Brought up in Mumbai, singer Komal Kuwadekar pursued her higher education in London, and had a stint in design and luxury branding. However, her true passion was music. “My parents have been avid music enthusiasts. I was exposed to jazz and Hindustani classical music from an early age, and was trained in vocals,” she says. This evening Kuwadekar’s All Star Jazz Band will be performing in the city. She will be accompanied by Kristos Yerolatsitis on piano, Mario Menelaou on upright bass, Nakul Mehta on saxaphone and Saurav Ghosh on drums. “Our set list will be a mix of standards and originals from my forthcoming album Light And Dark , for which I have written all the lyrics. We will [also] play classics like ‘Autumn Leaves’ and ‘What a Wonderful World’ and some songs by Nina Simone and Etta James.,” shares Kuwadekar with much delight.
Her forthcoming project Light And Dark has six songs. “As the title suggests, it’s about [the] contrasting emotions one faces. I prefer to write the lyrics first, before getting into the composition. I am inspired by the stories I hear or read, and I try to translate my thoughts musically,” she explains. On the EP, four songs have been composed by Sherrin Varghese, and two songs by Komal and CeAzer. The sound combines elements of alternative rock, soul, rhythm n' blues and jazz. The video of the first single ‘I Want Only You’ is out on YouTube.
“It’s my first attempt to get into the independent music space as a recording artiste. And while I have focused on live shows with popular songs, I do believe there is an arena for original music,” says Kuwadekar. Her influences have ranged from Kishori Amonkar and Bhimsen Joshi to Frank Sinatra, Al Green besides Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. “There’s so much to learn from these masters,” she concludes.
All Star Jazz Band will perform at the Experimental Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point at 7 p.m. tonight; more details on bookmyshow.com
