Friday, October 18, 1996
MUSIC:
Ensemble of far-ranging styles coordinated with exhibits to
raise awareness of diversityBy Vanessa VanderZanden
Daily Bruin Contributor
Propelled by the surging rhythm of ancient drums, female voices
conquer the afternoon stillness. An unfamiliar instrument whines to
the patter of hands on stretched animal hide. But these sounds are
not coming from the forests of an exotic jungle. They are emanating
from UCLA’s own Armand Hammer Museum in Westwood.
Groups with cultural backgrounds as varied as Africa, India and
France will perform as part of the museum’s "World in Music"
series. Beginning Oct. 19, the ensemble will play on Saturdays at 2
p.m. in the center’s gallery, free of charge. This effort to
increase ethnic knowledge will continue throughout the year with
the musical emphasis changing each quarter to incorporate the
featured art exhibit. This quarter focuses on the work of
surrealist painter Magritte.
"What is surreal?" asked Cindi Dale, the museum’s director of
education, when deciding on what musical acts to hire. "Someone who
is doing something very different," she answers.
This explains why she has stocked the program with such varied
talents. One such talent arrives in the form of David Trasoff, a
classical sarod player who showcases the sounds of northern India.
Together with Michael Lewis, who accompanies on the tabla (a type
of Indian drum), Trasoff will share the joys of his unique
instrument Nov. 9.
Trasoff explains that the sarod is carved from a single piece of
wood, usually mahogany or teak. Instead of the metal fret of a
guitar, it has a stretched piece of stainless steel which slides to
move between notes.
The music this little-known instrument produces originated in
ancient Indian temple ceremonies. After it turned to chord music
around the turn of the century, the middle class adopted the sarod
for its own entertainment. Most musical pieces range from five
minutes to one hour, depending on how involved Trasoff wants to
get.
"I pick a melodic form with a certain mood," Trasoff explains.
"What goes into making the form is strict, but what I play is not
fixed. I can improvise and draw out what I need. It’s a little like
jazz."
With a 45-minute set, Trasoff will most likely perform several
short variations. He gained most of his repertoire from his mentor
of 25 years, the world-famous Ali Akbar Khan. He describes with
great emotion his first contact with Khan.
"I was living in the S.F. area at the time. I heard this person
playing on this instrument at a concert, I just had my ear open to
music, and the music he’s making on it isn’t like any I’d ever
heard. He had a school open, so I went and got a sarod."
Trasoff studied full time at the Ali Akbar School of Music in
Marin for 10 years. He supported himself with a piano-tuning job
even though he was a recent college graduate with a degree in
English literature and biology. Today, he continues to learn from
Khan but has changed his profession and is now a music teacher at
UC Santa Barbara, where he is also working on his doctorate. But
only his music career has given him the opportunity to travel
throughout the United States and Europe. He has even stopped in
Japan.
Before he met Khan, Trasoff says, "I didn’t know I was a
musician. That self-revelation never occurred to me, that music is
what I do."
Perhaps the Hammer series will inspire other youths the way Khan
inspired Trasoff. The Saturday shows are intended to attract music
lovers of all ages, with various events running throughout the
course of the day. Children’s programs are scheduled for early
afternoon, and discussions on surrealist art will follow the
musical performances.
"We need to open people’s minds to cultural expression,"
explains performer Joselyn Wilkinson. "It’s good to increase
awareness."
Wilkinson’s all-female band of six drummers and singers, ADAAWE,
would never exist without Wilkinson’s increased cultural awareness.
As a student at UCLA, she traveled to Ghana for a year, where she
studied ancient drumming. She now tours with her group on a regular
basis and will perform at Hammer on Nov. 16.
"We want to play very natural music, communicating from the
heart," Wilkinson explains. "It’s rooted in tradition and can
express ideas. It’s amazing the kind of richness to musical sound
we can produce. You don’t miss any guitars."
That may be because all guitars have been replaced by a variety
of drums. Congas, djembe, djun-djun and kpanlogo make up the
percussion section, while the Ga, Twi and Dagomba languages of
Ghana and the Wolof language of Senegal provide the vocals. The
languages of South Africa, Nigeria and Yoruba are also represented.
Traditionally, though, women have provided only hand percussion by
using bells, calabashes, shekere (a gourd covered with beads) and
hand clapping.
"These days, women are learning everything," Wilkinson says,
noting the modern shift in African consciousness. "My teachers have
been encouraging about it."
Yet not everything in African tradition has experienced
modernization. Some Senegalese songs that ADAAWE plays are said to
be 500 years old, though new works based on the old style are
constantly being crafted. Wilkinson herself writes soulful pop
songs with different harmonies and arrangements.
"In Africa, every time something happens, they write a song
about it," Wilkinson says.
The group’s performance at the Hammer museum will help keep this
tradition alive. And, just as African music makes room for change,
the Hammer clears the gallery the very next week for a group called
UCLA Sounds: Un Salon Francais.
"Piano, voice and flute ensembles will play the music associated
with a group of French composers known as ‘The Six,’" says Blair
Sullivan, the group’s organizer.
Obviously quite different from the tribal beats of Africa, the
group focuses on the salon music of Paris in the early part of the
20th century. Yet, in the UCLA Armand Hammer Museum’s "World in
Music" series, such a diverse combination of musical acts is to be
expected. In fact, it is desirable as an intriguing part of the
UCLA community.
"We have a courtyard cafe where you can have a cup of coffee and
take a break while you wait for the show," Dale says. "It’s an
oasis in Westwood that people don’t even know about."
MUSIC: The "World in Music" series begins tomorrow at the Armand
Hammer Museum and continues through Dec. 7. Concerts begin at 2
p.m. Admission is free. For more info, call 443-7020.
"We want to play very natural music."
Joselyn Wilkinson
percussionist