Jhaveri Concert a Tapestry of Global Sound

Indian singer Shweta Jhaveri’s concert at the Skirball Center on Friday was an impressive transformation of the concept of world music fusion. There have been plenty of shotgun marriages between Indian classical music and American pop and jazz in the past, but Jhaveri opted instead for a musical love affair, for a coming together without precondition.

The program was largely devoted to selections from Jhaveri’s new album, “Anahita,” performed with the same musical associates: Jenny Scheinman, violin, Will Bernard, guitar, Bill Douglass, bass, and Kim Kassis, drums. The pieces, all originals, were largely in the khayal style--somewhat lighter and more romantic than the more austere dhrupad .

However, by including what was essentially a Western ensemble, accompanying for the most part in groove-tinged 4/4 rather than the more complex Indian talas , or rhythm sequences, the music emerged as a seamless tapestry.

Above it, floating with extraordinary ease, Jhaveri’s brilliant vocalizing was a mesmerizing musical presence. She opened up her virtuosity in the program’s second half, her precise musical lines escalating through a maze of melismas.

Scheinman’s violin added long, sweeping counter melodies, while Bernard, Douglas and Kassis provided buoyant support via rhythm energized by the propulsive feeling of jazz swing.