A look at jazz influence in Bollywood music through the years

The story of jazz in Bollywood is a fascinating one It goes back to the rsquo50s and 60s when some talented Goan musicians such as Frank Fernand Sebastian DrsquoSouza and Anthony Gonsalves brought alive Indian classicalbased compositions with their Western musical arrangementsThe Monsorate Brothers sons of ace trumpeter late Peter Monsorate have played for a number of Bollywood music composers They are wellknown in the domestic and international circuitJazz has been used by composers like Naushad OP Nayyar ShankarJaikishen LaxmikantPyarelal and RD Burman to great effect Now Anurag Kashyaprsquos Bombay Velvet promises to recreate the jazz era of Mumbai Herersquos a look at jazz music through the ages in BollywoodThe title track of the film Karz starring Rishi Kapoor had jazz influencesMaking a noteComposer Mikey McCleary says ldquoJazz came into the Bollywood music scene much before the times of RD Burman There were some really good musicians in the orchestras with knowledge of Western classical music I feel that jazz has a great cinematic appeal because it conveys emotions beautifullyrdquoSaxophonist late Manohari Singh was a part of RD Burmanrsquos teamMera Naam Chin Chin Choo from Howrah Bridge is an early example of jazz in Hindi film musicSinger Sonu Nigam who incorporated a lot of jazz in his 2008 album Classically Mild tells us ldquoI love jazz However itrsquos quite a challenge to combine jazz notes with our classical melodies which is perhaps why the jazz used in Bollywood music was quite elementary One of the earliest examples is the song Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo from Howrah Bridge Jazz music has a vast legacy and it takes years to know and understand its nuancesrdquoD Wood head of the department of music Whistling Woods International and part of Bombay Jazz Club says ldquoThe use of jazz in Bollywood has been quite superficial and this form of music appeals only to a select fewrdquo Composer Shankar Mahadevan a huge fan of jazz artistes such as John McLaughlin and Chick Corea says ldquoWe used a lot of jazz influences in our compositions for films Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and One By Two The fact is jazz as a form of music is for the niche audience It was never meant for the masses So we canrsquot expect it to be a rage in our countryrdquoThe Goan flavourOne of the creative highlights of the rsquo50s and beyond was the alliance between Indian composers and Goan musicians and arrangers These were mainly dance band musicians who played in hotels such as Taj Mahal and The GrandSebastian DrsquoSouza extreme left with Mohammed Rafi centreFrank Fernand who was a music conductor for films like Don Hera Pheri and Zanjeer had become a trained jazz musician performing under Rudy Cotton He was a violinist and trumpeter Sebastian DrsquoSouza was one of the most reputed names in BollywoodSoprano tenor saxophones and concert flute player Shyam Raj says ldquoThe Goan community was at the forefront of the jazz scene Most of us came from musicallyinclined families and were taught Western music which helped us a lot We used to play in hotels and later joined recording studios to make a living Our patrons were mostly from the Catholic and Parsi communitiesrdquoTrip down memory laneShyam Raj worked extensively for composers RD Burman and Laxmikant Pyarelal LP ldquoI worked with LP in Mr India for the songs Hawa Hawai and Kaate Nahi Kat Te In the new breed of composers I have worked with Pritam and Amit Trivedirdquo he says The Lord family also made a huge contribution to Indian film music mdash father Cawas and his sons Kersi and Bhujji It was studio pianist Kersi who reportedly introduced RD Burman to jazzCawas Lord was a drummer with jazz musician Chic ChocolateThe Monsorate Brothers sons of ace trumpeter Peter Monsorate are recognised musicians on the jazz circuit Their father played with the likes of Ken Mac Hal Green and Teddy Weathfort Bosco who plays the trumpet reminisces ldquoWe learnt music from our parents and earned a living playing in fivestar hotels We listened to a lot of Western music as well RD Burman was great with his improvisations and used jazz wellrdquoHe adds ldquoMy first film with RD Mukti wasnrsquot a successful one though I made my debut in Hindi films with composer Ravi and later worked a lot with RD and LP as well Amongst the new directors I have worked with Shantanu Moitra Composing music was a different thing altogether in those days It was such an emotional exercise compared to the electronic zamana of todayrdquoBoscorsquos brother Joseph played the trumpet and flugelhorn in the song Bachna Ae Haseeno from Hum Kisise Kam NahinThe electronic eraThe advent of technology has changed the lives of such musicians Raj says ldquoI do a lot of shows nowadays With computer programming the role of orchestra musicians like us has changed in Bollywood Musicians such as George Brooks are doing well to combine ragas to create jazzrdquoMost of the old timers do little of film music nowadays Monsorate rues ldquoGone are the days when people lived for music There was so much individuality in the songs of yesteryear composers Nowadays you canrsquot differentiate between songs Itrsquos not surprising that old songs are still loved These days young people donrsquot even know how instruments like saxophone trumpet or flugelhorn look like I go once in a while to a recording studio play my bit and come back homerdquoMcClearly says ldquoItrsquos sad that the days of recording live music are over I feel that live music and acoustic instruments should be included in modern music as they bring a different vibe altogether In old songs I love the jazz element in Yeh Raat Yeh Chandni Phir Kahaan from the 1952 film JaalrdquoThe decline of Western classical Indian classical and other form of music is greatly attributed to Bollywood Wood says ldquoSadly Bollywood film music has marginalised other forms of music in India At Bombay Jazz Club we get musicians together and put up fivesix shows a month I met some of the people who were part of orchestras and the talent is phenomenalrdquo He goes on to compare the jazz scene in India with that in the West ldquoThere the culture of music education comes from schools and churches India needs a revolution in its education system to introduce music and its various forms to the young generationrdquo Wood addedTune inGoan trumpeter Chic Chocolate was known as the Louis Armstrong of India