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Global Rhythm change tonight at West High
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The Daily Iowan, Global Rhythm change tonight at West High >>
The man behind the multicultural beats of the Global Drum Project goes back to an American music era known for a few things - tie-dye, Dead Heads, and rock and roll.
Former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart will surely draw a crowd of baby boomers to the group's concert today at 7:30 p.m. at West High, 2901 Melrose Ave., relocated from Hancher Auditorium.
However, Hart's collaboration in Global Drum Project with his longtime musical partner, Indian tabla master Zakir Hussain, who has also played with George Harrison and Van Morrison, shows another side to the rock star - a dedication to international percussion traditions.
The Global Drum Project - which also includes Latin percussionist Giovanni Hidalgo and Nigerian musician Sikiru Adepoju on talking drum - blends the musical styles of its members while also responding to the trends of electronica and trance music, using computers to further enhance the sound. In addition to the roughly 90 percussive instruments on stage, each one can digitally morph into the sound of something else, like the sitar or marimba.
"It's an interesting fusion of traditional organic tones with computer technology," Hussain said. Besides the tabla, he also plays an immense variety of instruments in Global Drum Project's performances, including folk drums from Nepal and India, Tibetan bells, a djembe, and an udu, an African ceramic drum.
Hussain and Hart's partnership first began on Hart's Rolling Thunder album in 1972. Since then, they have formed several international rhythm-centric groups, including the Diga Rhythm Band in 1976 and Planet Drum in 1991, which received the first Grammy for World Music.
"[The Grammy] was an affirmation of all the effort we'd put in over 20-odd years," Hussain said. "We were now aware that trying to promote rhythm as having an equal status with melody was finally paying off and people were listening."
Though the multitude of instruments and cultural influences may seem complicated, in the end, the music of Global Drum Project comes down to the sounds of the rhythm, which Dan Moore, the head of the UI School of Music's percussion department, said can be understood by anyone.
"It's just cool," he said. "You don't have to have a background in percussion to be able to sit back and recognize that this sounds wildly different."
Hussain feels the cross-cultural quality of rhythm helps Global Drum Project communicate with a worldwide audience.
"Rhythm is something that we are all born with," he said. "It's inside us, in our heartbeat."
And a pulse needs no words to be felt.
Claire Lekwa 10/15/08 >> go there
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