Celebrated Jazz bassist Richard Bona jams with singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan tonight. The Guide got the two to ask each other questions they've been curious about since they first met

One was all set to become an engineer, as is expected of a Tam Brahm, while the other built his own instruments as a kid, because if you wanted to play music in Minta (a village in Cameroon), you had to design your own tools.

Both, Richard Bona and Shankar Mahadevan have come a long way from their wobbly beginnings in the world of music, to work together on The Ten Shades of Blues.

The collaboration kicked off when Mahadevan couldn't resist dropping backstage to "offer appreciation" after Bona had performed in Mumbai last.

Richard Bona with Shankar Mahadevan

Bona, in turn, "kept thinking of writing a song with him in mind" once he had heard the singer perform. Mutual admiration apart, the two singers share a passion of experimenting with their music.

Bona declares that he'd like to "play music in the air (handgliding)... or underwater" if he could pull off a crazy experiment.

Shankar's ambition is to create an entire "album with only voice." Read on for an exclusive tete-au00a0-tete between the two.

Richard Bona to Shankar Mahadevan

How did a computer engineer land up as a singer and composer?
Since I was born into a middle class South Indian family, I was just following what did either you became an engineer or a doctor. I was a good student, so I did what my friends did. The passion to perform was within me, which I wanted to explore. At one point, I decided to give it all up and try my hand at music, because it that was a now-or-never moment.u00a0

What is it like to blend Indian music with Jazz?
Both forms are improvisational; 20 per cent of what you sing is actually set and rehearsed as per arrangement. The remaining 80 per cent is improvised. In Jazz, everything is improvised. So, since the principles are more or less the same, and you are able to communicate to the audience a particular scale and feeling in both, it makes for a great blend.