Last night I went to record kirtan with Dave Stringer at Kula in Santa Monica. For the uninitiated, kirtan is a form of call-response chanting of sanskrit mantras. It's roots go back 500 years to Renaissance India. The chants are both led and accompanied by musicians and singers with traditional raga instruments. Each chant begins at a slow tempo and accelerates into a rhythmic locomotive and accompanying ecstatic state. It's not unlike a great gospel experience.
I was introduced to Dave Stringer's work by my friend Mark Gorman who often plays bass with him. He wasn't there last night because he is on tour with Krisha Das. They happened to be recording a CD of the evening and although the logistics and constraints of capturing sound inhibited the pacing of ecstasy, it was a privilege to participate and offered and opportunity for performer and audience (a distinction blurred anyway in kirtan) to connect on an alternate level.
One of the evenings best surprises was my introduction to a woman who I have heard about. Her name is CC White and she has an auspicious musical career. Though Dave was the star of the show, she sat at the apex of the line-up. In her brilliant red turban and her warm presence, she was the soft sweet center of a chocolate covered cherry. If Dave was the brain, and the drummer was the bones, CC was the heart. Her beautiful voice added a rich, sensual undercurrent — a subtle femininity. And though every person in the room last night felt the rhythm pulsing through their body, it seemed to originate in CC. She seemed a font of luscious, creative life-force.
The word Shakti comes from the Sanskrit shak — "to be able". It is the sacred and primordial creative force, the mother goddess, the source of all. She's that deep earthy energy that makes you at once become lanquid and energized. Acutely aware of existence yet consciously on the brink of transformation. No more exciting place to be, really.
After the show I had the opportunity to hang with CC for a while. There was a small group of us basking in the sensual energy of the evening. In her I recognized what I love about my favorite women — a combination of strength, softness, confidence, vulnerability, sagacity and authenticity. She is the kind of woman who makes me proud to be her sister. Thanks, CC for the gifts you bring.
Namaste.
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