Exclusive Premiere: Hear Sagar Kapoor, Itek Bhutani and Piyush Kapoor Get Dark and Dramatic on “Alvida”

What the heck is “Bhaiyya Jiazz”? As composer, producer and singer-songwriter Sagar Kapoor (and the one who’s coined the term) puts it, it’s an amalgamation of big-band jazz, western classical and Hindi film music. If you’re curious at this point, you can tune in to Sagar’s new song “Alvida,” a despondent yet triumphant song about celebrating the finality of a loser’s life.

The Lucknow-bred, Mumbai-based artist has teamed up with good friend and fellow Lucknowi musician Piyush Kapoor (from rock band Daira), who contributes a glorious trumpet solo, plus producer-composer Itek Bhutani (who founded electronic-informed acts such as Bold Monk and Killer Fan and runs Studio Fudge in Mumbai). “Alvida” is structured as though it was written for musical theater, with three acts spread across six minutes. Written in October 2020, Sagar says the song comes from the mindset of a protagonist who believes, “The world is against me.” He adds, “Once I started the process, it took me a lot of time to structure it in a way so that it covers the emotions that needed to be expressed in it. I needed it to sound like a musical, like a play that could be acted out by the protagonist, since there was so much to say. Hence the three acts.”

Bhutani and Sagar have worked on several commercial projects and their own songs, and the former says being involved in “Alvida” was “a profound learning experience.” Bhutani explains that they ended up adding upwards of 60 “discrete instruments” and created a total of 305 tracks in the final session project for producing the song. “Sagar’s perspective on aspects of human behavior which he expresses through his songs is truly innovative. The detail and the attention to detail Sagar puts in his tracks would have been unfeasible, and only works because of the brilliance of his arrangements.”

Sagar leads the song with his distinct morose voice while staying solemnly dramatic. Ask Piyush about how he channeled the intensity of a suicide note for the song and he says, “When we recorded the song, I had been going through a ‘loser’ phase. I have been in similar situations on various occasions in the past, so it was quite a familiar zone for me emotionally. Technically, I just played like a beginner, which I am, and followed Sagar’s vision.”

There are more songs coming up from Sagar to strengthen the “Bhaiyya Jiazz” repertoire. An upcoming song is titled “Tum Na Bhoolay,” which is among those on the brink of completion, according to him.

Listen to “Alvida” below.