Jazzing things up this weekend is the annual Jazz Utsav 2015. The idea this time is to present the genre’s past, present and future journey in a holistic manner, giving audiences a taste of its steady evolution. Having been popular in the country for the past 90 years, this was a great time to bring a host of well-known bands to round off the weekend. “Because we wanted to show the history of jazz, we asked Derek Julien, one of the best guitarists in the world, who started playing professionally in 1967, to be a part of the festival. When he requested Kitu Sequeira, a vocalist with a characteristic voice and a distinct style, we knew the effort of presenting this musical showcase was going in the right direction,” says Astri Ghosh, the organiser.
Jass Utsav, presented by Teamwork Arts and Capital Jazz, serves dual purpose—entertaining patrons and making sure artistes enjoy such platforms to keep them motivated to continue performing in India. “Earlier, we used to have foreign bands playing in Calcutta, only at big hotels that is, and some in Bombay. It was only in the 1930s that we got Indian band leaders like Mickey Correa, and musicians like Georgie Banks. After Independence, many of our musicians left for abroad to find greener pastures. Festivals like these will hopefully present their talent in an appropriate way and motivate them to not leave,” she says, believing that a revival of interest in learning jazz has been seen in the last few years, as good schools have opened.
The two-day event will conclude today. Those who took to the stage yesterday were the Woodstock Jazz Band, Derek Julian & Friends and Rudhresh Mahanthappa’s Gamak. The evening today will see Joel Lyssarides, Karim Ellaboudi with Vasundhara Vidalur and Arthur Dutkiewicz Trio. “Each artiste has a different style of performing, which is the evening’s USP,” she says. Seems like diversity may succeed in bringing about musical ambiguity this evening.
December 6 at One Golden Mile, Opposite Bhikaji Cama Place, Netaji Nagar, at 6 pm.