“If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.” These were the words of the inimitable Louis Armstrong and the Peter Nitsch Trio brought this spirit to life during its performance at Skinny Mo’s Jazz Club in Calcutta on November 22. The trio, consisting of Peter Nitsch on bass guitar, Wes Georgiev on the piano, and Aniruddha Saha on drums, was at ease as it belted out an elaborate set list — (“What is This Thing Called Love?”, “Stella by Starlight”, “Alone Together”, “Body and Soul”, “Peace” among other songs) — almost without a pause as the performers mixed smooth jazz lines with the frenzied, the jubilant with the melancholy, the diatonic with the chromatic. A synergy existed among the three musicians — ineffable yet distinct — as they played on stage to a room full of jazz enthusiasts.

Jazz has always been characterised by a lack of form, loathing for rules, and an affinity for disorder. When it comes to jazz, the formula thus lies in the chaos, in finding the beauty in the bedlam, and this the Peter Nitsch Trio intuited and achieved. Every piece the band presented felt like a search for something, an exploration being undertaken, chiselling away at a metaphorical rock with the rhythm and the melody of their music to uncover a secret.

Peter Nitsch Trio’s style is minimalist and understated. The selected numbers —they included songs by Victor Young, Cole Porter and Johnny Green — evoked both nostalgia and warmth. The audience was enthusiastic in its response. The subdued atmosphere of Skinny Mo’s Jazz Club provided an ideal setting for the band’s performance. Calcutta will look forward to many more concerts by the trio.