …

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