Mumbai: Of Bebop, Swing and new sounds

Rishie Raajacircu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Sachdeva extreme right in performance with his band in New DelhiWhat is Jazz Is it only about standards syncopations and Swing People in India often feel a jerk when they hear the term There are factions within the genre and its takers some stamp it as Jazz only if it follows standards while others accept all its branches To make Jazz accessible to laymen as well as all categories of listeners an album mdash The Foxtrot Project mdash is about to release its second edition this year It is a Jazz compilation album Amuze Records comprising original tunes by musicians from all over India The first edition came out two years agoArijit Chakraborty centre monitors a live recording of The Bodhisattwaacircu00c2u0080u00c2u0088TrioIdea behind the albumArijit Chakraborty the proprietor of the record label picked up the baton to run the Jazz race in an industry swallowed by profitmaking bodies ldquoI came across many Jazz musicians who told me that no label in India is interested in releasing their albums It is all about vested interests that later ruins the relationship with the label It prompted me to take this as a missionrdquo he explainsHis ear for the genre helped him hunt experimental Jazz acts in the country Syncopation New Delhi The Bodhisattwa Trio Kolkata Maarten Visser amp Holger Jetter Chennai Srinjay Banerjee with The Beer Puppets KolkataBengaluru to name a fewThe artistes are bringing their own take on the genre The Bodhisattwa Trio is more of a Rockinclined Jazz outfit whereas Syncopation borrows from BebopMaarten Visser amp Holger Jetter are a Chennaibased duoBreaking the mythldquoJazz is a misused term There are many who have a misconception about the genre They feel if you play loud with your distortion pedal it is not Jazz anymore They associate Jazz with Swing and standardsrdquo says Bodhisattwa Ghosh the maverick guitarist of the trio who once flaunted thick long hair during his stint with Insomnia The 33yearold took up Jazz after juggling with Rock bands for about a decadeHis ensemble is contributing two tracks for the album ldquoWe made a new track Convergence for this project The second song Cronos will be a version of one of our live recordingsrdquo says Ghosh who is keen to change peoplersquos mindset with the album ldquoModern Jazz is still unknown There have been acts like Mahavishnu Orchestra who are heavy and aggressive yet Jazzrdquo he addsRishie Raaj Sachdeva guitarist of Syncopation mdash who played with hardcore Jazz musicians in Australia during his college days mdash says it is all about interpretation now ldquoJazz is about what happened what people are trying to do today is interpret But I believe if one is saying that the music he plays is Jazz it needs to have an element of Jazz in it You canrsquot call anything Jazzrdquo says the 44yearold SachdevaBodhisattwa Ghosh believes the second edition of The Foxtrot Project will set a new example for modern Jazz in IndiaNu soundsSyncopation is adding the tracks Home Grown and Nu Jazz to the venture ldquoThe first one is an emotive track with twists and turns It has elements of Bebop The second is entirely from the rootsrdquo he shares stressing on the importance of bringing the best of all worlds together in one songldquoIf I have to expand on my musical horizons all my influences will be revealed there We have all grown up on Rock music those songs from the past will make their appearances But as I said earlier there will be nuances of Swing and chordal changesrdquo says SachdevaAfter wrapping up the label intends to arrange an album release tour in cities like Delhi Pune Bengaluru and Chennai They are yet to zero in on a venue in MumbaildquoWe couldnrsquot find any venue who would be interested in supporting our causerdquo says ChakrabortyFull lineup of the albumSyncopationRohanacircu00c2u0080u00c2u0088GanguliNeelacircu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Sarkar ProjectArunava ChatterjeeThe Bodhisattwaacircu00c2u0080u00c2u0088TrioRahulacircu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Guhaacircu00c2u0080u00c2u0088RoyMaarten Visser amp Holger JetterSrinjay Banerjee with The Beer Puppets