Gig review/ Jazz@Prithvi

(Left to right): Adrian D'Souza, Rahul Wadhwani, Louiz Banks, Mark Dey Hartsuch, Sheldon D'Silva, Sanjay Divecha and Gino Banks

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Louiz Banks, Gino Banks and others/ Jazz@Prithvi 

Genre: Jazz

Details: Prithvi Theatre, Juhu; November 7

Rating: ****

The Prithvi Theatre Festival 2022 comes to a conclusion this evening with a western classical performance by members of the Symphony Orchestra Of India, who will play works of Indian composers, including the late Vanraj Bhatia. This year's programme has had a good share of musical events, including a dhrupad vocal recital by Pelva Naik, a Sufi performance by Pooja Gaitonde, a lavani night and a jazz show with Louiz Banks and his son, drummer Gino Banks.

Jazz@Prithvi will now be a monthly affair, involving a Sunday brunch-time session curated by Gino Banks coming January onwards. The idea is to promote original compositions played by numerous talented Indian musicians. If many jazz shows feature the rendition of standards from the Great American Songbook, besides popular compositions by modern artistes, this new series promises to be a breath of fresh air.

The first Jazz@Prithvi show was thus held at the charming Prithvi Theatre, Juhu, on November 7. This was an evening show, which was part of the festival. Curated by Gino, it was divided into two sets.

The first half comprised young keyboardist Rahul Wadhwani, guitarist Sanjay Divecha and drummer Adrian D'Souza. They played five tunes beginning with Adrian's 'Nairda' - a title formed by reversing the letters of the composer's name. Rahul's 'When Everything Stopped' was written at the time of the lockdown.

The set included one standard 'Softly As in A Morning Sunrise', first performed in 1928. This one had Rahul's own touch. The last tune was Sanjay's 'Chembur Funk', inspired by the area the guitarist stays in. The musicians displayed perfect understanding and coordination, besides coming up with brisk solos.

The second half featured Louiz Banks on piano, Mark Dey Hartsuch on saxophones, Sheldon D'Silva on bass and Gino on drums. It began with the catchy 'Monk Wears A New Hat', a piece Louiz wrote in the 1990s as a tribute to great American pianist and bandleader Thelonious Monk. Mark's saxophone and Louiz's piano were in perfect sync.

This was followed by 'She's Something Else', a melodic 1960s-inspired ballad, and 'Upsy Daisy', which featured Sheldon's magnificent solo basswork. Mark had a delightful saxophone part on 'Susegado', a term inspired by Goa's Portuguese connection. Gino had a neat drum portion here.

After playing 'Prithvi Blues', called 'Mumbai Blues' otherwise, all the evening's musicians got together for a jam. "It's called 'New Blues' though it's an old tune," announced Gino. It was an apt finale.

The venue was packed with a good mix of jazz lovers and theatre enthusiasts attending the festival. It's got an ideal setting for local jazz, and we're sure to see some good gigs in the coming year.