Many are asking: “Can you feel the winter chill?” Well, if not, you know winter is here because Jazzfest Kolkata is returning between December 8 and 10.
“Bringing the Kolkata Jazzfest back in physical format after three years has been a huge effort with nine countries represented by nine bands over three days; a celebration of talented women like Rupa and Tritha from Calcutta, who have made such a significant cultural impact across the globe. The introduction of the ‘Jazz+’ programme is fascinating to me because we’re finally getting to introduce music to young audiences in schools and have international musicians sharing their knowledge through specialised workshops. The festival brings us all together each winter to celebrate our unity through music and I hope this year amplifies that vibe,” said Varun Desai, director of the festival.
German jazz band Essence of Duality
Meet the acts
Ron Cha Trio: The members are Ron Cha (a pianist and composer who made his debut at the Jazzfest when he was just 14); bassist Sonic Shori; and drummer and percussionist Dhir Mody. The band incorporates elements of Western classical, blues and gospel into their music, creating a style of their own.
Four on a Swing: Pradyumna Singh Manot, a Latin jazz pianist, founded the band in 2007. Ahona Sen (a Brazilian and Cuban music specialist) is the lead vocalist, Bihu Mukherjee plays the drums, Aditya Servaia plays the bass, Aamir Rizvi plays the guitar and is also a vocalist, and the founder, Pradyumna, plays the piano.
Tritha & Friends featuring Rupa: Tritha, an artiste and music activist from Calcutta, has earned international acclaim and delivered an impressive performance at the Cannes Film Festival 2019. She has been featured on BBC World and TEDx Delhi and has albums like PaGLI and Pachamama — A Tribute to Mother Earth. She’ll be performing with Gaurab Chatterjee (Gaboo), Bodhisattwa Ghosh (Bodhi) and Mainak Nag Chowdhury (Bumpy) at the festival and will be joined by a disco jazz artiste Rupa (who hasn’t performed live since the ’80s).
The Shonai Collective: Shifumi Saito on upright bass, Shantanu Sudarshan on drums, and the pianist Shonai make up the indie trio. Their latest eight-piece collection, titled Epiphany, explores the intricacies of human relationships.
Jazzmahal: Founded by Debjit Mahalanobis, a double bassist and producer, the band explores an uncharted realm with their modern jazz aesthetic. Members comprise pianist and composer Tazim Sheikh and drummer Aniruddha Saha.
Wojtek Justyna Treeoh!: The ensemble from the Netherlands blends funk jazz tunes with the rhythms of world music. It’s led by the guitarist Wojtek Justyna and is defined by its fuzzy leads, African rhythms and pulsating synth bass lines. The ensemble features artistes from Poland, Germany, Austria and Portugal and has as the current line-up: Daniel Lottersberger on bass guitar, Alex Bernath on drums, and Diogo Carvalho on percussion and synths.
Humsafar: The multicultural fusion band displays the unique rhythms of Goa. The ensemble boasts its rich melodies, and mastery of rhythms with the lead guitarist Elvis Lobo, drummer Bosco D’Souza, trumpeter Victor Netesov from Russia and bassist Joe Ferraro.
Essence of Duality: The Germany-based band blends Indian classical music and jazz as the sitarist Hindol Deb is on a quest to innovative sounds and compositional styles. The ensemble with virtuoso jazz pianist Clemens Orth, drummer Christoph Hillmann, and bassist Christian Ramond on board will captivate with their rhythmic innovation.
Arinjoy Trio: Get set for vocalist-guitarist Arinjoy Sarkar, bassist Aakash Ganguly, and drummer Sounak Roy. Their latest EP, Talkin’ That Talk, with collaborations for organ parts by John Mccullough, strings by Joe Deninzon, and horns by Mike Snow, has been produced by veteran guitarist Amyt Datta and has been mixed and mastered by multi-Grammy winning artiste Marc Urselli.