Saxophonist Benjy Sandler from the UK recently presented a night of jazz and post-bop at Skinny Mo’s Jazz Club and he was joined by Arka Chakraborty on organ and piano while Arjun Chakraborty was on the drums. The trio took us on a journey through dystopic sounds from the avant-garde jazz era. From Arthur Blythe, Joey DeFrancesco to Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane, the trio captured their influences well. After the concert, Benjy chatted with t2.

Tell us about improvisation in music....

There’s always an exploration in music. Music definitely flows. Playing music and listening to it from the audience’s perspective are different. There are times when it feels meandering but it’s interesting to chase your thoughts.

There are risks associated with improvisation where you try melody, resonance and dissonance.

When I’m playing I kind of think about it. I’m intuitive and I play what feels right. I think about improvisation more consciously.

Was tonight more intuitive or conscious?

I was pretty much intuitive tonight. Other times, while I play I think of the things I’ve listened to. I play something inspired by that. For example, Abdul Malik’s music is what I go back to. It’s heavily improvised and intensely groovy. By the second set, I tried to channel what excites me about his music.

There was a kind of groove when you started the second set....

It started on a groovy note then it became more robotic. I managed to raise the intensity of the music by the second set. It felt a lot more intense in a good way. I was warmed up and felt myself playing things on a loop, which I thought added intensity to the set and a sense of familiarity. By the second set, I suggested that we start in a specific groove. That’s the one thing that was pre-determined. We did play a piece by Willie Shaw in the end.

How was your experience in the city?

I loved the city; it’s very unique. I like how a lot of things get refurbished and are preserved. I find that very interesting. I like the music scene here as well.

What did you enjoy about the music scene here?

There are plenty of venues to play live music in. I played at AMPM, Broadway and Little Bit Sober and all of it was great. There are plenty of good musicians. We went for a free improvisation session and that was good too. Calcutta is a city in India where there’s space for free improvisation.

Are you passionate about free improvisation?

I look up to it a lot. I think free improvisation music sounds so unique. I can pull anything into it and expand it. We can go in different directions and manage to tie it together. I like composing as well. I just like being able to have a command over what the music sounds like which composing allows me to do.

Do you feel that composing also helps you with the improvisation and they’re connected in a way?

Yes, they’re definitely connected. I guess there’s no right or set way to approach either composing or improvising. Composing kind of allows you time to think about what you’re going to write whereas when you’re improvising it’s very much like you’re in the moment.

How was Skinny Mo’s?

It was amazing. I loved the venue and it allows quite a bit of creative music. I loved collaborating with Arjun and Arka. Arjun and I met in London and that sparked the trip to India. We decided to tour India and this is my first time here. I played in Pune, Mumbai and Guwahati apart from Calcutta.