Daily Dose Of Jazz…

On January 31, 1928 Keshav Sathe was born in Bombay, India where he began his professional career in 1951, working with a local Indian vocalist by the name of Kelkar. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1956 and joined the Asian Music Circle, a pool of London-based Indian musicians run by former political activist Ayana Deva Angadi. He worked with visiting Indian sitarist Bhaskar Chandavarkar, and in 1961 they played together with the harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler. This was his initial contact with jazz.

In 1965 Sathe began his Indo Jazz Fusion performances and recordings with John Mayer and Joe Harriott, a musical relationship that lasted until 1970. In 1967 his trio was invited with Diwan Motihar on sitar, and Kasan Thakur playing the tamboura, to join the trio of jazz pianist Irène Schweizer together with Barney Willen, Mani Neumeier, Uli Trepte and Manfred Schoof. They appeared at the Donaueschingen Festival and Berlin Jazz Tage and recorded Jazz Meets India in Villingen, the Black Forest.

In the Seventies, he worked and toured with Julie Felix and Danny Thompson, joined the John Renbourn Group, toured the UK, Europe and the US, and produced records, including A Maid in Bedlam, Enchanted Garden and Live in America.

In the 1980s, Sathe formed a group with Tony Roberts which included the dancer Shobhana Jeyasingh, touring UK and Northern Ireland. With the singer Alisha Sufit and group, he made the record “Magic Carpet”. From 1965 to 1993 he regularly accompanied the late singer/dancer Surya Kumari in recitals and teaching workshops. He appears on Suns of Arqa’s live album Musical Revue which was recorded in Manchester in 1982.

Apart from these, Keshav has made numerous incidental recordings, worked for television, radio, and taught tabla until 2003. Indian tabla player Keshav Sathe, best known for his contributions to the Indo-jazz fusion genre passed away on January 18, 2012.

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