Duke Ellis is not the first name to pop into your mind when you walk into a suburban café. Sudin Nair (below) would disagree. Growing up in Vasai, Nair was educated in traditional Carnatic before discovering his love for jazz through rock and heavy metal. On Sunday, Nair, with drummer Zain Chaves and multi-instrumentalist Aldridge D’Souza, will try to change the perception of jazz using Bollywood and popular melodies.

Hosted by Community Kaarkhana, the tribute to jazz will introduce the audience to jazz standards present in other musical forms too. “Hindi cinema has often used jazz as a template to design compositions. That is the entry point for us to start the conversation,” Nair points out. In addition to the performance, stories of personalities from Louis Armstrong to Sarah Vaughn and Billie Holliday will also follow.