‘My music speaks for me’

Dana Gillespie says she doesn’t necessarily create music for how well it is received

November 25, 2015 03:57 pm | Updated 06:43 pm IST - Bengaluru

Matter of perspective Dana says she is not really looking at fame and glory

Matter of perspective Dana says she is not really looking at fame and glory

In the early 90s, Dana Gillespie can tell you about her visits to India as a blues singer and how it involved a “very young” Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa much before they made it big as Bollywood composers. She can also tell you about how, when she was on a 10-city tour in 2002, she was on a camel safari in Jaisalmer. “The camel driver was singing, so I sang a Pankaj Udhas song to him. He was shocked. Then he continued singing and so did I. For four hours, we just communicated through music,” Gillespie says.

Gillespie, 66, an actor as well as a singer for decades now, first played at a blues and jazz gig organised by restauranteur AD Singh (of Olive Bar and Kitchen) and recalls her immediate connect. She says, “Honestly I think that in those days, I was the first blues performer to actually come and perform in India. I never really knew what to expect, whether the audiences were ready for my style of blues. But once I went on stage, the audiences really loved the music – after all how many can resist some form of risqué stuff being tossed around? I could see people grinning and laughing away and having a jolly good time.”

Like any other first time visitor to the country, Gillespie saw the contrasts between rich and poor, but became attached to another familiar feeling that comes to foreigners in India as well. She says, “I see an innate spirituality in Indians and that’s what connects me with your beautiful country.”

Bengaluru is her spiritual home in India, owing to regular visits Gillespie makes to the Sai Baba Ashram. She adds, “I come as often as I can, right from the time I came here 35 years ago.” This time around, her trip to India is much more than spiritual. Gillespie and her trio (guitarist Jake Zaitz and pianist Matt Gest) are on a four-city tour as part of Simply The Blues Festival between November 25 and 29. Gillespie winds up her India tour at Bengaluru on November 29. The trio will perform from their 2014 release, Cat’s Meow . She adds that she doesn’t necessarily create music for how well it is received. “At this point in time, I am not really looking at fame and glory. My music speaks for me, and as long as I get a chance to perform I will do so. I say if I have to pass on to the next world, then I would like to do so on stage,” says Gillespie.

As a composer and musician, however, creating music is still an evolutionary process, one that rightly involves trial and error. She adds, “Sometimes I go to the trash can and hit Restore, as I find that there is something interesting I chucked out.”

Known for her risqué style of somewhat adult blues, Gillespie feels there is no conflict between her spirituality and blues music. She says, “To me, blues is spiritual. Audiences have a misconception that the blues is depressing music. It is not. It is all about emotions and rhythms. On stage, you will always see me moving around, swaying to the beat, feeling the music through my body. My style of blues is upbeat and danceable, and I love seeing people come out and have a great time.”

More than 50 years into her career, Gillespie can safely say she has worked with the best in the business, so it is no surprise to hear she doesn’t have a wish list of dream collaborators. “I have played with some of the best musicians of my time, from David Bowie, Jimmy Page, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood to a whole load of others, and each experience has been fantastic. So I take each day at a time and see what comes along.” Dana Gillespie Trio performs on November 29 at BlueFROG, Church Street. Tickets for Rs 500 are available on bookmyshow.

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