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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Jazz Meets India, released by the German label MPS in 1967, places an Indian classical trio beside a European jazz trio and lets both play original pieces built on ragas. The Indian group is led by sitarist Dewan Motihar and the European group by pianist Irène Schweizer, with trumpeter Manfred Schoof and saxophonist Barney Wilen added to the lineup. Critics later cited the record as an early case of East and West musicians performing on equal footing. That is an interpretation, not a measurable result, but the way the album is built explains why the description has stuck.
What the album is
The record is a studio session organized as a meeting of two ensembles rather than a single band with a guest soloist. MPS, the label that released it, dates it to 1967 and presents it as part of the Jazz Meets the World series produced by the critic and producer Joachim-Ernst Berendt. A Billboard report dated October 26, 1968 independently lists Jazz Meets India among three MPS releases in that series, which places the album in trade-press context a year after its release.
How the project came together
The sequence below follows the detailed retrospective account published by Scroll on April 27, 2019. Where the dates are not given in the sources, this article says so rather than filling the gap.
- January 1967. Mani Neumeier, a German drummer who had studied and worked with Dewan Motihar, approached the tabla player Keshav Sathe with the idea of a joint project. Scroll reports that Berendt encouraged the plan.
- First meeting, Donaueschingen. The musicians reportedly met for the first time two days before a scheduled performance at the Donaueschingen festival. The sources do not give a more precise date for that meeting.
- Recording, Villingen-Schwenningen. The album was recorded in this southern German town. The sources do not establish the exact recording dates.
- Berlin Jazz Festival. About a week later, according to Scroll, the combined group opened the Berlin Jazz Festival as part of Berendt’s series.
- Contemporary press, 1968. A DownBeat report dated January 11, 1968 described the project in terms of a former Ravi Shankar student trio meeting a European avant-garde quintet. Billboard followed in October of the same year.
The rapid sequence of rehearsal, recording and festival performance suggests a project built on short preparation rather than a long development period. Because the sources differ on how many days separated some of these events, treat the exact spacing as approximate.
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The players
The album pairs two trios and adds two horns. Roles matter here, because the Indian instrumentalists are credited with specific functions rather than a generic instrumental category.
| Ensemble | Musician | Instrument or role |
|---|---|---|
| Dewan Motihar Trio | Dewan Motihar | Sitar and vocals |
| Dewan Motihar Trio | Keshav Sathe | Tabla |
| Dewan Motihar Trio | Kusum Thakur | Tambura |
| Irène Schweizer Trio | Irène Schweizer | Piano |
| Irène Schweizer Trio | Uli Trepte | Bass |
| Irène Schweizer Trio | Mani Neumeier | Drums |
| Joint horns | Manfred Schoof | Trumpet and cornet |
| Joint horns | Barney Wilen | Soprano and tenor saxophone |
MPS describes the setting as a classical Indian trio of sitar, tambura and tabla combined with a jazz piano trio and two horns. Neumeier is listed with the Schweizer group, although he was also the person who initiated the meeting with the Indian musicians.
Rank #2
- Piano Solo
- Pages: 48
- Level: Late Elementary to Advanced
- Instrumentation: Piano/Keyboard
The three pieces
MPS presents all three tracks as originals based on ragas, the melodic frameworks of Indian classical music that are associated with particular moods, occasions and times of day. The track descriptions below are the label’s and Scroll’s, not independent musicological analysis.
“Sun Love”
MPS’s notes say the piece uses a raga similar to a Western C minor scale. That comparison is a useful way for a listener without training in Indian music to find a point of reference, although a raga is more than a scale and the comparison is only approximate.
Rank #3
- Height: 8.75in / 22.5cm, Depth: 1.5in / 3.5cm, Width: 6.5in / 16.5cm
- By Joaquim Paulo
- Hardcover
- 672 pages
- Imprint: Taschen
“Yaad”
On this track, the label describes Motihar’s vocals blending with Wilen’s soprano saxophone. The title is glossed in MPS’s notes as a North Indian word for lovers forever separated. This is the clearest point where the two traditions share a single melodic line, which makes it a good place to hear the record’s central idea.
“Brigach and Ganges”
MPS’s notes identify the raga used in this piece as Bhimplani. Scroll describes the track as moving from free-form jazz toward recognizable raga tones, so it works as a closing movement in which the jazz players’ open improvisation gradually settles into a modal, Indian-derived sound.
What “equal footing” means on this record
Scroll reports that critics described the record as one of the early instances of East and West musicians performing on equal footing. The description has a basis in how the album is organized. The Indian and European players are presented as named ensembles rather than as a rhythm section behind a Western soloist. The Indian instrumentalists shape the melodic material on the tracks, and the label describes an interplay between the groups in which each remains true to its own musical ethos.
The phrase is still an assessment. It describes the structure of the recording and the way it was received, not a measured balance of power or influence. It also does not address the wider questions about cultural exchange that surround Western jazz musicians’ use of Indian music during the period. Read the phrase as a critical judgment supported by the arrangement, not as a finding that the collaboration was free of imbalance.
Contemporary and later assessment
The most quoted contemporary statement comes from the DownBeat report of January 11, 1968, which quoted Berendt describing the European players in these words: “All musicians who have shown a special interest in and understanding of Indian music.” The sentence is his characterization of the musicians he had assembled, and it is the nearest the period press comes to a direct statement of the project’s intent.
Scroll also reports a 1970 review in Jazz Forum, the magazine of the International Jazz Federation, which called the album “one of the most important record editions of the last few years.” This is a second-hand report of that review, so the quotation should be read as Scroll’s account of Jazz Forum‘s wording.
How to listen to it
- Start with “Yaad.” It shows the most direct meeting of voice and horn, and it is the easiest track to hear as a conversation between the two traditions.
- Listen to the tambura and tabla under the piano and horns. The drone and rhythmic layers of the Indian trio set the frame within which the European players move.
- Compare the opening and closing tracks. “Brigach and Ganges” is the piece to hear for the shift from open jazz playing to raga-based material described by Scroll.
- Read the MPS track notes with the listening. The label’s descriptions of the ragas are the most direct guide to what the performers were aiming for.
Finding the record today
MPS’s official catalog confirms the album’s identity, release year and credited performers. It does not, by itself, establish current retail or streaming availability, so check a current listing before buying or streaming. The most useful search terms are Jazz Meets India album or Jazz Meets India by Dewan Motihar Trio and Irène Schweizer Trio, which match the album’s credited names. Pressings and reissues may differ in packaging and track notes.
Quick Recap
Sources
- MPS official catalog — release date, credited performers and the label’s description of the ensemble and tracks.
- Scroll, April 27, 2019 — the most detailed account of the collaboration’s origins, the recording and festival chronology, the track descriptions and the critical reception.
- DownBeat, January 11, 1968 — contemporary report and the attributed statement by Berendt.
- Billboard, October 26, 1968 — trade-press placement of the album within the Jazz Meets the World series.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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