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The
Share Guide: As a
musician
you draw mainly from the spiritual tradition of Bhakti Yoga. How do
you feel that music aids in the healing process?
Jai
Uttal: There are so
many levels. I think the healing process stems from the heart, stems
from love and understanding, and from permission to feel everything.
Music that helps that process of feeling is healing music.
Particularly, it's music that gives you a feeling of your own heart,
and at the same time gives you a perspective of the vastness of the
universe. To me, that's another phase of healing. Of course, prayer
is a big part of healing; music that incorporates prayer will also
lead to healing. Then there is the whole field of Sound Healing,
which doesn't even deal with the emotional body so to speak, but with
the way that some sound can adjust the molecules in the body and
bring things more into harmony. I haven't gotten deeply into that
with my own music, although I have studied it quite a bit. With my
own records I am dealing a bit more with dance music and rock
elements, so it doesn't always have that aspect. Then there is the
healing quality of the voice, which I feel my music is focused on
more and more.
The
Share Guide: What you do
when you perform at a concert or any sort of kirtan is
bring people together, which is a healing force in the community.
Jai Uttal:
Yes. The majority of what I do is kirtans, which turn into evenings
of group communal singing. That is an amazing process to watch. It
comes from ancient days in India where people would gather and
channel their prayers together.
The
Share Guide: To be clear,
since all of our readers may not know as much of the
Eastern words as you and me, kirtans are Indian chanting. When
I visited your website,
I learned that as well as doing big performances, you offer smaller
kirtans at meditation centers and so forth. It may be the same kind
of music, but two styles of outlets.
Jai Uttal:
That's right. Recently I have been leading kirtans at a lot of yoga
schools and meditation centers around the country, and around the
world actually. Some of these appearances are basically leading a
group in singing chants, and some are more workshop oriented, where I
give a background talk and we share our thoughts and feelings and
tell stories in this tradition. I think people are really opening up
to this practice. The exotic aspect is kind of cool at first, but
when it can become part of one's daily life, that's when it really
clicks into a real transformational healing practice.
The
Share Guide: What is the
difference between bhajans and kirtans?
Jai Uttal:
Kirtans are all mantras (ancient Sanskrit words). The
bhajans are more poetry; they are Indian devotional songs.
The
Share Guide: So the
kirtan is
focusing on the mantra, short repeated phrases, which have been
chanted for centuries. There is a stream of consciousness and a flow
that has been unbroken for centuries as a vibratory power in the air
that you tap into.
Jai Uttal:
Yes, well said. There is something about chanting mantras and
investing our own energy into that chanting that is very powerful. I
feel like we join our souls with all the people who sing it.
The
Share Guide: I've read
that mantras are ancient words, sometimes called the
primordial language of the Gods, so it seems like through chanting we
are bringing spiritual energy into the earth plane--and into our own
lives.
Jai Uttal:
I totally agree with you. In an evening of kirtan, our energy in the
group becomes bigger and bigger, and expands into past and present,
above and below. At the same time, divine energy comes through us and
spreads on the earth. I wish more and more people would do this in
different ways, because we need it now.
The
Share Guide: I've heard
you call your music "World Fusion." I was wondering how
this differs from what is called "New Age Music" and wondering if
"World Fusion" is the same as "World Beat?"
Jai Uttal:
I don't really resonate with the titles that are used in the media to
describe music. It seems that there is always a desire to reduce
something to one or two words. Descriptions can mean totally
different things to different people. Currently, I call my music
"World Heart" music or "Heart Fusion" music, because I use the
elements of many different kinds of music from varying cultures to
express and open the channel of the heart.
The
Share Guide: Labels are
double-edged swords; they can be helpful and they can also
be a drag. I'm not sure all of our readers have played as much of the
new music that has come out as you and I have. I just want our
audience to understand the type of music you are producing.
Jai Uttal:
The New Age category is a little bit outdated. "New Age" started out
as referring to music for serenity--quiet music that didn't have much
rhythm, tempo, tension, or variation.
The
Share Guide: You might
call it ambient music.
Jai:
Yes. The New Age category has progressed and gradually expanded to
include different kinds of rhythms, beats and elements. World music
or what they are now calling "World Beat" has touched corners with
New Age, and they are overlapping, which can create confusion. The
music that I do is not always peaceful. Some of it is, but some of it
isn't, and that is simply because I don't always feel peaceful. I try
to express my being with all my heart through my music and channel
the different moods. The spiritual tradition I have come out of is
called Bhakti Yoga. That involves directing all the emotions of the
heart to the universal spirit; not just sweet, happy, calm, and
peaceful emotions but every emotion can be directed towards and
channeled through this kind of divine energy.
The
Share Guide: Even though
you were born and raised in the United States, your music
has a distinct East/West blend to it.
Jai:
Yes, I have studied Indian music extensively.
The
Share Guide: What drew
you first to the music of other cultures?
Jai:
I think it was probably a past life. I grew up in New York. In the
big city you are exposed to lots of different things. When I first
heard Indian music, I was transfixed. I got every record that I could
find and there weren't that many of them back then. I would listen
and play along with my guitar and try to understand it. It was more
like an awakening, some rememberance inside of me. I also listened to
a lot of other music at the time--African music, Middle Eastern
music--but it was the Indian music that really grabbed me at
first.
The
Share Guide: So Indian
music is your main influence, other than the Western
culture you were raised in?
Jai:
Yes, I would say my influences are the devotional music of India,
plus rock and roll and rhythm and blues. I have always been into
Appalachian and Mountain music as well. I started studying Indian
music over 30 years ago. Sometimes I have been very intensely
involved in the studies and sometimes not. I still study now,
although I am pretty lax in my efforts at this moment because I am
working so much. I should say that I never felt that I was plucking
some flowers of another culture to garnish the rest of my creative
output. It always felt like it was coming from inside of me as much
as the Western music.
The
Share Guide: Since I
review a lot of the new music coming out, it's certainly
worth saying that there is a great deal of quality instrumental music
being produced. There is also a gradually increasing number of
chanting artists. That section is starting to develop. I think it's
the start of a breakthrough--taking these old Eastern mantras or
positive phrases, and adding Western instruments to the vocals. Plus
it's much better produced than anything we've had in the past, and
therefore it's reaching more people.
Jai:
Yes, when it's done with electric guitars, bass and drums and
whatnot, it really enters our stream of culture and
consciousness.
The
Share Guide: I like the
fact that you include the Western lyrics on your albums.
The lyrics are primarily upbeat and life affirming. Do you write a
lot of the them yourself?
Jai:
Yes, pretty much all of them except for a couple of covers. On
Shiva Station I did a cover song "Calling You" which I
first
heard in the movie Baghdad Café. It's really a
beautiful and spiritual song about longing. On the new album,
Mondo Rama, I did a Beatles song and mixed it with a
Sanskrit
chant.
The
Share Guide: Yes, I
wanted to mention that one. When I think back to junior high
and high school, one of the first bands I was really aware of with
positive lyrics was the Beatles. "All You Need Is Love" and other
songs like that are basically positive mantras. George Harrison, as I
see it, turned the West onto the music and the meditation of India.
He introduced me, and many people, to Ravi Shankar, as well as Ali
Akbar Khan. They were both with him on the Bangladesh Tour. You
probably listened to this stuff as well as me, since we are in the
same age group. So that leads me to mention your song called
"Tomorrow Never Knows" on the newest album Mondo Rama. It's
from the Beatles album Revolver, and you have combined that
with the Indian chant, Shivaya. The track goes back and forth between
the Eastern and Western lyrics, and I think it's very effective. I
love it and it's got a great beat. I am wondering what gave you the
idea to do this?
Jai:
I was invited to New York three or four years ago, to perform at this
big party that was launching a John Lennon songwriting contest. There
were a lot of big stars performing there and I was the least known
person. They asked us each to sing two songs and one of them had to
be a John Lennon song. I am such a John Lennon fan, but the last
thing I wanted to do was try to re-create a Beatles thing or try to
sound like the Beatles or sound like John Lennon. I just couldn't; I
didn't even want to go there. So the thought came to take a John
Lennon song and make it my own. I thought that the Sanskrit chant was
very true to the spirit of the song. Some of the words from "Tommorow
Never Knows" were taken, I believe, from the Tibetan Book of the
Dead.
The
Share Guide: Lennon's
lyrics go very well with the Shivaya chant. It's a great
combo. The title of your newest album is Mondo Rama. What does
this mean?
Jai:
Mondo means the world in a lot of different languages.
Rama is one of the Sanskrit names of God. So it basically
means to me that the world is Rama. Another way of thinking of it is
that this world is big and crazy and it has everything in it, and
it's all Rama, it's all God. The manifestations of God can be
everything from the beautiful little Buddha that I'm looking at out
of my window in the backyard to violence in the streets. It's all
special to Rama.
The
Share Guide: Your first
album Footprints was jazzier than its successors,
with less vocals. You have gradually moved in the direction of more
vocal music. Is that where your interest lies more these days?
Jai:
My interest has always been in vocal music from all cultures. What's
happened is my confidence has increased. At first I was really shy to
sing on a record. I didn't think I could do it. It wasn't even that I
felt I had improved later on. I just decided that this is my
expression and I have to put it out there for better or for worse.
For now all my music revolves around singing. There are lots of other
elements, of course, but I think the center is the voice.
The
Share Guide: I was really
taken with your second album, Monkey. At that
point you began to move more towards the Eastern direction.
Jai:
Yes, there is a big difference between Footprints and
Monkey.
The
Share Guide: It seems
like you became more confident of your voice. If you believe
in your ability to do it, then you project more, and so it sounds
better.
Jai:
I think that is true. I feel that everyone should sing.
The
Share Guide: If you sing
fully, and really open your throat and really resonate,
it vibrates your whole body.
Jai:
Right. Oxygen comes into all the cells and increases the life force
energy, and purifies and burns off anti-oxidants.
The
Share Guide: If you
consider your body to be a musical instrument, and your mouth
is the sound hole, you are really resonating your whole instrument
when you sing unless you are tightening your throat up. If you are
singing positive lyrics, that's really bringing positive energy
vibrating through your whole being.
Jai:
It's a truly full spectrum healing force…the words, the mantras,
the prayers. . .that's all coming from the heart, and then the sound
vibrates you, then the oxygen in the air enlivens you. It's pretty
cool.
The
Share Guide: I recommend
it to everybody.
Jai:
I do too!
The
Share Guide: What
instrument did you start with and what are your favorites to
play today?
Jai:
I started with piano, but I play a lot of different instruments now.
I find that I go through different cycles with them. These days my
favorite instrument to play is my new nylon string guitar. I have
never had a nylon string guitar before and I just got one about a
month ago and I am just loving it. I have been travelling to Brazil a
lot. I'm getting into Brazilian music and trying to learn more about
it. Sometimes I just love to play banjo and sometimes I play sarod. I
actually play the harmonium a lot as well, but that is just to
accompany my singing. I hardly ever sit down to play the harmonium if
I'm not singing. Overall, the main instrument these days is the
voice. Which is funny, because it is such a delicate instrument for
me. If I don't sleep enough, or I am not eating right or allergies,
it's like the least dependable thing. Yet at the same time, it's the
closest to the heart.
The
Share Guide: I believe
you moved from New York to California to study with Ali
Akbar Khan. You studied sarod and also voice at his School of
Music?
Jai:
Yes.
The
Share Guide: I went there
briefly. I bought my tabla set there.
Jai:
When did you go?
The
Share Guide: This would
be the mid 70's.
Jai:
I wonder if I was there then.
The
Share Guide: I got
interested in the tabla, and there is a local meditation center
here in Sonoma County, California called the Ananda Center, where
there are monthly kirtans.
Jai:
Is that connected with Ananda Village in Grass Valley?
The
Share Guide: Yes.
Jai:
I'm going up to Ananda Village tomorrow.
The
Share Guide: Grass Valley
is the main one, but there are Ananda centers that are
smaller in a lot of cities, with Yogananda being the main teacher in
that lineage. There's one here in Santa Rosa where a few dozen people
get together. There's Sunday services and a monthly kirtan. I was
drawn to this music just as you were, but you studied a lot more
extensively. So after studying with Ali Akbar you went to India and
lived there for a while?
Jai:
I've been back and forth to India many times. The longest I stayed on
one trip was seven months.
The
Share Guide: On one of
your first
trips you studied and played with the Bauls [pronounced
Bowls], didn't you?
Jai:
Yes, I think that was my second trip there. I lived in West Bengal
for a while with the Bauls and that was an amazing time.
The
Share Guide: Aren't they
known for their vocal music?
Jai:
Vocal and instrumental. They play a lot of instruments, but it's
mainly to support the vocals. It's an amazing and very devotional
style. Their songs are geared to pierce the heavens in a sense, and
take their souls along with the music.
The
Share Guide: Similar to
Persian music?
Jai:
Yes, except it's not as dignified. They dance, they sing--the word
Baul means madman.
The
Share Guide: In that
music it seems sometimes that people are just wailing. It
could even be the blues! They get into the feeling without even
bothering with words.
Jai:
They stretch out words a lot so that it could almost sound like there
are no words, but usually there is a text that they are singing. I
love the Bauls. I love being with them. I learned so much from them.
On my first trip to India, I was a with a teacher named Neem Karoli
Baba. He's not a music teacher, just a spiritual being, who is my
guru. He really changed the direction of my life.
The
Share Guide: He is well
known from Ram Dass, Krishna Das and Bhagavan Das. So Neem
Karoli Baba was influential with several artists we hear a lot in the
West, including yourself.
Jai:
Yes, it's true. Being with him on my first trip to India, I heard a
lot of kirtan. Prior to going to India the first time, I'd heard
mainly classical Indian music, because in the U.S. that was what was
available.
The
Share Guide: Like Ravi
Shankar and
Ali Akbar Khan?
Jai:
Right. I had already been studying with Ali Akbar Khan for about two
years. By going to India I got exposed to other things, like the
devotional songs, the kirtan and street music.
The
Share Guide: How are you
able to apply the spiritual aspect of your work with your
fellow musicians and with the general public, your listeners? You
seem to have a team spirit with the band, working toward the
spiritual expression.
Jai:
I think that just by being as true to my heart as I am able, the
spiritual elements get across. I sometimes question things and go up
and down with that. I struggle just like all of us.
The
Share Guide: With the
Pagan Love Orchestra, the group of musicians you work with,
it seems you have drawn together musicians with a similar goal. They
must all like chanting or they wouldn't be interested?
Jai:
Exactly. There are many different musicians that work with me at the
kirtans also.
The
Share Guide: When you
approach a performance with a larger audience, whether it's
the Health and Harmony Festival or some other big concert--as opposed
to doing a kirtan at a yoga center where they are familiar with this
kind of music--do you do anything differently, or do you think the
music speaks for itself? Do you have to adjust the line up of songs
at all?
Jai:
I have to trust that the intention and the music will speak for
itself. I do sometimes adjust songs a little to what's appropriate.
For instance, at an outdoor festival I won't do too many slow songs.
It's not really a spiritual adjustment, it's more in relation to
ambiance. Sometimes, if I feel like it's a more judgmental audience,
I get a little nervous and a little more self-conscious and I try to
overcome that, but that can also happen at yoga studios because of my
own inner demons.
The
Share Guide: Would you
say that there's a goal with your music? I guess every
musician wants to please their audience, but you are trying to do
more than get people to shake their booty.
Jai:
The goal is to open my own heart, to heal my own wounds and reach for
God. I would say it's inner directed. It's great when everything
comes together and everyone is doing that together, but I am
certainly not trying to convert the audience. I want everybody to
enjoy the music and have a good time, but those are only secondary
intentions. The real intention is the soul work that I am doing for
my own journey.
The
Share Guide: Right. Open
your heart and shake your booty at the same time! If you
are in a good space, then it all radiates out.
Jai:
Yes, then it all works. Generally speaking, you don't have a great
experience onstage if the audience is having a terrible experience.
There can be exceptions, but generally that is the way it works.
The
Share Guide: I'd like to
end with a quote that is on your website. "World music is
music from everywhere: music that creates bridges, music that unites
hearts and cultures, music that brings peace." I like that a lot.
Jai:
Yes, I like that a lot too.
For more information about Jai Uttal, visit www.jaiuttal.com.
You'll find out more about the instruments he uses, the discography,
his upcoming appearances and more.
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