Pali fidelity

Looking for rare jazz? You can be sure that Super Sonic at Pali Naka has it, or will hunt it down for you

Posters of Bollywood films, international pop stars and indie rock albums jostle for space on a glass door. A white sheet of paper stuck smack in the middle of the collage stands out. 'Jazz CDs Available Here' reads the writing on it in thick black marker ink. If it were an ad, Super Sonic, the hole-in-the-wall music store at Pali Naka would snag some awards for branding. The Khan brothers, who own the store, pasted the handwritten sign for sheer lack of any other material. "People zooming past the shop read this and come in," says 52 year-old Minaz Khan, who along with younger brother Saleem, 47, set up Super Sonic 12 years ago.


Saleem Khan and elder brother Minaz personally select all the music at Pali
Naka's Super Sonic. PIC/SANTOSH NAGWEKAR

"When we were younger, we dreamt that we would own a music store," says Minaz. Both Minaz and Saleem spent their younger years outside India, in Bahrain and Dubai, listening to a collection of their favourite music. Minaz is a jazz convert while Saleem has always had a soft spot for disco. "I was into rock until I heard Shakti sometime in '77 when I was studying in Panchgani. That's when I switched to jazz," says Minaz, of the Zakir Hussain-John McLaughlin fusion group.

Minaz pulls the sliding racks aside to show us the range at the store. Super Sonic stocks Bollywood, Indian classical, international pop, rock, blues, Konkani compilations,u00a0 bhangra even. "Bhangra's not so hot now.

Nobody asks for Daler Mehndi," laughs Minaz. "Bollywood sells every day, though." The gems, carefully chosen by Minaz from personal collections, music label catalogues, online recommendations and magazines, are in the jazz section. The jazz fan and loyal Downbeat reader tells us how jazz does a humble sale -- maybe four or five CDs a week.

An LP by Al Dimeola, John McLaughlin and Paco De Lucia plays in the background. The guitar trio is at its fiery best. "You must be wondering how a shop like ours survives," says Minaz pulling out a cardboard carton. "People buy a lot of these cheaper mp3 collections."

The carton is filled with Hindi film and non-film mp3 CDs priced anywhere between Rs 55 and Rs 75. It's the Khans' keen understanding of all kinds of music that draws people to the store. Minaz recounts some of his own experiences at the bigger music stores. "One salesman led me to the books section when I asked for a Kishori Amonkar album. He had no clue who the legendary vocalist was," he says. "Some other stores stock mobiles, books and all sorts of other things," adds Saleem.

Lending its shelves to yet another forgotten sound, Super Sonic stocks tapes by artistes like Santana, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and good old Bollywood. "No other store still has cassettes," says Saleem.

Film composer Loy Mendonca of the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trio checks in on what's selling well at the store often. "He buys a lot of jazz as well," says Minaz of the store's biggest celeb patron. Soon, Bandra-based vocalist and songwriter Ankur Tewari walks in to buy a copy of his self-titled album for a friend. "I come here a lot," offers Tewari, who also recommended the store to Bandra resident and squash champ Ritwick Bhattacharya. And that's how the Super Sonic tribe grows.
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At: Super Sonic, Shop No 6, Shakti Raj Premises Co Op Soc Ltd 13-B, Near HSBC Bank, Pali Hill Road,
Bandra (W).
Call: 9833465819