Jai Uttal - Biography
By Nick Castro
Jai Uttal has straddled the lines between world fusion and new age for quite some time now. He has become both the guiding voice for fans, and the poison to traditionalism that many world music purists cling to with dear life. Whatever one thinks of him, Uttal has garnered much attention and lauded praise from the music industry and his fans. From yoga studios to dance clubs, Uttal has made music that defies labels and traditions.
Uttal began his career as a street musician. He began in his native New York City, but soon was traveling with his first group, Pagan Love Orchestra, which was deeply rooted in the rock and soul music he was exposed to in the city, as well as by the Indian classical music that he had discovered, and loved so much. Before Uttal had turned 20, he let his wanderlust lead him westward, to California. There he sought out Indian music wherever he could find it. His search led him to the famous sarod player, Ali Akbar Khan, who took the young Uttal under his wing, and it was here that Uttal began his musical tutelage. Uttal too began to pick up the sarod, as well as learn the traditional singing styles of northern India. This fascination grew in intensity, as did Uttal's roving spirit, which soon took him India. It was during this journey that Uttal began to take yoga seriously, and he assumed proper study under Neem Karoli Baba, who was also known as Maharaj-ji to his disciples, which included musician Khrishna Das. Through his interactions with Das and Baba, Uttal became fascinated by the spiritual music of the Bauls of Bengal, who, like himself in his youth, travelled the streets playing to passer-bys. For a while, Uttal joined a pack of traveling Baul musicians, and learned as much as he could about their music and way of life.
Uttal released his first record in 1990, called Footprints (1990 - Triloka), under the name Jai Uttal & the Pagan Love Orchestra. This record saw Uttal mixing the knowledge he had gained through his studies in India music with his love of American jazz. He is joined by famed jazz trumpet player, Don Cherry. The results are excellent, and at times, even psychedelic. Many people who overly criticize Uttal's more electronic and programmed albums, would be well served to listen to this debut disc with an open mind and open ear. The album is nearly all instrumental, with only some small vocal touches.
Uttal's next outing saw the release of Monkey (1992 - Triloka), which although it harbors some very unfortunate cover art, is actually a logical extension of Uttal's first disc. Once again, Uttal handles the majority of the compositional duties, and he makes more of an appearance as a vocalist on this album. He is also joined by the leader of the group the Hieroglyphics Ensemble, multi-reed player, Peter Apfelbaum, who is also known for his work with Cherry, and who can heard on the songs, "Monkey", and, "The Hooded Serpent".
Uttal's next album, Beggars and Saints (1994 - Triloka), saw him make a major move towards electronics and sampling. Apfelbaum joins him again. This album did help Uttal to break into the yoga scene more than his previous efforts had. He followed this record with Shiva Station (1997 - Triloka), which saw Uttal incorporating funky rhythms, reminiscent of Sade at times, with his brand of Bengal singing. This time the production was handled by Bill Laswell, whose touch can heavily be heard across the board, and to fine effect.
In 2000, Uttal released his album Spirit Room (2000 - Triloka), which finds Uttal singing the opening track in English, and times sounding like an Indian Bono. He is again joined by Cherry as well as singer Lakshmi Shanker. That same year saw the release of the album, Nectar: Live Kurtan & Pagan Remixes (2000 - Etherean Music). This album is a mix of live recordings made of Uttal leading his class at a yoga school, as well as remixes done by Ben Leinbach. The closing track on the album even strays into 60's psychedelia, eerily reminiscent of the Beatles.
Uttal has also released the albums, Mondo Rama (2001 - Narada), and, Kirtan: The Art and Practice of Ecstatic Chant (2994 - Sounds True). The former album see Uttal following the same path as his previous efforts, but he wheres his 60's influence on his sleeve, as he even covers the Beatles song "Tomorrow Never Knows", in medley with his own, "Shivaya", and makes heavy use of psychedelic synthesizers to make his point. The latter album is much more hypnotic and intended for use in the practice of Kirtan. The results are much more serene, and at times even stark, accompanied by little more than an acoustic guitar, as on the song, "Sita Ram".
Some of Uttal's newer works include Loveland/Music for Dreaming and Awakening (2006 - Gemini Sun) and Dial M for Mantra (2007 - Gemini Sun), both of which mark his relationship with the Gemini Sun label. Uttal's newest album is Thunder Love (2009 - RCA), which sees his move towards the mainstream as he signs with a major label. On this newest record he is still handling all of the composition but is concentrating more on his English lyric lyrics, but still holding onto his original Indian music influences.