Introduction to the
artist
Ariel Kalma (French-born)
started playing flute at age 9 and saxophone at 15. In his twenties he
was touring the world, visiting Asia, Africa, Japan, Canada and Europe,
always listening to, sometimes playing with, the music and the people:
different scales, colours of sound, timing and rhythms. He likes to experiment
with music, like playing two recorders at the same time, and to mix traditional
instruments with modern arrangements. Ariel has published several LP's,
cassettes and CD's. His compositions have been used for film music, modern
dance theatre, poetry, transformational groups and compilation albums
in France, throughout Europe, the US and Australia..
A
musician of the world
by Ariel Kalma
Music is in my blood. I
love to mix various instruments and elements of different cultures in
my compositions. For me music is a language without boundaries, a meeting
of souls, melodies and rhythms. Let me tell you about two magical meetings
in my life:
- The Indian Snake
Charmer
In India I once watched
a snake charmer playing for his cobras. His cheeks were like balloons
filling in and out, and the music of his peculiar flute never stopped
one second! When he closed his snake basket, I asked if he could teach
me how to do the non-stop circular breathing.
He burst out laughing,
showing his missing teeth! "You have money for me?" he took some Rupias
from my hand. "Wait here", he said, disappeared and came back with
two glasses: one filled with brandy, the other with water. "Drink first,
then you learn!" he said, handing me the brandy, and insisted that I drink
it all at once. I immediately felt the effect of the liquor.
He put the glass with water
in my hand and a straw in the other. "You make bubble, and never stop".
He had a smile in his old eyes. For the next twenty minutes, I endured
my spinning head and the constant push of his voice telling me there was
no air except in the straw, or that the cobras would bite me if I stopped...
I finally collapsed on
the ground. "Good, Sahib!" he said, "now you know", and disappeared into
the night. - This technique opened up a new dimension to my saxophone
playing.
-
Visit by an American Indian Spirit
Some years ago I wanted
to get in touch with the American Indian spirit, so I recorded drums with
a half-Cheyenne friend (Stefen Be) on Maui, Hawaii. We wished to include
original Indian language, but where to find it? Well, just a few days
later, an Indian Cree literally knocked at my door (for some business
matter). I asked him to listen to our drum track, and to tell me if we
were in the right spirit.
"Good", he said, "I could
hear some chants". That was exactly what I had imagined. "I am doing ceremonies
with drumming, where I chant in Cree language", he said. I could not believe
my luck! The next day we recorded the words of the music title "Thank
you Creator", both in Cree and English, an ode to our ancestors.
CDs
by Ariel Kalma:
Listen to sound clips of each track and purchase
with our secure online system.
Gourmet Sax - featuring the saxophone <<<
>>> Flute
for the Soul - featuring a variety of flutes
