Experiencing a guitar-tabla fusion concert is a bit like immersing in a living lab of East-West experimentation.
French guitarist Geoffrey Grenier, or just Geoff as he is familiar in the circuit, was in collaboration with Kolkata-based tabla maestro Tapan Kumar Chatterjee for a concert on the stage at the Alliance Francaise recently under the auspices of the Passages Indigo Association based in Strasbourg, France.
At the outset, the electric guitar seemed to be getting a proper workout as Geoff evoked a range of chord voicings peppered with sparkling bluesy riffs, aggressive growls, fuzz and distortion effects.
Geoff chose to set the tone for the concert with an instrumental presentation, which he felt, “reflects a Western musician’s perspective on the Indian classical tradition”.
Tapan, with over 45 years of experience in Hindustani classical and fusion music, performing and teaching internationally, watched the guitar’s musical escapades before rolling out the perfect percussion beats to the changing guitar textures right on cue.
