Gig review/ Bombay Brass - jazz

By Narendra Kusnur

Concert: Bombay Brass

Artistes: Bombay Brass, led by Rhys Sebastian

Genre: Jazz, fusion

Details: AntiSocial, Lower Parel, January 22

Rating: ****

(Pic by Rishabh Chadha)

Around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, four musicians walked into the main door of AntiSocial, Lower Parel, playing their instruments. Two of them carried a saxophone, one had a trumpet and another a trombone. The packed venue cheered as Bombay Brass began its set.

Led by Rhys Sebastian on alto and tenor sax, the musicians played a scintillating mix of jazz, funk, Latino, Hindi film tunes and Indo-fusion. The gig also marked the launch of the group’s four-track self-titled EP, now available on the streaming platforms.

The band had that thing called swing. For about 80 minutes, they played tunes that oscillated between the contemporary and the old school, flipping through genres smoothly. Besides Sebastian, who composed the original tunes, the line-up comprised I.D. Rao on sax, Robin Fargose on trumpet, Ramon Ibrahim on trombone, Rahul Wadhwani on keyboards, Zohran Miranda on guitar, Saurabh Suman on bass, Jehangir Jehangir on drums and Vibhas ‘Titu’ Rahul on percussion. In guest appearances, Avadhoot Phadke played bansuri and Chirag Katti was on sitar.

Interestingly, the welcome song was a jazzified version of O.P. Nayyar’s ‘Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu’, from the 1958 film Howrah Bridge. The group quickly moved into contemporary jazz-funk space with ‘Outta Nowhere’, which featured a brilliant guitar solo. There was some magnificent horn coordination on ‘Quegdevelim Sunset’, whose lilt took you to the Goan beaches.

‘Anytime Now’ had melodic bansuri passages, and ‘Goodbye Ravi’, dedicated to a former driver in the Sebastian household, featured a remarkable sitar solo. ‘Prime Sinisters/ Run BMC’ blended jazz, funk and a hip-hop groove. To return to Hindi film nostalgia, the band also played the Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi song ‘Ajeeb Dastaan’.

Sebastian did an interactive bit with the audience as they sung along with the traditional ‘Amazing Grace’, which was followed by a riveting bass solo. ‘Sure, Why Not!’ again had some wonderful bansuri, and the horns were in full swing on ‘Kalavati’ and the finale ‘Honkers’.

The evening was well-structured and the sound was good. These days, one doesn’t see many brass ensembles, and it was a delight to hear these youngsters. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, the city saw many shows by saxophonists Braz Gonsalves, Jazzy Joe and Manohari Singh, trumpeter Bosco Monsorate, and trombonists Anibal Castro and Blasco Monsorate. Today, fewer jazz shows focus on these instruments, as the focus has shifted to guitar and keyboards. The point made is that there are very few horn players, and fewer avenues to learn.

In such a scenario, Bombay Brass really shone. Sebastian, son of well-known Mumbai pianist-keyboardist Merlin D’Souza, had his heart in the right place. The music was very uplifting and energetic, and we're sure these were just the opening bars.