Jazz Corner: That Damnded Four-Letter Word

The common perception of ‘four letter words’ is that they are most often either crude, offensive or abusive. Or, at least rude. That could spark a debate in its own space, some other space…

There is, however one four letter word which doesn’t offend but is itself abused and mangled. That word is jazz. A fairly innocuous word which for decades went about minding its own business, not causing any trouble, and, in fact, bringing joy happiness and peace wherever it surfaced. Now, the jazz we speak of does not refer to the car, aerobics style or other products that have flourished under the same name. I am referring to the music genre that was born in the early 1900s, somewhere in the Dixie states in the US of A.

A friend said to me the other day that jazz was born in the USA [even Bruce Springsteen concurs] but will die in India at the hands of our musical brethren who have missed the whole point of the music. Alarmed, I gave it some serious thought but concluded, with great relief that yes, something was about to be slaughtered but fortunately it is not jazz because it is not played here! Some music pretending to be jazz, yes, but not the one with the African American spirit. What we hear in India is perhaps “not from the culture”. I wonder why that is the case.

Definitions apart – and there are several fairly nebulous interpretations of jazz – I believe that certain criteria prevail for the music to be called jazz. Within its broad, generous definition, I believe jazz has to have a godly mix, among others, of sensitivity, romance, dexterity, melody, rhythm and creativity. And a generous feel for the blues. A player’s skills are challenged and tested here, constantly. There are no shortcuts. And yes, honesty is very important. A jazz musician is at once a story teller, conjurer and magician. He/she should hold an audience spellbound, at least in an ideal world. And of course for a vocalist, phrasing and conveying the emotion of the lyrics is also a yardstick. I would also add that creating this atmosphere by using the techniques that make rock music popular – loudness and hype does not necessarily create jazz. But hype is part of the sound of ”˜jazz’ in India. That brings us to the other side of the table -I believe it is an equal responsibility of the audience to pay attention to the music. The beauty of a live jazz concert is also the interaction between the players and the listeners. The keener the attention, I assure you, the greater the enjoyment of the concert.

Alas! The little screen, has severely reduced the attention span of people, resulting in a general decrease in the levels of concentration of an audience, and this makes a huge casualty of an intricate, involved music form like jazz. Texting, emailing or generally fidgeting with the ubiquitous cell phone, I am afraid has become quite the norm around town. I would recommend to listeners that if socializing, networking, wining and dining are important for an evening of music, listen to background music, Muzak, elevator music, so called ”˜easy listening’ offerings. That would have a ring of consistency with your aims.

The other night we heard some music in the guise of ”˜jazz’ at a popular music spot in town. I thought it was more of a “Cowboys and Indians” type of program; the audience was, of course predominantly Indian while on the stage the musicians were going Bang Bang on the drums, guitars, keyboards and even on the bass! Wailing, atonal loud guitar playing, is not a great jazz sound. It was a shoot at sight, or or even shoot unseen type of a scene. Lots of casualties because they took no prisoners!

For all those who delight in jazz, try and head for the NCPA on June 17th for a very high- quality jazz concert with Greg Banaszak and his band. This might well be the jazz event of 2016 in Mumbai!