Portraits of urban life and jazz by the way
Originating in the 20th century within the African-American communities of South America, Jazz as a genre is difficult to define and includes a range of influences like blue notes, syncopation and swung notes. In India, jazz was at its peak in 1930’s to 50’s with musicians like Leon Abbey, Ken Mac and Rudy Jackson. To add a contemporary twist to it, jazz musicians Adil and Vasundhara have come up with their debut music album, Ampersand that is a collection of ten urban stories.
“All our content is inspired by city life, the attitudes and philosophies of a typical Indian city and how it is to be an independent artist in a music industry that is Bollywood-dominated,” says Adil. To this, Vasundhara adds, “Some lyrics I wrote when I was 17-18, others are more recent.”
The album also features some of India’s finest musicians — from Louis Banks, A.R. Rahman, John McLaughlin, Loy Mendonsa and Anindo Bose among others.
Talking about Jazz as a genre, the duo put forth, “Jazz music is now on the rise in India. There are very young kids coming to watch our gigs. This is due to easy access through online portals and the hundreds of music schools sprouting up all over.”
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