Lounge Preview | JazzFest 2013, Kolkata

Songs of the soul

As the 11th edition of JazzFest, organized by Congo Square, begins in Kolkata, questions arise on the variable character of the annual music festival. Over the past years, it has taken place over four, two and three days; the ticket rates, though still reasonable, have gone up from ₹ 40 in 2004 to the current ₹ 300; big names from jazz make fewer appearances, while many of the artists get repeated.

Funds have reportedly been a concern throughout the existence of JazzFest, but the organizers have managed to pull off an admirable roster of artists for this year’s three-day edition. There’s the bass legend Kai Eckhardt, twice Grammy-nominated Cuban-American drummer Dafnis Prieto, the critically acclaimed Carlos Bica and Azul Trio from Germany, the Milan Svoboda Quartet from Czech Republic, American saxophonist George Brooks, known for his fusion music projects, prodigious guitarist Prasanna & The Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music Faculty Band, and the widely travelled Yuri Honing Wired Paradise from the Netherlands.

What gives JazzFest 2013 an edge is the DIY approach of the organizers. During the last few editions, the Kolkata festival was piggybacking on similar jazz festivals held during the same period in Mumbai and Delhi. This year, Congo Square is doing it alone. “We were getting a bad deal. So for the 2013 edition we started work early and got the artists we wanted and got their consulates to sponsor most of them as well,” says Satyajit Roy Chaudhury, president of Congo Square, the Kolkata-based non-profit organization for promotion of jazz and blues.

Yet the organizing team has, in the recent past, got world-renowned names like Joe Williams, Kenny Garrett, Larry Coryell, Shawn Lane, Jonas Hellborg, Clark Terry, Charles Mingus Dynasty, Eric Truffauz and Karin Krog to perform in the city. It pulled off a coup of sorts in 2007 when it got 14-time Grammy–winner pianist Herbie Hancock to team up on stage with the nine-time Grammy-winning saxophonist Wayne Shorter.

As with most good festivals, it’s mostly been a fan-supported affair—both at the organizer’s level, since Congo Square is determinedly comprised of middle-aged professionals or retirees with an avowed passion for jazz, and the paying audience. While exclusively jazz fans are a handful, says Roy Chaudhury, Kolkata and its suburbs, with their strong English and Bangla band culture, finds hundreds of musicians forming part of the engaged, attentive audience at the open-air venue of The Dalhousie Institute.

“Recently, I got a Facebook request from a bass-playing girl staying in one of the northern suburbs. I told her about Kai Eckhardt playing in this year’s JazzFest and she said that she’ll come with her guardian,” says Roy Chaudhury. “It’s only later that she told me her age was 8. I was like, wow.”

JazzFest 2013 is on till 1 December at The Dalhousie Institute, Kolkata. Tickets, ₹ 300 and ₹ 750, are available at the venue and at www.indianstage.in