Like most of us, Ed ‘Tenderlonious’ Cawthorne has had to overcome troubles in life. Music however has always been a guiding light leading him onto the right path. It was whilst in his darkest place that he taught himself to play the soprano saxophone; bringing much needed focus and discipline back into his life. Much like his musical heroes John Coltrane and Yusef Lateef – who were both inspired by eastern spiritualism and the deep tradition of Indian classical music – Ed has always been searching for something different and much deeper. The seeds for a young Tender to embark on this musical path were planted during his father’s secondments to the East as a Ghurkha Officer. However it was after hearing the North Indian Classical flautist Ronu Majumdar’s ‘Raga Mangal Bhairav’ that Tender knew this was a musical style that he had to explore.
‘Impressions’ is a pure raga (Raga Ba Khizer), the taala (rhythmic cycle) is Ektaal (12 beat cycle). It is similar to the raga that Tender first heard Ronu Majumdar play. This beautiful scale, that Tender would often practice back home, becomes the musical framework for rich improvisations. Joined by Zohaib Hassan Khan on the stringed instrument called sarangi – Zohaib is a 7th generation sarangi maestro and one of only 5 professional sarangi players left in Pakistan practicing this ancient art form. Kashif Ali Dhani provides the stunning backdrop on tabla, weaving in and out of complex rhythmic patterns. ‘Kirwani’ is composed by Dhani and is based on a raga that resembles the harmonic minor scale in western music, whilst ‘Shalamar Gardens’ provides a peaceful moment for reflection with Tender on soprano sax and Dhani on vocals.
