Raising the standards

Four international acts at a debut festival will move beyond American jazz standards to present the genre in their own way

There is a collection called The Great American Songbook that serves as the Holy Bible for jazz musicians. The tracks listed in it act as "standards" they are supposed to devour down to the last note. So if two artistes from different corners of the world who don't comprehend each other's language were to meet on stage, they'd still be able to converse through the musical medium of the common standards they understand. But that doesn't mean they wouldn't add their own flavours, since a Latin American performer might pepper a track with salsa rhythms. An Indian might add a dash of Hindustani classical. An African would season it with djembe beats. And thus, despite the homogeneous roots that the Songbook lends the genre, there is an improvisational diversity that's inherent to global jazz music, which a festival that debuts in the city seeks to celebrate this weekend.

Called World Jazz Festival, it's spread over two days and features four international acts — Ntando Ngcapu (South Africa), Koh Mr Saxman and Takeshi Band (Thailand), and New York Round Midnight Orchestra and Saskia Laroo (both The Netherlands) — along with two Indian guest performers, sitar player Shakir Khan and vocalist Gayatri Ashokan. Mahesh Babu of Banyan Tree, the events firm that's organising the show, tells us that the inspiration for the event came from European music festivals like the one in the Dutch city of Amersfoort that he'd been invited to attend. It had 18 stages showcasing an eclectic line-up of artistes who performed a wide bouquet of styles within the spectrum of jazz music. "When I saw that, I felt that we must do something on the same lines in Mumbai," Babu says.

Shakir Khan

The first edition of this annual fest is a step forward in that direction, and the selection of artistes is such that there are three continents represented on stage. Babu tells us that the difference in their cultural backgrounds reflects in their music. "Takeshi Band plays traditional Thai songs and folk tunes in a jazz style, for instance. There is also a famous singer called Pui Duangpon who'll join them and add his own local flavour," he adds.

Khan adds that the fact that the acts use instruments typical to their home country adds to the diversity of their sounds. "There are a couple of things you need to consider. The first question is, how have they been taught music in the culture they come from? And the second point is that different countries make use of different instruments. Every place has a mindset that's their own. So the people there focus more on their own traditions. It's a personal choice. There is no right or wrong here. But it gives the music a certain exclusivity," he says, while The New York Midnight Round Orchestra tells us over email, "The core of jazz is improvisation, which normally blends in great with local musical traditions in places like India, South Africa and Spain."

Mahesh Babu

Khan adds — and he echoes Babu here — that there are converging similarities between western jazz and Indian classical music as well. "The main thing is that both styles come from the heart. Technique is a different thing, but the purpose of the music is to bring people together. So it's a great way of creating sounds that have never been heard before," he says.

This festival thus offers an opportunity for you to catch some of those unique sounds. The 21st century is a great time for music because people are now more open to experimenting than before, Khan says. They are more willing to exchange ideas with others and adopt their styles, improving their learning process. So yes, The Great American Songbook remains the Bible for jazz musicians. The tunes in it that people like Cole Porter and Duke Ellington had written over 60 years ago continue to be the benchmark for aspiring artistes. But there is also a lot more scope now for artistes to express their own traditions and add a local touch to their music. There is, in other words, more scope for them to raise the standards, pun intended.

On February 22 and 23
At St Andrews Auditorium, St Dominic Road, Bandra West.
Log on to bookmyshow.com
Cost Rs 500 onwards

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