International Jazz Day 2023: Why you need to attend World Jazz Festival in Mumbai

The New York Round Midnight Orchestra performs at the Pune edition of the festival earlier this week

Dave Brubeck. Duke Ellington. Dizzy Gillespie. The names of jazz legends that once toured Mumbai roll off with the smoothness of a bar-line shift. So, the arrival of the World Jazz Festival on the 12th International Jazz Day is in keeping with tradition.

Nandini Mahesh, director of Banyan Tree Events - the platform that is hosting the third edition of the festival with Amersfoort Jazz Festival - shares, "The idea was to create a rich experience for the audience." The city also provides a "substantial audience for jazz" that is exciting for young talent, she remarks.

The two-day festival, which begins today, will witness the diverse jazz influences of Lucas Santana and Quartet, Sven Rozier Quintet with Lizzy Ossevoort and Baer Traa as well as the Susanne Alt band take the stage. The multi-city festival will be arriving in the city after having travelled to Delhi, Pune and Bengaluru earlier this week.

Sven Rozier. Pic Courtesy/Instagram; (right) Nandini Mahesh

Rozier, a frequent visitor to India, describes Jazz as Indian food - exciting, fused together and constantly evolving. "You take the best ingredients and blend them together. There are many musical, technical, intellectual and emotional elements that are happening simultaneously."

Rozier's analogy has a historical connection. The city has always had a special place for jazz. From Chic Chocolate, Frank Fernand to Anthony Gonsalves, the roster of city legends goes on. But amid the rise of spectacular music fests and commercial interests, is the genre being crowded out?

Rajeev Raja; (right) Rajesh Punjabi

A new renaissance

Not at all, says Rajesh Punjabi, musician and co-founder of the Bombay Jazz Club. He explains, "The scene has definitely expanded. There is a lot more talent, and younger musicians are experimenting with the genre."

Flautist Rajeev Raja calls it a revival of the genre. "Today, I can see a revival. Things had begun to pick up even before the pandemic, but now, the number of young musicians who have emerged on the jazz circuit is fantastic," he points out.

Raja, however, believes that the genre is continually evolving. "People are no longer rigid about traditional jazz. There is more original stuff and fusion emerging,"
he says.

Punjabi recalls Coltrane's famous quote in saying, "You call it jazz. For me, it is just music. It is different for different people."

Mix of people and spaces

Kolkata-based drummer Arjun Chakraborty says it is growing. "It [the jazz scene] has exploded over the last few years. The key difference is the luxury of venues." Bassist Avishek Dey, also from Kolkata, agrees. "There are multiple venues where music takes an exclusive priority," he points out. Dey adds that even venue owners focus on music as an exclusive property, not an accompaniment to food and beverage.

Nevil Timbadia, co-founder of Bandra hub, Bonobo, attributes this to awareness. "People are more exposed today. They are aware of new artistes, venues and forms."

Close-knit ties

Timbadia elaborates, "The elitism is gone. If the audience wants it, the venues will organise it." This awareness has also empowered venues and promoters. "An informal circuit has been created between venues and promoters across the city, and the country," he says.

Chakraborty says this thriving collaboration helps both - venues and musicians. "I am pretty new to Mumbai, but I have played with most of the veterans in the jazz scene," he shares.

For Dey, Mumbai remains the best city for jazz today. "Here, you have an opportunity to express yourself. Everyone connects to the music - from Latin jazz and
bebop, to fusion and contemporary forms."

Mahesh agrees, "In Mumbai, there are always a lot of events happening as they should, considering it is a large city with a diverse population. But those who love jazz will continue to love it."

This weekend will be evidence of this connection which goes on.

ON April 29 and 30; 6.30 pm onwards
AT Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, off Linking Road, near Patwardhan Park, Bandra West.
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COST Rs 885 onwards

Bring on the sound

. International Jazz Day
On April 30; 6.30 pm
At Tata Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point.
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Cost Rs 500 onwards

. The Bandra Jazz Festival
On April 29 and 30; 10 am
At Veranda, Bandra West.
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Cost Rs 1,000 onwards (for gigs); listening sessions (free)

. Ertha by Tawiah and AI Moore
On April 29 and 30; 8 pm onwards
At G-5A, Mahalaxmi West.
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Cost Rs 499 onwards