Jazzfest 2023 signed off, fittingly off-kilter perhaps, with the blues — Kolkata's Arinjoy Trio presenting a super-tight set at Dalhousie Institute on a nippy Sunday evening after one Elvis from Goa took us on an invigorating session of accessible improvised music, followed by a band from Germany helmed by a Bengali presenting a multi-layered array of fusion music with a sprightly sitar in the forefront.
Day Three of the annual festive celebration of music was like a cosy blanket, a pastiche of brightly coloured fabric fragments, some starkly different from each other in accent, but warmly reassuring that perhaps all is not lost in the universe of tunes. So if Hindol Deb’s Essence of Duality was about the nuanced top-loading of jazz harmonies on Indian classical ragas, livened up by some bouncy bass as drums — a true Indo-German collaboration if there ever was one — Humsafar used motifs of jazz rock to take us on a mind-blowing journey of exploration, courtesy shimmering guitar solos of Goa’s most famous unknown Elvis Lobo. At times his guitar sang and screamed, a la Paul McCartney on steroids, as he played over Bosco D’Souza's languorous mix of drums 'n cymbals. Together they combined smoothly with the effortless ease of Joe Ferrao’s bass and the startling intensity of Victor Netesov’s trumpet. Elvis is clearly the mainstay of this ensemble and it is to his credit and the virtuoso talents of band mates that ensured the end result was one wholesome whole.
Essence of Duality is the fruition of idea exchanges that Hindol has had with his German bandmates, ensuring that his own love, understanding and appreciation of Indian classical music never comes in the way of imbibing the new. The title track is an exemplification of that, starting with some gentle piano, only to flower as an energetic and supremely beautiful exposition.
As for the Kolkata trio that has been making waves as one of the foremost blues bands of the country, Arinjoy Sarkar, Aakash Ganguly and Sounak Roy presented a selection of their originals (some out on vinyl and streaming platforms). These are either heartfelt tributes to masters of the genre or joyous endeavours worked on meticulously, so much so that the universally acknowledged open-ended nature of the blues, even while confined to a finite set of chords, acquire a sense of chiselled perfection in execution. A delightful contradiction no doubt, but Arinjoy's stark, unvarnished guitar solos — even while making those endearing facial contortions — exude a sense of quiet contentment that come through in his singing too.
The bouncy swing of Cold Cold Cold gave way to Talking That Talk and the exquisite slow-burner, Now I Think I am Done. There was more, by which time the crowd was already on its feet. Aakash's authoritative restraint on the bass — he remained characteristically deadpan though — and the telling pauses he takes in solos, along with Sounak's drumming, executed with the fluidity and detachment of a pro, brought in a sense of cohesion that is on par with the best of the best.
It is said that you never really master the blues. You keep trying. On the way, there is a good chance you may get lost. But Arinjoy and his friends are grounded enough to ensure they don't. No wonder this Kolkata trio is going places.
So long till Jazzfest 2024. Keep shining Varun Desai. And thank god for Dalhousie Institute!
ESSENCE OF DUALITY is Hindol Deb, Clemens Orth, Christian Ramond, Christoph Hillmann. Here they are performing on the last day of JazzFest 2023 at Dalhousie Institute on Sunday. Picture by Leslie D’Gama
HUMSAFAR is Elvis Lobo (guitar), Joe Ferrao (bass), Bosco D'Souza (drums) and Victor Netesov (trumpet). Picture by Leslie D’Gama
ARINJOY TRIO: The many faces of Arinjoy in performance at Dalhousie Institute. Picture by Leslie D’Gama
Akash Ganguly: All about bass vibes. Picture by Leslie D’Gama
Sounak Roy: Fluidity of a pro. Picture by Leslie D’Gama