Max Clouth, a classical and fusion jazz guitarist from Germany recently conducted a Master Class with a musical twist for the students of Whistling Woods International. He performed a 75-minute jazz routine along with renowned drummer Adrian d’Souza from Mumbai and WWI faculty member and talented bass player, D Wood. They performed original compositions based on Western and Indian concepts, Jazz standards, as well as Blues and Latin pieces.
Max Clouth is a virtuoso guitarist with profound education in improvised music. He has played and composed for the rock band ‘KISMET’, which played at numerous concerts and received a nomination in an international band contest. Max graduated from Dresden University and has performed with various jazz, blues and rock artists. Inspired by Shakti, the influential indo-jazz ensemble of John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain, Max learnt about the Indian system of raga and tala with violinist Indradeep Ghosh. He has studied Indian classical music with Pandit Nayan Ghosh at Sangit Mahabharati Music School, Mumbai and also with sitarists HK Shah and Shamim Ahmed Khan.
Adrian d’Souza is quickly earning a reputation for being a versatile drummer on the New York jazz circuit. Born in Mumbai, he started his musical pursuits at the age of five, performing on national radio and television. He went on to take the drummer’s seat in the Louis Banks Quartet. He works with New York jazz vocalist Roseanna Vitro and guitarist Chieli Minucci of Special EFX. He also works with GlobalUnity and Interplay. He has performed with Al Jarreau, George Duke, Earl Klugh and Ravi Coltrane at the 2005 Vh1 Jazz Masters and has had successful performances in Slovenia with the ‘Maribor Philharmonic Orchestra’ featuring Roseanna Vitro. He was invited by the ‘World Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra and Big Band’ to perform in South Africa for the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development. Adrian is a member of the International Association of Jazz Educators (NY).
To the delight of the students, the three performers jammed together and created music spontaneously. They played their version of a few popular pieces by famous artists such as The White Stripes and Jimmy Hendrix. They also performed pieces written by Max himself, leaving the audience asking for more!
On being asked about his experience at WWI, Max said, “It was an interesting experience watching students at work and I had a lot of fun interacting with them. I believe that a universal approach is very important for learning, especially in an artistic field like film-making where students should have an impression of all aspects, including music.” Adrian was very happy to perform for WWI students and said, “WWI is a wonderful facility. The students were a fantastic audience – they were very interested in our music and were extremely enthusiastic.”
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