The Tamil Jazz Collective Is Bringing Carnatic Influences To Classic Jazz Standards

Jazz music was born out of cultural fusion. The genre is ever-changing, shapeshifting through form and several subgenres, but its origins can be traced to New Orleans, Louisiana, at the turn of the 19th century. In the melting pot that was New Orleans, West African, Creole, French, and other European traditions mingled. Black musicians innovated European folk styles with the rhythms of their distinct West African tribal cultures, resulting in the seed of jazz music as we understand it today.

The Tamil Jazz Collective continues this tradition today by infusing jazz standards with pieces of their cultural heritage. Founded by singer, songwriter, and music educator Harini Iyer, the Tamil Jazz Collective injects English jazz songs with distinct Carnatic influences. In doing so, they've carved a particularly unique space for themselves.

Iyer performs alongside Sahib Singh and Shylu Ravindran, both of whom are renowned as the innovative instrumentalists and creative forces behind the Carnatic fusion band, Jatayu. The group embraces the open-minded, experimental ethos of jazz, welcoming a rotating group musicians and local artists to perform by their side as they tour the country.

“The Tamil language’s phonetic and rhythmic qualities blend beautifully with Jazz’s harmonic structures, creating a fresh approach to both genres.”

Harini Iyer

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Iyer was originally trained in Carnatic music and went on to spend two years studying jazz under vocalist and Berklee professor Lisa Thorson. The Tamil Jazz Collective is the culmination of her musical interests, as she said the concept “emerged from [her] fascination with an array of new melodic possibilities of native languages.” She first grew interested in fusing the two genres in 2014, even before she had received formal jazz training. Her first venture in Carnatic jazz started then, as she found a New York-based artist experimenting with the sound on Soundcloud. “I went on to start a duo with her and we called ourselves the Harmonic Flaneurs,” she reminisced. “Fast forward 10 years later and I started my dream project.”

The Tamil Jazz Collective is an exploration of artistic boundaries and identity. The group recently gained traction for their reinterpretation of ‘Take Five’ by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. As the highest-selling jazz song of all time, ‘Take Five’ is a piece of jazz history. The Tamil Jazz Collective’s rendition maintains the melodies and general rhythm that make ‘Take Five’ iconic while reimagining its instrumental components through a Tamil cultural lens. They use a mringdam in lieu of a drum set, and Iyer’s voice in place of the saxophone that threads through the original. It’s like the Tamil Jazz Collective is using different parts to build the same whole, allowing themselves to explore and experiment while still remaining faithful to the original. For Iyer, this bridging of two worlds is an exercise in creative and self exploration, as she told us, “I would like to understand both these art forms to help me find my roots whilst also moving forward into a new world of creativity and expression.”