A group of electic artistes, both Indian and international, to give Andheri a dose of jazz
Two musicians from Kolkata -- vocalist Shreya Bhattacharya and bassist Avishek Dey -- used to play in a band in the city together when, around five years ago, they enrolled at Chennai's Swarnabhoomi School of Music. One day, they ended up jamming with two of their faculty members there, and that's how Beer Puppets came to be formed as a band.
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Karim Ellaboudi
But, the original band got scattered when Bhattacharya and Dey graduated and shifted base to Mumbai. Nonetheless, the two of them decided to continue with the band -- named so only because it's quirky -- and enlisted different musicians as and when shows came their way. That's what they have been doing for around three years but now, says Bhattacharya, the line-up they have for a gig this evening seems to be a well-formed unit that's here to stay, at least for a while.
This line-up consists of Anthony Cammarota on guitar, Aron Nyiro on drums and Karim Ellaboudi on piano, apart from Bhattacharya and Dey. All the three new members are international musicians who are based in the city, which is a blessing for Beer Puppets.
Shreya Bhattacharya
"Mumbai is anyway the best city in the country when it comes to a musician's career. But the fact that there are so many foreigners playing music here, who bring their own sounds to us, makes it even better," Bhattacharya says.
She adds, "I think jazz music is really picking up here in the city. It's great to see how new talent is learning this form of music. Globally speaking, there is a lot more than traditional jazz standards on offer these days -- people are experimenting with electronic stuff, acid jazz, neo soul and so on. There are so many styles that have evolved from the parent genre that it's quite
incredible."
Cammarota, however, feels that jazz in its purest form has taken a backseat in the process. "It's an under-appreciated form of musical creation," the American says, continuing with, "I think the genre is kind of isolating for the audience, because if you are not creating the music, you can't understand it completely, and if you can't understand it, you can't fully enjoy what's being played on stage."
Anthony Cammarota
He adds that it was purely through "fortune" that he came to be associated with Beer Puppets. "I met Shreya and Avishek at some random gig in Calcutta when I had first come to India. Flash-forward to this year and I met them again when they were playing a concert here. I was so blown away by what I heard that I demanded that they let me play with them," he says.
That association now seems slated to carry on for a while, what with Bhattacharya saying that this line-up is more or less fixed, and with Beer Puppets travelling to Hyderabad for a gig at a jazz festival once they are done with this evening's performance.
On Tonight, 8.30 pm At The Little Door, Andheri West. Call 9899928776
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