Jazz is a music genre by the African-American community. With roots in European harmony and African rhythmic rituals, this music genre is characterised by swing and blue notes, call-and-response vocals and so on. And this enigmatic music genre is coming to grace India! Here’s everything that you need to know about the World Jazz Festival.
World Jazz Festival In India
In 2020, Banyan Tree’s International Jazz Festival was established to enhance and advance the jazz scene in India. This festival partners with the Dutch Amersfoort Jazz Festival to present outstanding jazz and global music simultaneously. For its previous two editions, it visited Pune, Bangalore, and Mumbai and received a roaring reception in each of these locations.
And this year for its third edition, the festival is taking a leap and touring five cities — Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad. This tour will start from 20th to 30th of April 2023, which is ten days. The last day of the tour, 30th April, is celebrated as World Jazz Day. In addition to this, the event features an extraordinary line-up of international jazz musicians from the Netherlands, USA, Thailand, Serbia, Brazil, and South Korea.
Also Read: The Piano Man Jazz Club Is Where You Need To Be For The Best Of Jazz Music In Delhi
Many musicians and music enthusiasts around the world have been drawn to the captivating and historically significant genre of jazz. It is a highly advanced type of music because of its improvisational and experimental nature. Its dense and complicated melodic and rhythmic patterns are the result of the enormous contributions of many illustrious legends.
India’s Version Of This Unique Music
In the 1920s, African-American jazz artists performed in Mumbai and Kolkata — first jazz appearance in India. They served as an inspiration for Goan musicians, who later infused jazz into Hindi cinema music in India. Jazz music has frequently interacted with Indian music. Today, there is a thriving jazz scene in places like Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, and Goa.
There are certain similarities between jazz and Indian classical music, one of which is the use of improvisation in both genres. This was recognised by musicians, and in the 1940s, partnerships between Indian classical musicians and Western jazz players led to the creation of a new musical style known as Indo jazz, which combined jazz, classical, and Indian influences.
Also Read: Bangalore’s New Speakeasy Has Golden Chandeliers, Jazz Music & Gives Great Gatsby Feels
Are you ready to jazz it?
Cover Image Courtesy: Canva Image (Rep Img)