I just returned from a wild twelve day adventure to see the Great Lakes of Kashmir. In all my travels I have seldom experienced such vast and untouched beauty. What made this experience even more special was that I was completely disconnected. No devices, no watch and…. no music.

I have gone without connectivity before, but I have never been so disconnected from music. It was a grand experiment for me and it yielded some very interesting results. Rather unexpectedly, the music that I connected to most while in the wilderness was… jazz. I heard it everywhere.

At 12,000 feet above sea level, the mountains reflected brilliantly in the pellucid waters of Vishansar, a stunning glacial lake. Sitting on it’s shores in complete stillness, I spent hours observing the lake transform from a calm and inviting oasis into an undulating and almost eerie body of water. In Delarna, legendary jazz pianist Tommy Flanagan takes me on a similar journey from slow and steady to quick and hurried.

Vishansar and its sister lakes Kishansar and Gadsar fed endless roaring but unnamed rivers. These rivers were eventually reduced to burbling streams inviting a host of buzzing insects and stunning flowers of yellow, blue, violet, pink and red velvet. Julian Lage’s delicate plucking on the simple but soulful composition – Day & Age brings this picturesque scene back to life for me.

Walking through these seemingly endless and colourful meadows made me wish I was born in the 1950s, in time to witness the emergence of The Grateful Dead. Thankfully, bands like Circles Around the Sun keep the spirit of The Dead alive and Saturday’s Children is my alpine meadow song.

The nights were cold and dark but far from silent. Just like bitches brew, sheep and goats bleated away while bakarwals (sheepdogs) marked their presence by barking the night away. Midnight bathroom jaunts felt like war preparation – 3 layers – check, headlamp – check, trekking pole (to be used as a weapon) – check and spooky tune (Kaytranada’s Weight Off) – check.

Apart from the wildlife, the howling sounds of the wind crashing against the Himalayan mountains were a mainstay as was the patter of rain on my tent cover on most nights. Kamasi Washington embodies this frenzy perfectly in My Family.

At dawn the crickets and grasshoppers chirped and butterflies fluttered just like Art Pepper’s unwonted clarinet in Sometime. As soon as our guide Rana gave us the good news that the first four hours of hiking would be mostly steep ascents, the only tonic available to me was the bluesy-avant-groove-funky jams of MMW – Shine It.

It is extremely difficult to witness the distress faced by the people of Kashmir due to the political turbulence that dominates their daily lives. Each deal with it in their own way. Pictured above is one of our younger horseman wearing an “I am Kashmiri” t-shirt while a shepard just lays in the sun without a care in the world on top of a 14,000 foot mountain pass.

My breathing was heavier than usual at 14,000 feet above sea level. During ascents my heartbeat sounded like short thumps of a double bass (allegro furioso). While descending my entire body felt like it was being brushed like a snare drum. For the first time in my life I began to appreciate my body as an instrument.

I hope you enjoy this jam and it takes you any place…

1. Shine It – Medeski, Martin & Wood
2. Delarna – Tommy Flanagan
3. Day & Age – Julian Lage
4. I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plan – Bobby Hackett
5. Sometime (Alternate Take) – Art Pepper
6. Blues in the Night – Red Garland
7. You Do Something to Me – Sonny Rollins
8. Afternoon in Paris – Kenny Burrell
9. Weight Off (feat. BadBadNotGood) – Kaytranada
10. Silver’s Blue – Horace Silver
11. Saturday’s Children – Circles Around The Sun
12. Where or When – Wynton Marsalis
13. My Family – Kamasi Washington
14. Autumn Leaves – Cannonball Adderley

Playlists: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube