Multi-Instrumentalist and Educator Joan Chamorro Brings the Sant Andreu Jazz Band to Bengaluru This Week

The Sant Andreu Jazz Band from Barcelona has the distinction of being a music school band with a difference. In 2006, the group’s conductor educator and multi-instrumentalist Joan Chamorro began teaching classic jazz tunes to young students who were mostly learning western classical music. Sixteen years on, there have been over 70 artists (from six-year-olds and upwards) who have performed in Spain and neighboring countries.

Now, they’re bringing their act to India, marking the 10th anniversary of one of the country’s best breweries and jazz venues, Windmills Craftworks in Bengaluru. Performing three shows from September 23rd to 25th, Chamorro says over email that he had met Windmills Craftworks founder Kamal Sagar “several years ago” and that the latter “fell in love with my project.”

Chamorro is bringing together 11 young musicians [of whom four are presently in the orchestra] to perform swing, jazz and Bossa Nova songs. While he may have started the project, Chamorro insists that the band is not an individual work but a collective one. “You can learn music in a different way, a more motivating, more open way that allows young musicians to express themselves and give their opinion about what they want to do,” he says.

These may be music school students, but the Sant Andreu Jazz Band doesn’t necessarily intend to set them on the path of becoming professional musicians. However, Chamorro notes that this is exactly what’s happened over the years. He adds, “The fact of enjoying learning motivates them a lot and they all end up dedicating themselves, because they want to make music their life. The fact that most of them become very good professionals and that some of them even achieve great success in their international careers fills me with pride and happiness, of course.”

As far as methodologies go, Chamorro – who plays saxophone, double bass, flute, clarinet and cornet – says everyone in the band treats each other as companions and that’s a motivating factor for younger and older musicians. “When they start, when they are the smallest, they notice the older ones and admire them. They listen to them, how they improvise, how they play their instruments,” he says.

While several albums have been recorded by the Sant Andreu Jazz Band and more are in the works, performance and touring is, understandably, a lot more dynamic. Ask Chamorro if they’ve ever had any challenges when it comes to bringing young children on tour and performing in jazz clubs and he does admit that there have been problems over time. In India, too, adolescent artists seldom have a space to perform and are made to wait until they turn 18 years old. Chamorro says, “We have managed it by explaining that we are an association with a pedagogical activity and that we have already resolved all image issues, etc. When we travel with many minors, yes, we need some parents to come with us.”

Up next are shows in Holland, France, Sweden and possibly Mexico. Among the more immediate commitments is a performance at the Barcelona Jazz Festival in November. For now, they’re in India and Chamorro wouldn’t mind exploring jazz from around here. “I don’t know much about jazz in India, but it would be wonderful to be able to meet Indian musicians and organize some jam sessions with them. Jazz is universal music. It would be great to be able to do it,” he says.

Sant Andreu Jazz Band performs at Windmills Craftworks, Bengaluru on September 23rd, 24th and 25th. Get tickets here.