From John Coltrane to Ravi Shankar, artists have long harnessed the potential of fusing eastern and western musical traditions. Here are five great pieces of western music inspired by India and its culture.
Ravi Shankar at Woodstock | Photo: Markgoff2972
1. Julian Costello: Vertigo
While not exclusively focused on Indian music, this 2024 jazz album incorporates elements of Indian classical music, not least the use of the tabla. Costello weaves it into an intricate tapestry of instruments, which also includes the oud – a lute-type of instrument originating in the Middle East. The result is vibrant array of colours and textures.
2. Ravi Shankar: Concerto for Sitar No. 1
Premiered at London’s Royal Festival Hall in 1971, this concerto sets a sitar recital within the framework of a full Western orchestra, featuring four movements based on different ragas. Highly acclaimed by many critics, it paved the way for future East-West musical collaborations and helped to establish what would later be called “world music.” This work showcases Shankar’s mastery of the sitar and blends traditional Indian music with Western classical elements, highlighting the raga system.
3. Naresh Sohal: Hymn of Dawn
Rather than simply fusing Indian and Western musical styles, the late Indian composer Naresh Sohal always aimed to use Western orchestral and vocal resources to give expression to ideas from ancient Indian texts. One result of that ambition was this colourful choral-orchestral work, set in both English and Sanskrit and based on mantras from the Rig Veda on the theme of creation.
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4. John Coltrane: India
Coltrane created this 1961 composition at a time when he was actively studying Indian music and philosophy, as well as enjoying interactions with Indian musicians like Ravi Shankar. Among its most striking elements is the use of a Vedic chant melody as well as Coltrane’s soprano saxophone, which mimicks the inflections of Indian instruments.
5. Shankar-Jaikishan: Raga Jazz Style
Concluding our survey of western music inspired by India is this 1968 album: a unique meeting of Indian classical music and jazz, transplanting Indian film melodies to sitar, saxophone, flute, and piano. As such it represents the thriving fusion scene in Bombay (now Mumbai), offering eleven short pieces, each based on the melodic structure of a particular North Indian raga.