It's been over a week, and I'm still buzzing from our Australian Bebop Ragas gig. We got the largest audience I've ever seen at Caffé Trieste. People were crammed into the Café cheek-by-jowl, and spilling out onto the sidewalk. When I started playing, I couldn't help thinking of what I had not told any of the people in that crowd. Although I had a deep intuitive certainty that this was a combo destined to work, the three of us had never played together before, not even in rehearsal. But fortunately my intuitions turned out to be correct. I played mostly straight Hindustani classical (except for one fusion piece and one filmi tune). Sameer and Stephen listened to me and to each other and created melodies and rhythms that made perfect sense of the whole thing. They also did some wonderful solo and duo work. The crowd went crazy after every number, and sang our praises during the intermissions. Here are some comments sent to me by email from a couple of local luminaries.

Wow, you really blew us away last night. People are going to be talking about this for a long time. Part of what you guys were doing sounded like being at the Fillmore in 1972 with Jim Morrison and the Doors, except updated to the 21st century with the didjeridu and new takes on old ecstasy-- extremely exciting. You guys really evoked and surpassed the best of that world changing music that they were doing then. I pictured you opening at the Fillmore, actually, and soon. You are already that good right out of the gate. I am not kidding.

Sandy Miranda, KPFA radio host.

True fusion is where borders are melted and individual egos are dissolved in harmony and rhythm of spirit of love. You succeeded in both accounts ; keeping individual virtuosity visible but to a minimum . The focus was music and sharing

Behzad Mohit, Poet/Impresario

And perhaps most importantly, Stephen, Sameer, and I all had a wonderful time. We definitely know we going to do this again, but we're not sure where yet. Caffe Trieste was begging us to sign up for another date, but frankly I don't think we could play there again without getting in trouble with the Fire Marshall. We need a space with room for a bigger audience, a stage, and a sound system with monitors. We're still looking, and we'll let you know when we set up a new date. We'll also have to come up with a new name for this combo. "Australian Bebop Ragas" just doesn't evoke the remarkable spiritual energy that the three of us somehow manage to generate. Suggestions are welcome.

Honestly, who would have guessed that something as weird as this could have sounded so good, and appeal to so many people? Can you imagine some guy in an office at Capital records saying "our focus groups and market research reveal that what people want to hear is didjeridu, tablas, jazz drums, and electric touchstyle fretboard."? It just goes to show that decisions like this shouldn't be made in offices.

I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself right now—probably a little too pleased. But I have the perfect remedy for that: Listening to a concert by a brilliant young man in his twenties who already plays traditional Hindustani music better than I ever will. Sri Alam Khan, the son of the great Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, will be playing sarod in a concert at the Arlington Community Church on Friday, February 9 at 8 pm. He will be accompanied by Debopriyo "Bubai" Sarkar. Bubai is one of my favorite tabla players; in fact, he plays on my "Hindustani Ragas" CD. The church is located at 52 Arlington Avenue in Kensington (right next to Berkeley) and there is a parking lot across the street. The venue is a lovely, intimate space that only seats about 200 max, so if you want to go, you may want to buy tickets in advance, just in case. The church office is (510) 526-9146.