He has played in more than 25 countries across continents and this evening, the Bulgarian drummer and percussionist Sava Boyadzhiev will be performing at The Piano Man. The artiste will be playing the drums accompanied with Pranai Gurung and Adhir Ghosh on guitar and Sonic Shori on the bass guitar.
All set for the performance, Boyadzhiev gives us a sneak-peek in today’s show.
“I have been performing at The Piano Man for years and every time I invite the best musicians in Delhi to play along with me.
This time I’ll be playing with Sonic Shori, Pranai Gurung and Adhir Ghosh, who I personally believe are the best jazz artists in India. Together, we will be playing a couple of standard jazz music along with some original pieces,” says Boyadzhiev, who feels that places like The Piano Man are constantly raising the level of jazz music and culture in Delhi.
“What’s more interesting is that the concept of The Piano Man itself has been music-oriented, with the music and the musician being the centre of the stage,” he adds. Boyadzhiev was born and brought up in a family that valued music.
“My father was a musician and I grew up surrounded by jazz musicians in Bulgaria. I discovered jazz very early in my life when I was just 10. So, when I started playing drums and percussion more seriously, I was immediately drawn to jazz and even started following the jazz musicians back home. I later acquired my Master’s degree focused on Jazz performance. Later on, I moved to the United States and I was fortunate enough to play with renowned jazz musicians,” says Boyadzhiev, who during his tenure with the New Symphony Orchestra he accompanied Vanessa Mae, Joshua Bell, Stanimir Torodov, Electric Light Orchestra, Liviu Prunaru and performed under some world-renowned conductors.
During the day, Boyadzhiev teaches music.
He has been in Delhi for over 12 years teaching at The American Embassy School along with his wife, who is also a musician. Along with enjoying teaching music, another major reason why Boyadzhiev loves staying in India is that he gets to play with artists in the Indian music circle and not to forget his appreciation for the local music. Having been to numerous concerts and music festival in India and around the world, Boyadzhiev says the jazz scene in India is on a rise, especially with the young generation becoming more interested in jazz.
“In India, especially in big cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, jazz isn’t new. India has a rich and original musical culture and many Western jazz musicians turn to India for inspiration. And also, the number of young jazz musicians in India is on a rise, hopefully, they will uplift the level of jazz music,” says the musician. Along with jazz, the artiste also enjoys listening to local percussion instruments.
“I’m really interested in Indian classical and folk music. I have played with some Indian classical musicians and Sufi singers for some fusion projects. However, I enjoy listening to them the most. I attend concerts, listen to recordings and even visit local festivals.”
On a concluding note, the musician stresses on the need to encourage musicians.
“It is always good to listen to music and encourage jazz and local musicians. One shouldn’t hesitate to go to clubs and festivals as that is the best way to create the culture of music,” he adds.
Listen to Boyadzhiev today at 9:00 pm at The Piano Man, Safdarjung Enclave.