RENOWNED for her abundant rhythms and the legion of percussion instruments, the continent of Africa was responsible for introducing these musical elements to America as vehicles for the expression of jazz in the 40s, through West African percussion icons:

Guy Warren of Ghana who later became Kofi Ghanaba recorded two jazz albums — Emergent drums and Africa Speaks, America Answers on his own for Columbia Records even as he worked with Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and Max Roach; Nigeria’s Babatunde Olatunji’s cultural center in New York was the site of John Coltrane’s last public performance in May, 1967 even as he also recorded a number of albums; By 1960, Nigeria’s Solomon Ilori had recorded a couple of albums on the American Blue Note label.

Apparently because the likes of Lekan Babalola who has had stints with the singer, Cassandra Wilson and Aleke Kalonu who recorded an album with Wynton Marsalis in the 80s are not sustaining the tempo with professional consistency, India has since taken over with names like Badal Roy, Trilok Gurtu and Zakir Hassain actively dominating the American jazz scene.

On the face of it, the world of jazz and classical Indian music might be viewed as strange bedfellows. One is a 20th century bastard child of American culture, turned genius, and tolerant of rebellion. The other, centuries — old tradition with strict codes of conduct and respect for its own venerable heritage. And yet, Indian music has left its mark on the development of jazz, through the specific assimilation work of jazz musicians like John McLaughlin, Pharaoh Sanders, Henry Threadgill, Don Cherry, Charlie Mariano, and, by inspiration, John Coltrane among others. There is a basis of mutual admiration between the two cultures, which is based not only on the different specific musical elements of tonal and rhythm ideas, but on a deeper, more profound aspect: these are two of the most prominent music traditions in the world today which are grounded in improvisation.

It is true that Indian music has had less of a dialogue with jazz than the traditions of Africa, Cuba and Brazil. Over the years, jazz has met up with Indian music- especially percussionists – in the oddest places. Take, for instance, the Taste of India Restaurant in Greenwich Village, where Mc Laughlin used to sit in with a waiter/tabla player named Badal Roy. The young British guitarist, flown over by ex- Miles Davis drummer Tony Williams, asked Roy to play on his seminal album My Goals Beyond, and the rest is more or less history. Roy has since played with Miles Davis, Pharaoh Sanders and, on a more consistent basis, Ornette Coleman. These days, Roy is branching out on his own as well, releasing albums under his own established name.

Although not as virtuosic as Zakir Hussain or Trilok Gurtu, and without the same classical lineage, tabla player Badal Roy has been a prominent member of the tabla community. He has been appearing in the periphery of jazz, percolating from below, so to speak, for more than a quarter century now. Open the package of the Miles Davis album Dark Magus – one of the reissues of the electric era Miles albums – and there, a photograph of Roy, long, dark hair flowing in time with the band’s plugged in voodoo swing! Or maybe you’ve heard him in the linear thicket of Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time; the extra Western answer to Denardo Coleman’s drumming.

And now, Roy has released his own albums. The release of his first album One in the Pocket is a compilation of tracks from various other sessions in addition to new tracks recorded for this project with accomplished flutist Steve Gorn, bassist Mike Richmond, percussionist Glen Velez and Bob Haddad; one of the most impressive tracks  is Banjoist Jim Bowie. Roy also has a duet project with guitarist Amit Chetterjee and another album with the Brazilian guitar duo Duofel. With plans to collaborate with Steve Turre and others, Roy is into a new chapter of self expression and actualization

Born in Bangladesh, Roy arrived the U.S. in 1968, with the intention of doing graduate work in statistics, not with becoming the first tabla player to make a name in jazz. An avid tabla player, he waited tables in one New York Indian restaurant by day and played tabla by night at another.

A nimble guitarist whose name he did not know for six months, would show up and sit in and finally asked Roy to play on his album. Then the guitarist being John Mc Laughlin recorded My Goals beyond. “Later on,” Roy said, with a note of incredulity, “when the album came out, people were saying ‘Oh you did something with John McLaughlin?’ Then I realized that hey, this guy is a superstar.’ Right after that, he sat in with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. When he was touring with that band, I was with Miles Davis.”  Telling his own story in a nutshell, Roy said:

“I came here to do my Ph.D in statistics, specialising in demographics, and my hobby turned into a profession. I was never really trained as a tabla player. I got the basic instruction, about how to produce a sound, and the syllables, but I’m mostly self-taught. I got some lessons from Zakir Hussain’s father, Alla Rakha. At that time, he was touring with Ravi Shankar all the time.”

In a sense, Roy’s instinctual route to education may have helped to free his mind, and keep him open to new ideas. “As I was self – taught and was not bookish in learning, I was free to make mistakes – as I do all the time, I still do. Ornette tells me, get those drums and play some bad notes. Then when you come back to good notes, you’ll really appreciate them.”

Roy has been a musical compatriot in Coleman’s resurgence of the last few years, which has put him in some unusual situations. Apart from giving him the necessary exposure he needs to develop and forge ahead as a jazz man, Roy continues to enjoy the rare opportunity of being mentored by one of jazz’s musical giants.