Three jazz artists from around the world who met in Puducherry will be in town to give us a taste of their own version of jazz

Music lovers, mark your calendars, for this weekend. For The flying cats will be in town to woo those who love jazz. With Sangoma Everett on the drums, Mishko M'Ba on bass guitars and Holger Jetter on electric violin, the band has to its credit a 1000 live shows in less than six years of its formation including tours with famous musicians like Joan Baez, Mercedes Sosa and Constantin Wecker.


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Holger Jetter, who made his foray into music at the age of six and released his first recording at the age of 18 with the German rock band Gantenbein was attracted by Indian classical music and moved to the country to live in Auroville near Puducherry.

Mishko M'Ba, French bassist and composer who also studied Indian classical music under sarod player Debi Prasad Ghosh in Puducherry and Holger Jetter got together owing to their combined interest in jazz and Indian classical music.

When acclaimed drummer Sangoma Everett visited Puducherry for a holiday, Holger spotted the occasion and asked him to join them for a trio. Talking about the rather offbeat name for the band, Holger Jetter in an email interview said, "The name reflects the lightness and high energy of the band".

The band's influences come from all over the world, while Holger brings elements of European classical and jazz-rock, Mishko has African roots, Sangoma has an American jazz feel to his music. "We are also interested in Indian classical music", says Jetter and this is perhaps what makes their music different from regular jazz ensembles.
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"We play a lot of improvisation and we have our own compositions", Jetter tells us. "The stay in India influences our sound greatly, we are using elements of Indian music in our compositions as well as in the way we play our lines", he adds.

The trio has toured extensively, especially within the country and expects to bring to its audience in Bangalore a lot of joy. Besides, Jetter also has a firm rooted faith in the country's jazz scene. "The jazz scene in India was quite nice in the sixties and seventies and it looks like it is slowly recovering from a dry phase", he says.u00a0
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At: bFlat, 100 Feet, Indiranagar
On: November 20, 8.30 pm
Call: 4241 4000
For: Rs 200

Resounding specials

Go Blue
Get your dose of blues this weekend as city-based Parachute XVI goes live. With Ananth Menon on the guitar and vocals, Ganesh Krishnaswamy on bass guitar and vocals, Gurudarshan Somayaji on drums and Rahul Ranganath on guitars. The band is a collective of established musicians and renders bluesy numbers with an overall melodious tone.
At: Hard Rock Cafe, St Mark's Road
On: November 18, 8.30 pm
Call: 4124 2222

Airport Live
Founded by composer Arijit Datta, who decided to go experimental and launched the band, Mumbai-based Airport started in 2009. Catch this band live in action with their Indie numbers in town with Arijit on the vocals and guitar, Vinay Lobo on lead guitar, Adrian D'Souza on drums, Amit Ahuja on bass and Shirish Malhotra on nylon guitar, saxophone and steel flute.
At: Opus, Palace Cross Roads
On: November 19, 9 pm
Call: 3391 0452

Eastern rock
Mizoram-based Boomarang, a popular rock band is here in town to speak the stories of young hearts and minds. Their music is a perfect blend of jazz, funk, punk and blues expressing the joys and woes of youngsters and their lives in a politically disturbed North Eastern India. A common passion brought these musicians together in 2005.
At: Kyra Theatre, Indira Nagar
On: November 21, 7.30 pm
Call: 4438 9292