The sound of Mumbai

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On an early August evening, a sinuoussitar melody drifted over the tandoori andsamosas at Mumbai Indian Restaurant.

You could almost smell the incense. Andthey call this Jazz Thursday?

Ah, but this was only an interlude. Guitarist Elden Kelly knows his jazz insideand out, but for now he was building aserene Indian raga in honor ofMumbai owner Paddy Rawal,who finally stopped bustlingabout and stood still to listen.

But earthly pleasures arefleeting. Suddenly, a table ofoblivious revelers broke into“Happy Birthday.”

This called for meta-improvisation.Without lookingup, Kelly expertly smeared“Happy Birthday” into theSouth Indian idiom. The microtones hintedat half-birthdays and non-Western philosophiesof aging.

“I’ve been in that situation before,” Kellysaid later. “Luckily, they sang right in key.”

Kelly, a recent Michigan State Universityjazz grad originally from Richmond, Vt., isa leading light in a recent wave of MSU studentand alumni jazz performances all overtown, spearheaded by a string of popularThursday jazz nights at Mumbai.

This Thursday, MSU alum Jeff Shoupwill set up his drum kit and welcome organissimokeyboardist Jim Alfredson.

A month ago, Kelly’s jazz trio jammedMumbai until there was no room left tostand. The next week, he returned for a soloset, and the next he came back again, thistime with MSU vocalist Tamara Mayers.

Rawal, who is alsoMumbai’s master chef, grewup as a jazz fan in Mumbai,India. Among his favoriteswere guitarists Larry Coryelland John McLaughlin. Nowonder he brought Kellyback so many times.

When Rawal openedMumbai in September 2009,he wanted music from thestart, but he knew it would behard to find sitar and tabla players to playlive Indian music.

Serendipity solved the problem onthe night of June 17, when his restaurantwas invaded by a gang of stars from EastLansing’s Summer Solstice Jazz Festival,including bigger-than-life MSU saxmanWessell “Warmdaddy” Anderson, primedand ready for an afterglow.

Rawal loved the impromptu jam somuch he built a stage next to his front window.Local booking agent Candice Wilmorehelped him launch a jazz series.

For Rawal, the venture sounds a bit likeblending “Happy Birthday” into a SouthIndian raga.

“That’s how most things begin, right?”Rawal said. “They fall into your lap unexpectedly.All you have to do is keep anopen mind and let it breathe.”

As July and August unfolded,Mumbai added to its word-of-mouthfame as a top-notch restaurant withanother reputation as a jazz haven.

Despite his transparent, tender performingstyle, Kelly took the occasionalcell phone chime and loud talker instride. “People were clapping — that’sway more than you can expect at a restaurant,”Kelly said. “I’m honored toplay for any audience that’s listening.”

Kelly sings in a sweet, high tenorand plays a chameleon-like Glissentar(rhymes with “centaur”), a fretless guitarthat can sound like an Indian sitar,sarod or Middle Eastern oud.

He meandered from the Ganges to Deltablues, bluegrass, flamenco and a folk idiomso heartfelt it bordered on the devotional.

“I’m into improvisation from around theworld,” he said.As Kelly floated into his second set, retireeDave Cheyne of Haslett dove into a dishof salmon tikka.

Cheyne is part of a growingband of groupies who follow the MSUstudents and profs wherever they play.

“People don’t realize how great their music is,” he said. “They stick their nose up at a student event, but I know the kids.”

The Tuesday before Kelly’s set, Cheyne heard trumpeter and MSU grad David McWilliams run through a generous set of standards at Gone Wired Caf, where jazz rules on Tuesdays.

“I have a lot of talented friends who need a place to play,” Kelly said.

With Lansing’s jazz groupies newly organized this summer, the local jazz scene may be set to jell in earnest. Cheyne said the 5-month-old Jazz Alliance of Mid- Michigan already has an e-mail list of 2,000.

“We’re getting the word out, and I expect the crowd to increase in the fall,” he said.

Claudia Holzman, an MSU epidemiology professor, is a longtime regular at Mumbai, but this was her first jazz night. She went up to Kelly and got his card after the second set.

“I thought he had a terrific voice and a lot of musicality,” Holzman said. “I’d like to bring other people to hear him, wherever he is.”

Jazz Thursdays at Mumbai, 340 Albert Avenue, East Lansing. 7 p.m.-10 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 26: Jeff Shoup, drums, with special guest Jim Alfredson (313) 355-CHAI www.mumbaicuisine.com

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