Charu Suri Promises New Orleans Jazz Spirit at Upcoming India Concerts

After releasing her 2023 album Rags & Ragas, jazz-fusion composer and pianist Charu Suri returns to India this week and she’s bringing a friend – American drummer Joe Lastie, best known for his work in the Preservation Hall band.

With shows at mainstay venue The Piano Man Jazz Club in New Delhi on July 19 and at The Piano Man, Eldeco Center on July 21, Suri, Lastie, vocalist Sharmi Surianarain (Suri’s sister) and bassist Shashank Das are also heading to Goa on July 24 and close with a performance at The Royal Opera House in Mumbai on July 26.

The tour – promoted by the company Quriosity – aims to bring the spirit of New Orleans jazz to the front, something that Suri says she’s dreamed of doing. “Preservation Hall and New Orleans in particular is the city that started my jazz journey. I grew up playing polished pieces for piano and the concert hall and when I went to New Orleans I fell in love with its rawness,” she says. While Lastie is behind the kit for his first ever shows in India, Suri also refers to him as a mentor who taught her the essence of New Orleans jazz. “I wanted to bring that style of jazz to India, and in turn I wanted Joe to hear ragas and India’s jazz and Indian music right at the source,” Suri adds.

Lastie, after all, has experienced plenty of these Indo-jazz fusion experiments in the studio as drummer for Suri’s previous albums Rags & Ragas and Ragas & Waltzes. The pianist says her drummer has an “incredibly open mind” when it comes to learning Indian beat cycles and even learned to play tabla rhythms on the drums. She adds, “I’m preparing his mindset and it will be wonderful to see how he reacts to the country for the first time, and the crowd. They’re going to love him.”

The repertoire at Suri’s upcoming India shows includes New Orleans jazz classics including “Louisiana Fairytale,” “Basin Street Blues” and “Back Home In New Orleans” in addition to her albums.

Outside of the performances, Suri is also headed to Goa Jazz Academy for a masterclass on campus on July 23, a day before her band’s concert in Goa. She hopes there’s enough time to catch her breath, do some sightseeing and spend time with family.

Once the tour is done, Suri goes back to working on her next album, a “raga-based new age” record. With several artists slated to be part of the project, Canadian Grammy-winning guitarist Jim Kimo West (who also performs with comedian Weird Al Yankovic) will feature on the first single off the full-length.

Back in New Orleans, Suri is planning a raga jazz show at Preservation Hall, a first for them, which is slated to take place around Nov. 3 to coincide with Diwali celebrations. Then, there are shows in Italy, Washington D.C., Denver, Sedona, the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles between September and November this year. “Plus, NJ Symphony will play my ragas twice this summer for string quartet. Never a dull moment. I am beyond grateful,” Suri adds.

Get tickets for Charu Suri’s India tour here.