For many jazz aficionados, it is the old school that still rings true: what is generally thought of as the ‘purest’ form of the genre. For them, good news: a concert this evening has been dedicated to that golden age of jazz, with American musicians Andrea Snitzer (vocals), Greg Banaszak (saxophone), Chris Anderson (trombone) and Theron Brown (piano) collaborating with Mumbai-based Dee Wood (bass) and Benny Soans (drums).
Banaszak and Soans have performed together last year, but this is the first time that this sextet is coming together. “I am excited to come back to this beautiful city with my band and to collaborate with Indian artistes like Benny,” says Banaszak. “Last year, Benny and I had performed together with the Symphony Orchestra of India. I look forward to playing with him again.”
Banaszak, who turns 50 next week, took up the alto-saxophone at 10, enchanted by its rich sound; he just knew right away that he’d play it for life. “My hometown Buffalo, New York, has impacted my music to a great extent,” he says. “It still has a rich tradition of jazz with saxophonists being employed by the American big bands of Buddy Rich, Woody Herman and Maynard Ferguson. In fact my first teacher, Dave Schiavone, is a member of the Woody Herman Jazz Orchestra.”
While Schiavone shaped Banaszak’s formative years, great American saxophonist Jackie McLean continues to be an inspiration, after mentoring the young musician in his third year at the Hartt School of Music, Hartford, Connecticut. As a tribute to his teacher, Banaszak has composed a piece titled ‘The House that McLean Built’, which the sextet will be performing this evening.
A believer in “getting the basics right”, Banaszak insists that the new generation of jazz musicians ought to first study the history of the genre before experimenting with newer forms. Jazz comprises the “best elements of humanity” for him, since, “the music itself is devoid of politics and negativity, and is accepting of everyone. A jazz musician must use his or her sound and creative energy to be a positive force in today’s complicated world.”
For Theron Brown, 29, son of pastor, gospel music came naturally; he started out playing piano in a church in Zanesville, Ohio. Then at 18, he made the switch to jazz. “One day, after an orchestra rehearsal, my viola instructor encouraged me to take up jazz,” says Brown. “The next day, he brought me a Thelonious Monk CD and a tune book with his transcriptions. That moment changed my life.” Brown went on to study jazz at the University of Akron. Interestingly, he played the role of Herbie Hancock in Miles Ahead: Don Cheadle’s 2015 biopic about legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. “His name holds a lot of weight, and it was a historic moment for me.” While his repertoire is wide, he loves playing jazz ballads. The most recent one he has learnt is the 1938 number ‘You Go To My Head’ by J. Fred Coots.
Vocalist Andrea Snitzer, is 22 and the band’s youngest member. Her primary musical influences were pop, R ’n’ B, classical and folk. t 16 she sang her first jazz tune ‘September in the Rain’, a 1937 song popularised by Frank Sinatra and Rod Stewart. This is when she decided to take up jazz seriously.: “I immediately connected with jazz as I think of it as the music of a free spirit.” Her early exposure to music came from her father, who played old music in the family car. “I grew up listening to songs from musicals, a lot of Billy Joel, and folk tunes. Dad introduced me to the joy of music.” Unlike many jazz musicians, she also likes pop. She mostly performs covers, but also sometimes writes her own music. “My original pieces have more of a pop/folk/blues influence.” Snitzer’s signature tune is ‘Georgia On My Mind’, written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell. “I sing this song everywhere. It’s the tune that I believe best reflects my soul.”
Drummer Benny Soans is 70, and started his career in the late 60s, playing with big bands, the 10- to 12-member ensembles. Soans says, “I was lucky to have the chance to play with one of the biggest band leaders of the day, Johnnie Baptist, who moulded the way I play music today. He was a huge influence in my early days, and I learnt a lot from him.” Back when he was growing up, “listening to the radio every evening was a ritual. I used to listen to Radio Ceylon, a station which aired Western music and jazz, and that inspired me to love jazz. Another station I loved listening to was Voice of America.” He started his own pop quartet, The Rave, which lasted about three years in the mid-60s, and then turned sessions musician, performing with other bands, In the 70s and 80s, the Jazz Yatra allowed him to interact with other international musicians. He was mentored by legendary jazz drummer Max Roach, a pioneer of bebop. “I continue to play the old styles of jazz, which not many musicians play today,” he says. “Jazz is all about what you feel. If you tell a jazz artiste to play the same song again, it will sound different each time.” Soans is sad that jazz isn’t appreciated as much today.
“I find pop music to be too simplistic. Jazz is a complex form of music, and requires technique and dexterity. But unfortunately, not many people listen to pure jazz today.” Soans’ met Banaszak last year, when they played an almost 15-minute impromptu version of Charlie Parker’s ‘Donna Lee’, for “It was a fun experience, and I look forward to playing with Greg again.”
Bebop and Beyond will be held at the Tata Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point, today at 7 p.m. For tickets call 22824567/ 66223724
The writer is an intern with The Hindu
“A jazz musician must use his/her creative energy to
be a positive force in a complicated world.”
