The Moore, Modarelli, Rayatt Trio has crafted a breathtaking sound that flawlessly blends jazz with the rich and vibrant tones of Indian music. Interestingly, the trio was born out of the Covid lockdown, when they were tasked with recording electrifying live-streamed performances which left audiences completely awe-struck. Their repertoire consists primarily of original compositions that fuse together the soulful rhythms of Indian music with the improvisational spirit of jazz, infusing hints of other world music to create a sound that is entirely their own.

If you’re a fan of jazz or Indian music, or simply appreciate creative and innovative musical styles, then the Moore, Modarelli, Rayatt Trio is definitely a group you won’t want to miss!

Olivia Moore, from The Moore, Modarelli & Rayatt Trio joins us to talk about her love for legendary fusion band, Shakti.

I love this band as they make refreshingly timeless music which is rooted in the extraordinary virtuosity and musicality of the players. The result is breathtaking, exciting and electric. Their compositions are heartfelt and accessible and I think it still stands as the best example of Indian Jazz fusion to date.

I discovered the group with Giuliano the guitarist from my trio, when we were studying together at Leeds College of Music. We performed “La Danse du Bonheur” from the album “A Handful of Beauty’ several times and the violin and guitar played the fast melody in unison. In our solo’s Giuliano used to imitate John McLaughlin’s fast playing and exciting phrases and I would copy L Shankar’s! John McGlauchin is a legendary guitarist who was well ahead of his time in his musical explorations and I find L Shankar to be a violin wizard and his solos are out of this world.  Another album I particularly love which features L Shankar is “Natural Elements.” 

It was through my attempts to play such music in my 20’s, that I realised the need to go deeper into my own Indian music studies and this has taken me on 4 study trips to India with violin maestro Kala Ramnath (ranging from 3 weeks to 3 months).

I have seen “Remember Shakti” a few times but the most memorable concert was in the open air at the Gateway of India in Mumbai in Jan 2005. I met all the musicians backstage before the show and Lan, another student studying with my teacher at the time who plays the Chinese Erhu, managed to get us in to watch Zakir Hussian (the tabla player) recording an album in Mumbai the same week. As well as the original members John McGlauchlin (guitar) and Zakir Hussain (tabla), the line-up featured the maestro mandolin genius, U Shrinivas, plus Shankar Mahadevan (vocals), and V. Selvaganesh (kanjira, ghatam, mridangam). 

What I loved about this performance was the wonderful outdoor setting and the relaxed atmosphere and the fact that the musicians were very engaging in their stage introductions and the musical interplay between the players was joyous.

Shakti have recently reformed and toured the world this year (2023) as well as releasing the album “This Moment”.

Our thanks go to Olivia Moore for her words on Shakti. As part of Indika Festival, The Moore, Modarelli & Rayatt Trio play The Tung Auditorium on 8th November, 1pm. Tickets are FREE, but you still need to get a ticket for admission. You can get them here. You can find out more about the festival here.

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