Indian Skies

Glow of Benares is a collaborative studio album released on November 24, 2017, under the Dacapo label. The project merges North Indian classical music with contemporary jazz, featuring violinist Kala Ramnath, tabla player Abhijit Banerjee, trumpeter Adam Rapa, and the Aarhus Jazz Orchestra conducted by saxophonist Lars Møller. The album adopts a digital media format and explores cross-cultural improvisation within a large-ensemble setting.

The second track, Indian Skies, runs for 6 minutes and 44 seconds. The composition integrates Ramnath’s Carnatic-influenced violin phrasing with Banerjee’s rhythmic patterns on the tabla, while Rapa’s trumpet and Møller’s arrangements for the Aarhus Jazz Orchestra introduce harmonic and textural elements drawn from Western jazz traditions. The track exemplifies the album’s fusion approach, blending raga-based melodic development with orchestral jazz voicings. Specific recording locations or additional production details remain undocumented in available sources.

The album’s title references the city of Varanasi (Benares), a cultural and spiritual center in India, though the thematic or conceptual link to the music is not explicitly detailed in public records. Kala Ramnath contributed original compositions and improvisations, while Lars Møller arranged sections for the jazz orchestra. The collaboration marked a documented intersection between Indian classical soloists and a European big band, with Abhijit Banerjee and Adam Rapa bridging percussive and brass traditions respectively. No live performances or alternate versions of the tracks have been confirmed.