George Howlett – musician & writer
Articles | Recordings | Lessons
raga: ‘to colour the mind’
George Howlett is a London-based musician and writer. I play guitar, tabla drums, and santoor (Himalayan dulcimer), and write about topics loosely related to jazz, rhythm, and global improvised music. Currently mixing up some jazz, jungle, and Hindustani classical for a forthcoming Rāga Junglism EP while teaching, writing, and playing locally. Hit me up to hire me or collaborate! george@ragajunglism.org
Recent Projects
- Living Traditions: 21 articles for 21st-century Indian classical music – in-depth collection exploring how music with ancient roots is adapting to a modern, interconnected world [Darbar]
- Guitar tuning in fine detail: the ‘impatient meditation’ – devising a fresh approach that also enhances dexterity, ear strength, cognitive focus, and fretboard awareness [Guitar World]
- No Kanjira (with Jesse Bannister) – musical collaboration with the Indo-jazz sax master: microtonal loops, chopped improv melodies, and deep-toned, broken tabla [above]
Selected Articles – more here
- Ustad Shahid Parvez: ‘What you play spontaneously should be perfect’ – discussing intuition, bounded innovation, and hyper-discipline with the world’s leading sitarist [Darbar]
- What is it about drummers? Rock mythology vs. tales of the tabla – why have disparate societies of the East and West built such similar stereotypes around their percussionists? [RJ]
- Curious cultural interchange: Indian music in Bristol – anatomy of a fascinating, scattered micro-scene, featuring jazz-funk jams, temple chants, and apocalyptic prophecies [The Wire]
Selected Lessons – more here
- West African rhythmic ideas for the fretboard – reworking Ghanaian polyrhythms and Malian kora music, and learning about the people and cultures that created them [Guitar World]
- Jazz walking basslines: making them really groove – turning to the low end for harmonic and melodic inspiration, and adapting some ‘bassistic’ inflections [Guitar World]
- ‘Alankar’: Indian melodic ornamentation – learning some of India’s unique ‘singing’ bends, slides, vibratos, and legatos, and examining the guitar’s physical limits [MusicRadar]
- Teaching, masterclasses, session work – lessons and more
- Musical CV | Writing CV | Full List – current & past work
- Listen to my guru – Pandit Shivnath Mishra of Benares
- george@ragajunglism.org – get in touch
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