1) What is your opinion regarding the present jazz scene in Goa?
CD: If there is a jazz scene in India it has to be right here in Goa. No
where else in India will you find hundreds of venues that feature live
music, many of which host a jazz night at least once a week. Calcutta
used to be a jazz hub in the 60's and it shifted to Mumbai in the 80's
from where it moved to it's rightful home in Goa, considering the amount
of Goan's who have made their mark in this great form of improvised
music.
2) Goa has often been called the Jazz capital of India. Would you agree or disagree with this and why?
CD: Absolutely and I would go even further to call it an international
jazz hub. Some of the world's greatest jazz artistes have found a home
in Goa, returning every year to enjoy the inspiring environment that our
beautiful state offers to just about any creative artist. I have
recorded some phenomenal visiting artistes at my studio in Sangolda. And
each one of them has helped raise the bar for my band as well as for my
studio. Many of these visiting artistes also realise that it is easier
for them to get a booking in Goa than back home where live performance
opportunities keep getting rarer by the day.
3) Do you receive a lot of Goan audience or is it mostly tourists at your concerts?
CD: One more reason why Goa is an international jazz hub is the fact
that local bands often feature international artistes and perform to
international audiiences. Why go out to the rest of the world when the
rest of the world comes to Goa? Goans are generally music loving people
and they enjoy any music that sounds like music and if it gets them to
dance you've nailed it. Jazz is more of a musicians music and is enjoyed
best when you understand the nuances of improvisation, for those who
don't, it's the sheer virtuosity of a good performer that blows them
away. Very often people meet me after a gig with 'what was that?' and
then they answer themselves wit!
h 'that
was great!'
4) What do you think is the attitude of the youth towards Jazz music?
CD: The youth today are tuned in to DJ's more than into jazz or music
performed by band's in general. It's just another phase in the evolution
of music and i'll go with the flow without wanting to debate about it.
To me music has to be made by a musical instrument, to many it could be
made with machines and to each their own! Technology has made things a
lot simpler both in case of performance as well as production. The trick
is to harness technology to hone your skills on a musical instrument or
vocal chords if you are a singer. I often tell youngsters who ask for
my advice to learn a musical instrument before they learn a machine.
5) What is the future of Jazz in Goa?
CD:The future of jazz in Goa like in the rest of the world is wide open.
Jazz is the only form of music that embraces all other sounds of music.
So there's rock-jazz, pop-jazz, funk-jazz, fusion-jazz, blues-jazz and
there will be a -jazz attached to every form of music that comes along.
If DJ music is popular today, well there's DJ-jazz! The most exciting
thing about jazz is what comes next with due respect to what happened in
the past. Onstage, it is often anticipating your fellow musicians next
improvised notes and nailing it in one spontaneous unison phrase. The
future is always uncertain but there's one thing for sure, you'll find a
new form of jazz sneaking up on you any time and all the time. You can
keep yourself updated with the current jazz scene in Goa at www.jazzgoa.com
