Flautist Rajeev Raja thinks that over the years, jazz may have distanced itself from the lay listener’s playlist. He believes the genre is like fine wine. “One is used to the regular wines in the markets,” says Raja. “But then one tastes top end wines and [goes] ‘this is what wine drinking is all about!” The musician is hoping to change the perception with Jazz Goes to the Movies, a concert he’s putting together with an eight-piece band that will belt out jazz versions of signature Hollywood film scores.
Mass effect
Raja’s journey started four years ago with the desire to make the genre more accessible to the public. “Jazz always seems like a premium, inaccessible, niche kind of art form, especially in the Indian scenario where it’s not really a home-grown form of music,” explains Raja. The thought birthed the ‘Jazzification’ concert back in 2014 that infused jazz into classic rock numbers. Then there was another similar attempt with Beatles songs. These efforts, according to the flautist, not only try to keep jazz relevant to people but also help them gauge the various elements of the genre. “There are greater chances of them understanding that jazz is not an alien, touch-me-not kind of music,” he states.
For the upcoming concert, Raja has brought together stellar musicians: Sanjay Divecha (guitar), Karl Peters (bass), Kurt Peters (drums), Rahul Wadhwani (piano/keys), Ramon Ibrahim (trombone), Shirish Malhotra (saxophone) and Bosco Monserat (trumpet). For them, the lure to play such a show lies in the challenge to re-arrange music that might not necessarily lend itself to jazz. With such a large ensemble, task also becomes tricky. “I do the basic arrangement, try it with the band and see which part is working, which doesn’t work and then change it accordingly,” says Wadhwani. The process begins with the musicians deciding on the kind of style or genre of jazz music that best fits a specific melody. Later, all eight sit down to figure out how their respective instruments could best execute the plan. “As musicians or listeners, [we] have all been in a way indebted to jazz because of the contributions [it has] made to our own lives,” says Raja. “Both in terms of listening and of learning higher levels of technique and musical expressions,” he adds.
Genre bending
The concert will see the band ‘jazzify’ signature themes from films like The Godfather; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly; Lion King and the James Bond series among others . “When you actually delve into the depth of compositions, the complexity of it is quite mind-boggling,” shares Raja giving the example of the Mission Impossible soundtrack which might appear to be easy but is actually quite complicated. What works though is the flexibility and adaptability of the genre. “Jazz is free-flowing, giving more space for individual expression,” says Raja.
There’s of course the concern that these attempts to make jazz contemporary could dilute its essence. But Raja is quick to clarify, “Great jazz musicians [like] Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Wand, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea have interpreted bands like the Beatles,” he says. “Are they dumbing down jazz? Wadhwani echoes the sentiment. “If you’re a poet, you can write a poem using complex vocabulary or simple English language,” says the pianist. “But you’re still writing poem.”
In keeping with their tenet, to uphold jazz’s essence, the musicians performing at Jazz Goes to the Movies promised audiences a fun time along with a surprise that’s “closer to home” according to Raja.
Jazz Goes to the Movies on June 23 at the Tata Theatre, NCPA at 7 p.m.See bookmyshow.com for details
