Played behind closed doors of coffee shops, pubs and bars, jazz in Chennai seemed to be in the hands of a niche group. In recent years, however, that has changed. “Jazz started emerging during the 1960s in Chennai. I started the Madras Jazz Festival in 2011. But, even before that Unwind Centre had a Jazz Revival hosted once every year, in which we had local, national and international artistes perform. The objective of jazz revival was to bring back the flare of jazz in Chennai,” says Eddie Prithviraj, the director of Unwind Center — a school for music that alsohosts gigs every weekend.
It’s a common misconception that jazz is for the elite. They couldn’t be more wrong.
Jazz originated in the late 19th to early 20th century in Africa as an interpretation or fusion of American and European classical music and African slave folk music. So for all intents and purposes, jazz originated among the African slaves. Jazz has of course changed over the years with each musician’s style and interpretation, which is one of the greatest facets of jazz.
As it spread around the world, new styles were born. New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s. By the 1930s swing jazz and gypsy jazz were becoming increasingly popular followed by bebop and cool jazz in the 1940s. The 1950s saw the advent of free jazz, one of the most popular sub-genres of jazz. Hard bop emerged, taking its influences from gospel, rhythm and blues. Then we had jazz rock fusion, smooth jazz and contemporary jazz.
“Music is for everyone. I learnt from experience when I went for the birthday party of my colleague’s daughter in Ambattur. Her uncle, a huge blues fan, knew well the works of Bing Crosby and Buddy Guy. So don’t underestimate or stereotype the jazz listener. I do not think it is only for the elite. The irony is that some of the so-called elite have no idea what jazz is all about,” says Prithviraj, who is also the organiser of the Madras Jazz Festival.
“When we have events at Unwind we get a crowd of about 50-100, which is a full house given that we are just a small space. But when I organise the festivals there is easily a floating crowd of about 800-1,000 people, which just shows how much jazz has grown. When I started the Madras Jazz Festival to replace Jazz Revival, we had only a crowd of about 200. So you can see statistically also the improvement,” continues Prithviraj.
Eddie Prithviraj
Jazz has always been present in Chennai. One just has to look for it because in a city with its own varied music culture, it is very difficult to introduce another genre. “Jazz should be taken to the streets. Look at someone dancing koothu and go up to them and tell them that you can jam with them as well. Show them the beauty of jazz. It’s emotion,” says Prithviraj.
“People are defining what jazz is and what it is not. What’s important is that it’s an attitude and approach to music organisation. I have never considered myself a jazz musician until recently. My identity is that of an improviser and saxophonist,” says Maarten Visser, a Dutch saxophonist, a pioneer in the field, who has been performing in Chennai for 20 years. “When I started in the late 1990s, I played with artistes like Keith Peters at Quickie’s, the coffee house on Sterling Road. It was always packed. I’ve never had a problem with audience. There always were people, even if very marginal, interested in jazz,” continues Visser as he talks about what it is to be a jazz musician in Chennai.
Media also plays an important role in creating an awareness. Jazz is not mainstream and the public pays attention to what the media portrays as popular. Therefore, unless one looks at advertisements or signs up to receive invites, people do not know when there are jazz events taking place.
“While jazz is definitely an acquired taste, I’ve noticed that lately the audience I perform for spans different generations. People come looking for something even if they do not know what they’re looking for. Sometimes they find what they’re searching for. That’s the beauty of jazz, in fact the beauty of music itself. It brings together people,” finishes Visser.
Jazz is full of intricacies and improvisation, it may take a while to get used to. There are so many concepts woven together to produce the distinct sound that jazz is, at first it can be overwhelming. But perhaps if one gives it a chance they might be surprised. There’s jazz for everyone — Chet Baker, Louis Armstrong, Bill Evans, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald or if you wish to have some easy listening there is Kenny G. No matter what your taste or preference, jazz can meet it.
