The Jazz Music Festival was back with a bang with its second annual instalment in Chennai. Held at Phoenix MarketCity over the weekend, the event attracted both Jazz aficionados and curious mall goers alike. Music, in any form, has the ability to strike a chord with the masses and this event was no exception.
The event included performances by Indian bands Refuge, Black Market, the Sanjay Divecha Trio and Project Albatross, who all performed in the city for the first time. While they are Indian by origin, various members of these bands have experience playing internationally, thereby adapting those influences to create unique compositions that they showcased at the Jazz Festival. Some of these compositions include ‘Africa’ and ‘Bankrupt’ from Sanjay Divecha, whose music has been featured in Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours and drums player Gino Banks, son of legendary jazz pianist and composer Louiz Banks.
Though originally the festival was to feature two bands per day, Saturday had only Refuge playing, while the remaining three played on Sunday, thanks to the unpredictable weather. This proved to be an advantage, with members from all three bands coming together for an impromptu jam session after their individual sets, ending the evening on a high note.
For Project Albatross, an initiative that encourages jazz players to be innovative under one music collective, the experience of playing was as enjoyable as it was for the audience enthralled with their tunes. Performing at the festival this year was a result of a collaboration between Jazz-Fusion vocalist Sentirenla Lucia and Aman Mahajan, co-founder of the band. “Lucia recently returned to Chennai from Boston, where we had been acquainted, and we decided to do something together here,” said Aman. “Although we (Project Albatross) have performed in Chennai previously, it was Lucia’s first time. A lot has to do with the tone of the event to judge the audiences’ reaction, and being a festival, we were very happy with the turnout,” he added.
