Drummer extraordinaire Darshan Doshi will use a hybrid kit for his jazz fusion set at The Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF). He spoke to JANE MAYNE about his drum solos, and how he shapes his sonic soundscape.
If there’s one act on the upcoming CTIJF bill that festinos should diarise, it’s The Darshan Doshi Trio. All three players in this phenomenal ensemble are world class performers at the top of their game.
Saxophonist Mark Hartsuch’s association with the likes of AR Rahman and Ranjit Barot speaks volumes. Then there’s Tony Grey, a 6-string bassist who’s performed with the likes of John McLaughlin, Hiromi and Dennis Chambers. And in the hot seat is ace drummer Darshan Doshi.
A musician who started playing at the age of two, Darshan’s extensive biography is no surprise, and it’s peppered with some of the best names in the industry. His tutelage began with his father and subsequent mentoring by Lester Gudinho and Pankaj Sharma. His initial hard work paid off, and when he turned seven, he joined the Little Wonders band with Kalyanji Anandji. This led to over 500 concerts around the world. At 11, the Limca Book of Records listed him as the youngest drummer in India.
‘Better Than Sax’
Come present day, Darshan has contributed to countless Bollywood films and worked with leading Indian composers, such as AR Rahman, Amit trivedi and Vishal–Shekhar. His online collaboration with Mark and Tony, he says, began during lockdown, which led to a recording with Mark, titled Better Than Sax.
“We really got an amazing response here in India, and we thought it would be great to perform to a foreign audience. So, when Nisaar Pangarker (Inner Circle Entertainment) told me about the CTIJF, the first thing that came to mind was to do this project. This is actually going to be the first time where three of us physically play together – I’m really, really excited.”
What punters will hear, he says, “is a wide scape of genres – jazz; a lot of fusion stuff happening with Indian Konnakol from the Carnatic tradition. There is also a bit of rock, and a bit of drum and bass. Mark is going to have an Ableton set up as well, and I’ll be using a more hybrid kit. So, it’s going to be mixed genres, but you will see more of a jazz fusion element in this band. I really hope that the people in Cape Town enjoy this.”
Fusion players
The drummer quotes the likes of Dave Weckl and Billy Cobham as idols when he was growing up – why did their technique appeal? “My teacher introduced me to albums Dave Weckl used to be a part of, like the Chick Corea Elektric Band. When I heard the records, I was completely blown away – like Chick taking compositions which are Spanish and Latin and fusing that with American jazz music. And the same thing with The Mahavishnu Orchestra back in the 70s, when John McLaughlin was collaborating with these incredible musicians. So that is the sound that from day one that really impressed me. And I always felt that whenever I do my own music it should have a sonic soundscape which these people started back in the 70s.”
“Coming from this side of the world we are blessed to have Indian Classical and Indian Carnatic music that helps me to also collaborate with musicians like a sitar player, flautist or a tabla player. When I share the stage with them it really keeps me in a comfort zone because I know what they are playing. A lot of times there is a question answer section, so when you interact on stage it’s very important to know their information as well. That way it’s very easy to communicate on stage and have fun. I still always thank my dad who made me practice tabla. Drums is my primary instrument, but learning Indian classical music really helped me at a very young age,” he explains.
Darshan on drum soloing
When he approaches a drum solo, what’s top of mind? “Drum solos are something that cannot be planned as such. But when I practice in the studio I work on concepts and on formulas from the Carnatic system. I like to keep an open approach, but if there are certain ideas that I want to explore at certain times, like a time cycle or time signature of 21 by eight, I know that I want to take that time cycle and then have some fun with that for a bit. Then maybe after that I might go doing something in sevens, and then maybe something in fives, and come back to four. So, I have a basic form in mind, but what I’m going to play on stage, what will come, I don’t know. Sometimes also depends on the audience and how they react to certain things, and that takes me to a different journey from there. So, I like to keep my solos open but there are certain forms and ideas that I want to explore with that.”
Mohini Dey collab
Amidst his many YouTube videos there’s also a slot with bassist Mohini Dey – how did that come about? “Mohini and myself go way back to when we were kids and perform together. Mohini’s dad also played with me when I was a kid. Recently when I was working on the trio, I was like, why don’t we do something together.” After recording virtually, they eventually met up at Yashraj Studios in Mumbai. “And that’s where we recorded Triple Threat. We had an amazing time and from there on we’ve been playing live concerts, whether it’s playing fusion music or also playing with somebody like AR Rahman where we are able to play his Bollywood music.”
Pointers for beginners
Any tips for players starting out? “Firstly, as musicians, we should be open to all styles of music – we should at least try practicing them. For me, being a recording and a session musician in India, when we get into the studio, sometimes I don’t know what style of music I’m recording that day. It might be a rock song, ballad, or sometimes it might be something in a swing space in a slow swing zone. So as a session musician it’s very important for me to listen to all sides, so that when I’m put into a situation where I have to play a certain style of music I can at least do justice to that.”
“Working on your rudimental stuff is extremely important. I think the foundation has to be super strong. Unfortunately, nowadays, I don’t see musicians practicing for seven or eight hours a day. That’s something that really made my foundation very strong, because drumming is an instrument where all your four limbs are involved. Your brain is working at understanding the form of the song and each limb is at a different time zone. So, independence is a very important factor when it comes to drums and that is something which really takes a lot of time and for that you need to keep practicing every day. It’s like muscle memory if you do something eight hours a day for like a year.”
Foot technique
“That allowed me to now be at a point where I can just sit on the drumkit and it starts flowing, and the limbs are already doing what it needs to. So that is something which is very important and that’s what I would love to say to the next generation is to spend some time with your craft, as you have to really go deep into the instrument. Learn everything about the instrument, whether it’s how to tune the instrument to start off with, understanding what kind of heads that you’re going to use for a different style of music, what sticks works for you, how to use the bounce and understanding all that when it comes to the holding of the sticks. There are also different techniques with foot technique. So, somebody who wants to take it to a pro level will have to really go deep inside the instrument.”
Western fusion and Indian music
Can he elaborate on the different approaches when playing Western fusion and traditional Indian music?
“Learning tabla at a very young age really helped me a lot. The Indian rhythmic structure is massive because it’s divided into North Indian Classical music and South Indian Carnatic music. If you see Carnatic music system, everything is about numbers. Everything has some kind of, how do I say, a calculative rhythmic pattern that works around it, and then you can start moving with different note values in that same structure. Everything is very formula based driven. So, what I do is kind of use those formulas and apply them on the drum kit, but I also don’t want to sound like a tabla player playing drums, so I wanted to always keep the essence of playing the Western drum kit the way that needs to be played, but using the concepts and the formulas from the Indian rhythm mix system. And that’s what I’ve done with my music as well.”
“When you when you listen to tracks like Bandish Blues, it will sound like a more jazz fusion approach, but all the information that has been used comes from the Indian rhythmic system. So that’s the way I kind of look forward to taking fusion music. All my idols, including stars like Ustad Zakir Hussain, have been doing this for years with whether it was with Pandit Ravi Shankar or with his band Shakti – incorporating Indian classical music and fusing that with somebody like John McLaughlin who uses the guitar but he uses the Carnatic ragas in the guitar. So, yes, that’s the approach that I want to take it forward as well.”
Brand endorsements
Over the years, Darshan has been endorsed by several brands, what gear does he like to use? “I’ve been associated with Pearl Drums for over 15 years now. Same thing with Zildjian Cymbals and Evans Drumheads. I also have my own Vic Firth signature drumsticks. I keep on working with newer brands, especially when it comes to mics when it comes to endorsing Roland products, and when it comes to hybrid electronic kits and sometimes using triggers and stuff for certain pop acts which requires that sound.”
“I like to work towards creating a new sound every year. If you see all my albums, the first I did with a trio was completely jazz fusion. The second album was very electronic drum and bass with different musicians. And then the third with Mark had a completely different sound. Each year I try to create and collaborate with artists and push myself as a musician. To push those boundaries of creating different genres and working on different styles of music – that’s something that really keeps me going on with drumming.”
Get your Cape Town International Jazz Festival tickets here.
Who: Drummer Darshan Doshi interview
What: Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF 2024)
Where: Cape Town International Convention Centre
When: 3 and 4 May 2024
WS
