Jazz Utsav 2007: Mumbai & New Delhi, November 23-25, 2007

Jazz is a celebration of the human spirit expressed through music. Jazz Utsav is a festival of this celebration, the annual coming together of jazz music, jazz musicians and jazz fans for three days in November, in Mumbai and Delhi.

Since the 1980s, when it was known as the Jazz Yatra, this festival of music has been one of the highpoints of the cultural calendar in the two cities.

From the early years, musicians from all over the world, many of them household names, like Sonny Rollins, Stephan Grappelli, Trilok Gurtu and Freddie Hubbard, have enthralled audiences.

The Utsav this year has an equally formidable global line-up, with bands from six countries, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Germany, Norway and Poland. And, of course, keeping in mind the objective of promoting jazz music and musicians in the country, there will be top Indian representatives at both Delhi and Mumbai.

Jazz Utsav is organised by Capital Jazz in Delhi and by West Coast Jazz in Mumbai.

The list of bands and schedule of performances is:

New Delhi
Mumbai

FICCI Auditorium, Tansen Marg, New Delhi
Amphitheatre at Bandra Bandstand, Bandra, Mumbai

Date
Performing Artists
Performing Artists

Fri 23 Nov 07
Chet Baker Tribute (Norway)
Paula Jeanine

Cafe Du Sport (Germany)
Jake Fryer & the London Bebop Collective (UK)

Sascha Ley (Belgium)

Sat 24 Nov 07
Ramamani with Amit Heri Group (India)
Sascha Ley (Belgium)

Krsystof Herdzin (Poland)
Madhav Chari Trio (India)

Chet Baker Tribute (Norway)

Sun 25 Nov 07
Madhav Chari Trio (India)
Krsystof Herdzin (Poland)

Jake Fryer & the London Bebop Collective (UK)
Martin Dahanukar (Switzerland) & Louis Banks

(TBA)
Caf Du Sport (Germany)

New Delhi

Tickets priced at Rs.300/- each will be available at Steakhouse (Jorbagh), the Music Shop (Khan Market) Opus (Vasant Vihar), Lodi, The Garden Restaurant (Lodi Road), Tabula Rasa (Saket) and at the venue on the days of the shows.

Timing:

Gates Open 6:30 pm
Show: 7:00 to 10:00 pm each day

Mumbai

The Jazz Utsav Festival in Mumbai is being held as part of the Bandra Festival, and entry is free on each day.

Artist Information

CAFE DU SPORT

Germany

Jan von Klewitz - saxophone
Bruno Mller - guitar
Guido May - drums
Christian von Kaphengst - bass

Caf du Sport came into prominence when when it won the first prize at the Hennessy Jazz Search 2000 in Cologne. It impressed jury, comprising elite German jazz musicians and critics with “the most complete musical performance". .

Caf du Sport presents a broad spectrum of music with elements of jazz without ever sinking into smooth, trendy irrelevance. The band is completely natural, effortless and relaxed. In its own compositions the band switches with easy virtuosity from strains of swing to cool jazz, melancholic saxophone ballads, Bossa Nova and blues, even sometimes entering the genre of club music with unusual remixes.

Jan von Klewitz - saxophone

Jan von Klewitz studied at the Cologne School of Music and the Banff Center of the Arts in Canada. He has toured extensively with Bill Elgart, Evan Parker, Albert Mangelsdorff and Aki Takase. He has performed at well-known festivals: Bucharest, Cologne, Leverkusen, North Sea/The Hague, and at the Berlin and San Francisco jazz festivals.

Bruno Mller - guitar

Bruno Mller was 14 when he discovered that the guitar was the instrument for him. Mller studied at the Cologne School of Music and has been freelancing since as a live and studio musician. He has shared the stage with a more than impressive list of musicians: Joe Sample, Till Brnner, Wolfgang Haffner and many others.

Guido May - drums

Guido May first connected with drums in 1984, followed by three years at the Dante Agostini percussion school in Munich. In 1989 he started studying popular music in Hamburg. A study trip to New York was followed by a spell at the Vermont Jazz Center under Attila Zoller in 1990. His musical career boasts of performances with several jazz greats, as well as European tours with Pee Wee Ellis, Mose Allison, Barbara Dennerlein, Fred Wesley and Kenny Wheeler.

Christian von Kaphengst -- bass

Born in Mainz, Germany, in 1966, jazz bassist von Kaphengst initially studied classical piano and later switched his focus to classical contrabass and studied under Norbert Banz until 1988, after which he started studying jazz and also graduated in art and education in 1995.

Christian von Kaphengst was a member of the German Jazz Orchestra. Christian von Kaphengst is currently producing the next Brnner album.

Ramamani with Amit Heri Group

India

Ramamani - Vocals
Amit Heri - Guitar
Ranjit Barot - Drums
Karl Peters - Bass

R A Ramamani, a gifted singer and composer, made her mark internationally in the 80s with her band Jazz Yatra. Her improvisational talents and openness to other kinds of music have seen her perform all over the world -- at the Berlin Jazz Festival, the North Sea Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and the opera house in Bayreuth, Germany.

Bangalore-based guitarist Amit Heri studied at Boston's Berklee College of Music and has won international renown with performances at jazz festivals around the world, including Montreux, Berlin and Paris. He has played alongside top-notch musicians like Charlie Mariano, Zakir Hussain, Trilok Gurtu, Matt Garrison and Robert Miles. He also has been nominated for the Oscar for music in The movie Morning Raga.

Ranjit Barot, one of India's best jazz drummers, made his mark as a teenager. He has played all over the world since, done scores for films and is now concentrating on exploring his song-writing instincts and the use of his own voice as a vehicle for his thoughts and musical interpretations.

Unanimously acknowledged as India's best bassist, Karl Peters' virtuosity, his knowledge of western jazz harmonies and his grasp of Indian modes and melodic concept makes him an invaluable force in any Indian and international group.

A TRIBUTE TO CHET BAKER

Norway

Piano/arranger -- Per Husby
Vocals -- Kjersti Stub
Trumpet / vocals -- Ole Jrn Myklebust
Bass -- Terje Venaas
Drums -- Roger Johansen

The American trumpeter and vocalist, Chet Baker (1929-1988), was one of the most significant voices on the international jazz scene for more than 35 years. His warm trumpet sound, matched with a soulful vocal style, saw him play all over the world, till his tragic death in Amsterdam in 1988, at age 58.

Chet Baker was constantly discovered by new audiences wherever he went, taking part in new projects, and meeting new constellations of musicians with whom he performed. His visits to Norway often included playing with Norwegian pianist Per Husby or bass player Terje Venaas, who both did tours and recordings with him.

For this tribute project, Husby - in collaboration with the other musicians - have collected some of their reminiscences of Chet and some of the songs he liked to play, and invited three of the most prominent players of the younger generation of Norwegian Jazz musicians to join them in the performances.

Welcome to a presentation of both the melancholic ballads and the hard swinging be-bop through which Chet Baker lived and breathed.

Per Husby (b.1949) -- piano

Composer, arranger, pianist, and band leader Per Husby has worked with artists like Chet Baker, Pepper Adams, James Moody and Kenny Wheeler. He has composed music for a broad variety of jazz settings, and is a much used band leader and arranger in projects both on Norwegian TV and live. He has released several albums under his own name and received several awards for his work both as a jazz musician and as a composer/arranger.

Kjersti Stub (b.1970) -- vocal

Kjersti Stub is one of Norway's finest jazz vocalists. Her hip timing, soulful phrasing and silvery sensitive voice can be heard on several recordings both in jazz, folk music and more improvised settings. She was brought to national attention in Norway after a sensational concert at the Kongsberg Jazz festival in 1999 with jazz legend Herbie Hancock.

Ole Jrn Myklebust (b.1977) - trumpet / vocal

Musician, composer, arranger, producer Ole Jrn Myklebust is an experienced musical chameleon, having contributed to numerous albums and written and arranged music for both artists in a variety of genres as well as for TV, theatre, and documentaries. He has also been touring with Norway's international vocal star Mari Boine all over Europe. More Info: www.myspace.com/olejorn

Roger Johansen (b.1972) -- drums

Johansen have done festival gigs and tours with jazz giants such as Slide Hampton, Bob Mintzer, Hal Galper, Barbara Morrison, George Garzone, John Taylor, Karin Krog and John Surman to name a few, and is one of the most renowned Norwegian jazz drummers of the younger generation. Johansen released his first album Evening Songs under his own name in 2005. More info: www.rogerjohansen.com

Terje Venaas (1947) -- double-bass

Terje is a living legend in European jazz and has for almost 40 years been a first call bass-player for visiting jazz giants like Joe Henderson, Jim Hall, Kenny Drew, Mel Lewis, Elvin Jones, Art Farmer, to name a few. He was Chet Baker's favourite bass player in Scandinavia, and he actually recorded with Chet in Paris as late as two months before his tragic death.

Jake Fryer & the London Bebop Collective

United Kingdom

Alto Sax -- Jake Fryer
Band TBA

Jake Fryer's playing is strongly rooted in the Be Bop/Hard Bop idiom. His greatest influence is the American alto star Phil Woods. Jake plays with a full, passionate tone and a driving sense of swing which has won him many admirers.

He has enjoyed great successes with groups in the U.K. playing venues including The National Theatre, Way Out West Club, The Criterion Theatre and a residency at the Bulls Head. He has also played in Canada and most recently at the Duc des Lombards jazz club in Paris.

As well as performing with his own jazz group Jake has played lead alto with the legendry mowtown group the Four Tops. He has also performed in musicals up and down the country as well as London's West End and composed various pieces of music for television.

Krzysztof Herdzin Trio

Poland

Piano -- Krzysztof Herdzin
Double Bass -- Zbigniew Wegehaupt
Percussion -- Cezary Konrad

Krzysztof Herdzin is one of the most exceptional pianists, arrangers and composers of the younger generation in Poland today. A classically trained pianist, he has the ability to play anything, from mainstream to bebop, fusion to funk.

He orchestrated and arranged music by famous Polish composer Jan A . P . Kaczmarek on the movie Finding Neverland, which won the Oscar for Best Music (Score) in 2005.

Herdzin has collaborated with Yehudi Menuhin's “Live Music Now" fund based in Germany and has appeared in several orchestral concerts, recorded chamber music pieces for the Bayerische Rundfunk in Munich and has performed with clarinetist Wojciech Mrozek and famous polish flutist Jadwiga Kotnowska.

He has taken part in many television productions for both public and private television stations in Poland . A staff member and lecturer at numerous music workshops, he has held the function of artistic director of prestigious concerts and has recorded six CD's as a leader, in addition to recording almost 100 others as sideman, composer, arranger and conductor.

Madhav Chari Trio

India

Piano - Madhav Chari
Bass - Karl Peters
Drums - Adrian D'Souza

Madhav Chari went to the US in 1985 to study mathematics but 10 years later, in the midst of his PhD, decided his future was in jazz. It was a change that has seen him emerge as India's best-known jazz pianist.

In his impressive career he has performed and interacted with legends like drummer Max Roach, pianist Kenny Barron, saxophonist -composer Henry Threadgill, and more recently with multiple Grammy winner Wynton Marsalis.

He has performed in major cities in the US and Paris and last year played at the Mosaic Music Festival in Singapore. He also performed as a solo artist at the Yatra in Delhi a few years back.

His debut CD, released in 2001 was called “From the Other Side".

He also formed a fusion group, Nomadic Subjects, in New York. Its music incorporated influences from Indian classical music, Afro-Cuban and jazz, and it was featured in Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television in the US.

Sascha Ley

Belgium

Vocals - Sascha Ley
Piano - George Letellier
Acoustic Bass - Marc Demuth
Soprano / Tenor Sax - Johannes Mller
Soprano Sax / Bass Clarinet - Anne Kaftan
Drums - Benot Martiny

Singer-songwriter Sascha Ley has long been a star of the local jazz scene in Luxembourg, where she lives and works. Her love for jazz and improvisation led her to study with the Dutch singer Reinette van Zijtveld in Amsterdam and Kenny Seymour in Luxembourg. She also studied the basis of classical Hindustani vocal with Dhanashree Pandit-Rai at the Jazz India Vocal Institute in Mumbai, India.

The 40-year-old Ley has excelled herself in her latest venture, the CD Travelling Light, featuring entirely original songs. It's an album which has been waiting to happen, showcasing not just her incredible vocal skills and delicate poetic phrasing, but also her maturity as a songwriter.

Ley's songs are accessible, some of them almost displaying a pop sensibility in their catchy melodies. Her lyrics tell tales of bohemian freedom, love, passion and romance. It's “poetry wrapped in brilliant jazz instrumentation”, as one critic put it.

Her band, which features in the new CD also, comprises some of Luxembourg's finest musicians and great talent from Germany and Belgium.

Along with her singing career, Ley has also work professionally as an actress for the last 15-odd years. Two years ago, she “European Shooting Star" award for Luxembourg at the Berlin Film Festival.