In a unique collaboration, legendary Dutch saxophonist Yuri Honing blended his soulful notes with strong vocals of folk singer Sumitra Das Goswami. He chats with K Bhardwaj about his experience in India and forthcoming album Desire
There’s hardly any country where Dutch jazz saxophonist Yuri Honing has not performed. “Oh yes! There is one. North Korea!” he quips as we wonder how amazing it is to have performed in over 70 countries. The tall and handsome musician can easily charm you with his deep baritone and perceptive personality which is almost equivalent to the depth and intensity of his musical notes. “Music has no boundary. It has a soul,” he declares posing comfortably on a couch in the green room after delivering a ‘magical’ performance at RIFF. He collaborated with folk singer Sumitra Das Goswami, who belongs to Kamad community of Rajasthan. Sumitra and Honing first performed together in 2008 in Netherlands. “She is amazing and has a strong voice. What is common between us is that we both perform from heart,” he says.
Honing is acknowledged and regarded for breaking all the boundaries in the world of jazz and experimenting fearlessly. At RIFF, he likes the scope for improvisation. “Sumitra and I rehearsed for one and a half hours. So it was quite instinctive. I have performed with numerous groups but this is my favourite so far. We understand each other’s music so we know the potential of flexibility. This time, I kept the structure of notes flexible to suit Sumitra's vocals,” he says. Honing had his acoustic quartet and also introduced piano at RIFF stage for the first time.
He has been to India before and has performed in Mumbai. He finds India an unpredictable land. “You can love it or hate it. I have always had a weak spot for India. When I first came to Mumbai, I couldn’t sleep only. The city has so much of energy. It’s like Sau Paulo,” he smiles. The saxophonist will be back in November on a multi-city tour. Meanwhile, he will arrange “stuff” for his new album. “I will start working on an album called Desire. It’s about all kinds of desires of all kinds of people. We crave for silence, sex, wealth, death, life, security, adventure, challenges and what not. So my music will reflect will reflect all these ideas,” he informs. For over 35 years, his sense of musical structures and melodies has added extra tension and depth to his compositions. “There are structures in music. For me, music is like a sculpture. It’s three dimensional. You walk around it, cross and feel it,” he says. Honing is also teaching a bunch of young musicians. He is surprised to see their enthusiasm and how they memorise his compositions before concerts. “I play with a lot of young people in my shows. They ask me to play anything I wish as they have memorised almost all compositions. I really think what makes them interested in old tracks. But that’s how we all learn. I hear their kind of music and also play old stuff for them,” he says.