A mid-week gig sounds like a welcome distraction for this writer, but it is what flautist Rajeev Raja lives for. The musician will return to a lost time with a retrospective from the 1970s and ’80s at his upcoming gig, Funk That Jazz that explores funk, rock and fusion elements at a Bandra venue this week.
“That is what makes it fun,” he notes, adding, “We are playing a couple of originals. But it is mainly a tribute to that era.” The band’s covers are original interpretations in their own way. Raja explains that the genre compels musicians to express and create with individuality.

For Mumbai music aficionados, Rajeev Raja Combine is a familiar name since it was founded by the former adman in 2011. The core nucleus includes vocalist Chandana Bala, tabla player Vinayak Netke, guitarist Hitesh Dhutia and bassist John Jaideep Thirumalai among others. “We often bring in the new players to represent different genres and approaches, depending on the mood and occasion,” he says. Alongside Dhutia and Thirumalai, the upcoming performance will see keyboardist Arka Chakraborty and drummer Shravan Shamsi join Raja on stage.