It was deja vu, all over again.
It happened while watching Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
More specifically, when Fallon was writing his "thank you notes," accompanied by keyboardist James Poyser.
Poyser, a member of the Roots house band, typically is shown during the shtick looking into the camera with haunting eyes capable of melting icebergs.
Wham. Images of 60-plus years ago flooded forth with memories of a turbaned organist from India mesmerizing Southern California television viewers with exotic music and piercing gazes at the camera.
Korla Pandit starred in a 15-minute daily program that drew thousands, perhaps millions, of viewers for two or three years.
Nevermind that Pandit's real name was Roland Redd and that he--like Poyser--was African-American, not a Hindu mystic from the "jewel of the crown."
Duh. His studio was in La-La Land, the pinnacle of make-believe. (7 JULY 2013)
