The Darshan Doshi Trio’s ability to build enchanting grooves from such a wide range of influences is arguably their defining characteristic, and is the reason why they can transfix every kind of listener. This is music that is equally capable of soothing those who want to bliss out, and inspiring those who want to get up and dance. The ensemble has pushed the Indian-jazz-rock hybrid further, creating an arena-rock identity that perfectly suits the contributing artists’ musical fireworks. Listen to ‘The Darshan Doshi Trio’ on Spotify here:
The group constitutes the illustrious drummer Darshan Doshi, ace guitarist Rhythm Shaw and exemplary bassist Avishek Dey — all capable soloists who know how to rile up a crowd. The LP is a live album that has been recorded during a 5 city tour in October 2021. It comprises 7 tracks of which five are instrumental and two songs feature dexterous and accomplished vocalists Vasundhara Vee and Varijashree Venugopal. The album has been mixed and Mastered by Abhishek Ghatak.
In the opening track ‘Bandish Blues,’ singer Varijashree Venugopal elevates the composition with her technical prowess, melodic heft, and her honey toned voice that spans a three octave range. Catch ‘Bandish Blues (Live)’ from the album Live on Tour 2021 here –
‘Night In Tunisia,’ hits every note and chord to perfection, alternating among quick runs and resonant tones that lift the entire piece to another plane. Every listen reveals a new nuance to the band’s work. Only musicians as skilled as Rhythm Shaw Avishek Dey can truly cop this style convincingly for long without some anachronistic element working its way into their playing.
‘Insrhy Master’ takes on a dreamy demeanor with its evolving pads and grooving bass riff – once it takes off, it absolutely goes, spiraling guitar riffs and smashing drums competing for the listener’s attention. What follows are ‘Four for one’ and ‘The Shadow’ which are so dextrous and lithe, executing fairly significant changes in tempo and harmony without ever disrupting the fluidity.
The penultimate track, ‘Run’ is a rearrangement of one of the country’s finest Soul, RnB and Jazz artist Vasundhara Vee’s solo debut, originally crafted by Dhruv Ghanekar. The renewed track is beyond perfection, a flawless piece of fusion composition, perfectly melding the contemporary jazz harmonics and chops to an eminently catchy progressive-rock set of melodies.
The closing track, ‘Triple Threat’ runs on high-energy rhythmic dexterity, and is one of the most vibrant and thrilling reclamations of funky-fluid compositions.
Darshan Doshi has been working with some of the finest composers and singers in the Indian music industry since the last 25 yrs. His name is in the Limca Books of Record as the Youngest drummer of India. He played in over 100 hindi films and has performed over 3000 concerts with artists like AR Rahman, Salim Sulaiman, Shankar Ehsaan Loy and many more. Rhythm Shaw is a prodigy-multi instrumentalist who has been working with artists like Amit Trivedi, AR Rahman and many more. Avishek Dey is an amazing bass player from Kolkata and currently performing with Diljit Dosanjh, Farhan Akhtar and many more famed international artists.
