Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 23 (IANS) The tall dark African servitor from Congo spreads the gospel of Hindu god Krishna on the east coast of Africa with a saxophone, guitar and jazz.
“Hare Rama, Hare Krishna, Rama Rama, Hare Hare…”, his gentle baritone fills the air as he plucks a plaintive riff — in the American bluegrass tradition — on his guitar.

The bhajan takes on a blues type note. And the crowd cheers.

Meet Dialopatey, the 54-year-old jazz saxophonist and guitarist from the Democratic Republic of Congo who is in Vrindavan recording an album with his multi-ethnic devotional band “Vrajabadhu”.

“It is a religious fusion soul-jazz and funk rock band featuring the violin, guitar, drums, saxophone, harmonium and the mridangam. We combine Afro-American music with the Indian kirtan in braj bhasa and Sanskrit. The band was born in Hungary before coming to India and roping in local musicians,” Atey told IANS during a visit to New Delhi.

“Our music is inspired by karma, Krishna consciousness and the yuga dharma of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,” the musician said.

The six-member band performed here Dec 2, 2009 to a packed hall of 45,000 people, Atey said.

Atay shot to fame in Europe in the late 1970s after the king of reggae Bob Marley spotted him at a concert. Marley deputed his manager to take Atey, also known as Swami Nruhari, to audiences across Europe.

He later joined the Congolese jazz pianist Ray Lema’s band and toured the jazz festival circuit for 15 years before a chance encounter with the “lord’s words at an Indian eatery in Paris” changed his life.

“There was this picture of Lord Krishna and a leaflet that bore his words from the Bhagwad Gita. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Earlier, I believed in Jesus Christ but Krishna’s words captured my heart. One of the reasons why I was attracted to Krishna consciousness was because I was making Afro-American music, which preached non-violence. And his words were profound. I was also in love with everything Indian - food, culture and music,” Atey told IANS.

His journey from a Catholic Christian family in Kinshasa, the capital of Congo, has been a long one.

“My family was associated with the church. I grew up in a boarding school near Kinshasa and started playing the saxophone in the school brass band at the age of 10. After school, I studied art, music and drama and decided to become a musician,” Atey said. He migrated to Europe in the late 1970s.

The Hindi movies that Atey saw in Africa as a child fanned his fascination with Indian music. “It was easy to identify with Indian religious sensibilities,” he said.

In the 1990s, Atey put together a mixed jazz ensemble, 12-member Jagannath Band, in London which played kirtans from the Braj Bhumi in Afro-American and rock’n'roll style.

“We played at Hindu temples in Paris, Britain and East Africa. The band survived for five years and I learnt to sing Krishna hymns in five different languages,” Atey said.