Aki Kumar

God Bless The USA

Little Village Foundation

Akarsha “Aki” Kumar was born in 1980 in Mumbai, India. His father exposed him to a broad range of sounds from rock n’ roll and pop to Bollywood film scores and Indian classical music. In his youth he studied both keyboards and tabla, and  acquired his first harmonica from his father. He listening to “everything from Bach  to John Denver, from Stevie Wonder to the Police”. Kumar moved to the US in 1998 to study computer science and attended San Jose State University. Kumar discovered the blues by visiting nightclubs and bars in the Bay Area. He went to  work at Adobe, but turned to music full-time after Adobe eliminated his department and laid him off in 2013. Kumar’s harmonica playing is rooted in the style invented by Little Walter, but his style is eclectic. Kumar played regularly in the band “Tip of  the Top” before launching a solo career. Kumar blends melodies from Hindi movies and Indian classical music with American Blues, a fusion he calls “Bollywood blues”. Kumar recorded his first solo album in 2009, this is his tenth album overall and  fourth for The Little Village Foundation.

The ensemble includes Kumar on harmonica, lead vocals, backing vocals, and  percussion; Bob Welsh , guitar, piano, and backing vocals; Randy Bermudes,  bass, and backing vocals; June Core, drums and backing vocals, Rome Yamilov, guitar and backing vocals; Pete Fazzini, guitar and backing vocals; Kedar Roy, upright bass; Tony Stead, organ; Vicki Randle, congas and tambourine; Jim Santi Owen, tabla and khanjira; Will Marsh, sitar; Jack Sanford, sax; and Julia JD  backing vocals, and harmony. The album was recorded and mixed by Kumar at  his Alt-Brown Studio in San Jose, Ca.

“Should I Stay” is a cover of a 1982 song from The Clash “should I stay or should  I go now, if I go there will be trouble, if I stay there will be trouble, should I stay or should I go”. “A Plea To Be Free” is a funky original, “free me now…let freedom  ring, set me free where I stand”, with piano from Welsh and harmony from Julia JD.

“I Just Want To Make Love To You” was written by Willie Dixon and first performed  by Muddy Waters in 1954, it was covered by The Rolling Stones in 1964 “I don’t  want you to be true, I just want to make love to you” with more great harp from  Kumar. “Jarvos Woman”, “I sat up all night, I waited too long, I hope you  understand”, with Owen on tabla, and piano from Welsch. “Desi Strut” is a cover of a Meters instrumental, again with Owen on tabla. “Time Will Tell” is a beautiful ballad, “well you know that I’ll miss you” as it turns into a narrative in two languages, with Bermudes on bass, and June Core playing drums.

On “Thoughts And Prayers” Kumar cries “I sent a letter to the President the other day”. “God Bless The USA” features the lyric “you don’t care when you are dead… don’t be measured by your money’s worth…the meek shall inherit the earth, that’s what the phophets day, God bless the USA”. “It Is What It Is”, “but it’s hard times  just begun…should have made hay when the sun shines, and saved for a rainy day” as harp ace Kumar hits those high notes. “Man Of Constant Sorrow” was  originally written and performed by the Stanley Brothers bluegrass band in 1950,  “I’ve seen trouble all my days, I bid farewell to old Kentucky, a place where I was born and raised”, as all the backing vocalists join in.

“Hard To Get” includes a funky beat from June Core, “your playing hard to get… yeah, yeah, yeah, your playing hard to get just the same”. “Save A Bread” is a ska styled song first recorded in 1967, by Justin Hinds And The Dominoes, “what  makes the world go round and round, you’ll never know”, with organ from Stead. The closer is a jazzy instrumental  with Welsh on piano and more great harp from Kumar.

With Blues Music there is an age old conflict between tradition and innovation. On “God Bless The USA” Kumar appeases both sides. It’s refreshing that there’s a  new look for our trying times.

Richard Ludmerer
Contributing Editor/Making A Scene

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