Brit alto saxophonist and rapper Soweto Kinch, who performs in Mumbai today and tomorrow, on reinterpreting Rabindranath Tagore's songs and collaborating with young Indian musicians
Brit alto saxophonist and rapper Soweto Kinch, who performs in Mumbai today and tomorrow, on reinterpreting Rabindranath Tagore's songs and collaborating with young Indian musicians
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Not many musicians can take credit for being change-makers. Soweto Kinch, 31, who has been bringing together the diverse forms of jazz and rap since the age of 12 and has held jam sessions in Birmingham for 10 years to nurture a freestyle open-minded approach to music, allows himself less credit than he deserves. 
"There are bands and artistes such as Jason Moran from the US and Empirical from the UK who are changing people's perceptions about jazz," says Kinch in a telephonic interview from the capital, referring to other younger musicians, who have been taking jazz to his generation.
Kinch, who has was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize for his 2003 debut and has won several awards, including one for Music of Black Origins (MOBO), considers highly respected American jazz composer and trumpet player Wynton Marsalis to be his mentor, and often refers to a meeting with him as a musical turning point. Kinch was 13 when he met Marsalis who spent time to talk music with him.
The saxophonist has made some daring overtures into music since, including blending jazz and hip hop. "I've learnt not to pre-empt what audiences want and to just go on stage and do my thing," he says. So you can expect "strains of Bach, Ellington and hip hop sounds of today."
Attempting to collaborate on Rabindra Sangeet is yet another bold move. "Working with Indian classical musicians has been a huge learning curve for me. It's very fresh," says Kinch of Baul singer Dibyendu Mukerji and percussionist Ratul Shankar Ghosh, who will collaborate with Kinch as a part of a production titled In Further Soil. "We have been working on this since January. It's traditional Tagore songs with completely different instrumentation. It will be edgy. Sometimes we get into a comfort zone so, it's good to break out of that."
Kinch will play two shows in Mumbai.
On October 13
At Blue Frog, D/2 Mathuradas Mills Compound, NM Joshi Marg Lower Parel, 10 pm onwards
Call 40332300
Entry free Also on October 14 at Bandra Amphitheatre, 8 pm onwards
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