Chic Chocolate: A Rememberance | TRC Collectible

Antonio Xavier Vaz, famously known as Chic Chocolate, played a significant role in the introduction and development of jazz in India. He was a master trumpeter who also had exceptional skill on the violin, saxophone, piano, and rhythm instruments. He was heavily inspired by jazz legend Louis Armstrong and was often referred to as the “Louis Armstrong of Bombay”.

Born in Aldona, Goa in the year 1916, Chic Chocolate learned music at his local parochial school and, despite the wishes of his mother who wanted him to earn a "respectable" living as a mechanic, he pursued his dreams of a life playing music.

Long after he’d made a series of successful wartime recordings, the trumpet player Chic Chocolate became a regular at the Taj Mahal Hotel in downtown Bombay. One season, he joined forces with Chris Perry, the genius who was in the process of reinventing Konkani pop music.

As an assistant to several music directors and also as their arranger, conductor and musician, Chic Chocolate contributed greatly to the phenomenal success of Several Indian Film songs. He assisted Bollywood music directors like C Ramchandra and Madan Mohan and even composed music for three Hindi films – Nadan (1951), Rangeeli (1952) and Kar Bhala (1956). His music had all the hallmarks for distinction- a fabulous sound, a flawless technique, and a versatile style.

Chetan Aanand's Aakhri Khat was released in the year 1966, whose bluesy song Rut Jawan Jawan included several close-ups of Chic Chocolate performing his trumpet solos from the bandstand.

Later, almost a year after Chic Chocolate's demise in 1967, the EP "A Remembrance" was released. It featured selections of western music from the background score of "Aakhri Khat".