Capital time for all those jazz lovers.

Jazz Utsav, one of India's longest-running music festivals, will be back this weekend with a bigger cast of legends

THE JAZZ Yatra has had a long journey. Even the festival organisers would never have envisioned that the little festival which was inaugurated in Mumbai in 1978 by the then Minister for Education and Culture, Dr. P. Chander Chunder and had the legendary Willis Conover (a 'RJ' with Voice of America) as the Master of Ceremonies and featured equally legendary artists such as Joe Williams, Don Ellis and Sonny Rollins, would cross over into the next millennia. But crossed it has, and continues to be one of the longest-running Western music festivals in the country. This year, the festival now known as the Jazz Utsav travels to Bangalore as well, apart from Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi. The headlining acts at the two-day festival over the coming weekend are a mystical concoction of Jazz and blues -- Beatlejazz, and a collective comprising of Wayne Krantz, Cliff Almond, Anthony Jackson and David Binney. The latter a quartet of accomplished session courtiers of melody and harmony and the former, a tribute jazz interpretation of the Beatles. All settled in their craft, the sheer strength of their voice and conviction in their craft, these Jazz musicians are no mediocre rocker boys -- but well practiced academicians.

Amit Saigal, member of the Capital Jazz board as well as the head of RSJ Events which is handling the Utsav, says the festival has always been aimed at people with a refined taste in music. "Both the headlining acts have released four albums which have gone top 10 on the Jazz charts in America. The legendary quality has gone up a notch this year," he says. He adds that people from places such as Surat, Chandigarh and Shimla have booked their tickets well in advance. "And by the looks of it, this time too, the festival will be completely sold out," he adds.

Beatlejazz is the brainchild of accomplished San Francisco-based percussionist Brian Melvin. A PhD in world religion, Melvin took to the Beatles in 1964 when he saw them live on the Ed Sullivan Show and decided to play their tunes in Jazz riffs. "The music of the Beatles came to me; their songs have such beautiful harmonies and melodies. It's like Beatlejazz just picked me," says Melvin, who has trained with Ustad Allah Rakha Khan and his famous son, Zakir Hussain and who considers his music a form of worship and the Beatles his spiritual outlet, much like Indian classical sangeet. This is Melvin's third visit to India, but this, he feels, will be his opening act to India. Jazz, like all progressively rooted music, is all about innovation. Like Melvin tips Jimi Hendrix as the father of the electric guitar blues and John McLaughlin the scion of electronic blues -- a quartet of celebrated session musicians too hold some such musical patents.

Blues guitarist Wayne Krantz, bass maverick Anthony Jackson, percussionist Cliff Almond and saxophone player David Binney perform their virgin set this weekend. Having played with artists such as Steely Dan, John Petituci and Aretha Franklin -- each of the four eclectics will be bringing instrumental live improvisation to the stage. "Oh it will all be live music. We have known of and known each other for years. This is just our way of blowing off steam," the revered Anthony Jackson's burly deep voice chuckles over the phone. Blues guitarist Krantz points out the oft-talked about similarities between jazz and Indian classical music. "Nothing can ever be rehearsed, which is why Indian music is closest to Jazz. It fondles our senses. It is musical voyeurism," he says. IN THE same vein, trumpet player Saskia Laroo from Amsterdam, whose repertoire includes dance, world and pop music, calls jazz music, a surrender to senses. "Jazz gives you the freedom to share emotions with the people on stage and off it," she says.

But it isn't just international acts that will please us. Amit Heri and Sanjay Divecha will also set the stage on fire with their acoustic guitar performances. This will be the first time that the two come together on the Utsav stage, though Heri has earlier performed with Karl Peters and Ramamani. Both the musicians studied at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles and Berkeley School of Music. "We plan on performing our original compositions -- mixed with Indian jazz, which is essentially, jazz based on Indian music techniques and concepts," he says. Can hardly wait.

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