The State of Jazz in India
Written by Narendra Kusnur
In January 2023, the prestigious Prithvi Theatre at Juhu, Mumbai, hosted a unique concert. Jazz group The Act, comprising pianist Arka Chakraborty, guitarist Prayaag Barooah, bassist Avishek Dey and drummer Arjun Chakraborty got together at 11 a.m. and played for an enthusiastic audience.
After the halt during the Pandemic, the jazz scene in India has seen a sudden spurt. The young talent that started making waves late in the previous decade has suddenly been getting more opportunities to perform. Newer venues like the BlueBop Café and NMACC in Mumbai, and Skinny Mo’s in Kolkata, have been regularly hosting jazz shows. Established spots like Piano Man in Delhi and NCPA in Mumbai have continued efforts to promote jazz. Piano Man even started its third branch, showing there is an audience for the genre.
Unlike most jazz concerts which are held in the evening, Jazz@Prithvi was meant to be a brunch-time show, played in an intimate setting without microphones. Presented by Louiz Banks and curated by Gino Banks, the event held on the fourth Sunday of every month also promised to showcase the numerous Indian youngsters playing jazz.
After the halt during the Pandemic, the jazz scene in India has seen a sudden spurt. The young talent that started making waves late in the previous decade has suddenly been getting more opportunities to perform.
Newer venues like the BlueBop Café and NMACC in Mumbai, and Skinny Mo’s in Kolkata, have been regularly hosting jazz shows. Established spots like Piano Man in Delhi and NCPA in Mumbai have continued efforts to promote jazz. Piano Man even started its third branch, showing there is an audience for the genre.
One has also heard a lot of variety. Besides popular styles like vocal jazz and jazz-rock fusion, one finds a lot of Indo-fusion and world music-inspired music.
Teenage geniuses like pianists Lydian Nadaswaram and Ishaan Leonard Rao, guitarist Shivin Shirodkar and saxophonist Harsh Bhavsar are making a mark.
Keyboardist and composer Louiz Banks, the best-known name in Indian jazz, says the number of youngsters playing jazz is phenomenal. “My sons Gino and Neil, and bassist Sheldon D’Silva keep recommending names, there are many promising artistes,” he says.
There are those with a little more experience who are regular on the local gig circuit – like bassist Mohini Dey, guitarists Rhythm Shaw and Kush Upadhyay, pianist Anurag Naidu, drummer Darshan Doshi, saxophonist Rhys Sebastian and singer Vasundhara Vee, to name a few.
The Mayfly Quintet at Bandra Jazz Festival
Yet, despite the optimism, some challenges remain. According to an event organiser, who requests anonymity, there isn’t enough sponsorship for jazz events. He says, “When we approach corporates, they are often dismissive. They feel jazz has a small audience, compared to indie music, desi hip-hop or metal.
Only if the CEO has a personal fondness for jazz do we get a positive response.”
Only a few venues regularly have jazz shows. Another drawback is that many musicians are restricted to the cities they stay in. “Unless they are big names, or fund their own travel and accommodation, musicians from other cities are often not invited. Jazz groups have four or five members, so costs multiply,” says the event organiser.
As a result, each city often sees the same musicians in different permutations and combinations. Yet, the good thing is that each line-up has a different sound and different approach.
Obviously, the Indian jazz scene has come a long way over the years. Initially, the genre was played mainly in five-star hotels. In the 1940s, trumpeter Chic Chocolate became famous for his shows at the Taj Mahal Hotel in the erstwhile Bombay. Multi-instrumentalist Chris Perry played at different spots in Mumbai and singer Lorna initially sang jazz before focusing on Konkani songs. The Bombay jazz scene of that era has been covered extensively in his book ‘Taj Mahal Foxtrot’ by author and journalist Naresh Fernandes.
By the early 1950s, many Goan musicians came to Bombay to play Western instruments in Hindi film music. At night, they would do jazz gigs. In the 1960s, American artistes like trumpeter Don Ellis and saxophonist John Handy teamed up with Indian musicians on experimental fusion projects.
That was also the time when international jazz legends began visiting India, as part of the US government’s cultural diplomacy initiatives. The first to come was pianist Dave Brubeck who came with his quartet in 1958. This was a year before his band’s tune ‘Take Five’, composed by saxophonist Paul Desmond, took the jazz world by storm. Brubeck and his bandmates even did an impromptu jam with sitar player Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan in Bombay. The Calcutta visit inspired the tune ‘Calcutta Blues’
In 1963, bandleader and pianist Duke Ellington came with his band, and the following year, the great Louis Armstrong played in Mumbai at Rang Bhavan and Shanmukhananda Hall, getting a great response for ‘When The Saints Go Marching In’, ‘Hello Dolly’ and ‘Saint Louis Blues’. For local fans, exposed to such greats only on records or foreign visits, these shows were like dreams come true.
In the late 1960s, the scene shifted to Calcutta which had many nightspots on and around Park Street. Pianist Louiz Banks, saxophonist Braz Gonsalves, singer Pam Crain and guitarist Carlton Kitto were some of the regulars there, playing to a packed house. Usha Uthup included jazz in her set list if the audience was up to it.
When Banks shifted to Mumbai in the late 1970s, he encouraged many musicians to play at clubs and restaurants. When the Jazz Yatra was started in 1978, Indian acts got a chance to showcase their talent. The Jazz India Sextett, which included Banks, Gonsalves and singer Rama Mani, did a successful tour of Europe. Drummer Trilok Gurtu settled down in Germany and became successful in the global jazz scene.
The Jazz Yatra, held every two years at the open-air amphitheatre Rang Bhavan in Mumbai, was much-awaited as many fans got to see the biggest names. The first edition in 1978 had saxophonists Sonny Rollins and Sadao Watanabe, and trumpeter Clark Terry. Subsequent Yatras had saxophonists Stan Getz and Illinois Jacquet, trumpeter Woody Shaw, violinist Stephane Grappelli, and guitarists Charlie Byrd and Herb Ellis, among others. By The early 2000s, the event made way for the Asian Jazz Yatra and Indian Jazz Yatra.
The period from the 1980s saw the collaboration between international greats and Indian musicians. Though the concept of Indo-fusion had been pioneered by guitarist John McLaughlin's band Shakti in the 1970s, the pure-jazz collaboration happened when Banks played with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie in Mumbai in 1985.
It was only a matter of time before international greats started coming outside the Yatras.
Pianists Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul and George Duke, singers Betty Carter and Al Jarreau, violinist Jean Luc-Ponty, guitarists Larry Coryell and Scott Henderson, and the band Spyro Gyra all had performances, adding Bengaluru to their itineraries. McLaughlin had a few shows with his band The 4th Dimension, which includes Mumbai drummer Ranjit Barot, and in 2018, pianist Chick Corea drew a great response in Mumbai and Delhi.
The Yatra took place till 2002, and for unclear reasons, was discontinued.
In its place, the Jazz Utsav was started, and that was succeeded by Jus Jazz and later the NCPA International Jazz Festival and Banyan Tree’s World Jazz Festival. In many cases, Indian artistes got to interact and work with foreign artistes.
Though old-timers complain that fewer legends are coming down, there have been some really talented musicians after the Pandemic. The last NCPA International Jazz Festival had pianists Thilo Wolf, Emmet Cohen and Alfredo Rodriguez, besides singer Jane Monheit. More recently, in January, pianist Hancock visited Delhi and Mumbai with vocalist Diane Reeves and musicians from the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz. He also had masterclasses attended by many local musicians.
If one looks at things closely, many young musicians are taking a keen interest in jazz. However, for financial security, they branch out into more commercial genres or even into advertising jingles, film music shows or OTT soundtracks. There’s no shortage of audiences for good music. A little encouragement from the corporate world would be of great help. Easier said, than done. It’s the same everywhere and India is no different.
