Concert Preview: The Beatles: Jazzified! at NCPA, Mumbai

The Beatles circa 1965. Photo:  EMI/Billboard via ad published in public domain/Wikimedia Commons

The Beatles were arguably the most popular musical group ever. The John Lennon–Paul McCartney melodies were very catchy and their lyrics so direct and universal. However, one always felt that their music had so much more potential  to be explored, rather like  Ferrari on a city road, full of power but keeping to speed limits!  Several musicians have, in their own versions of Beatles songs, extended the scope of the compositions. For example, “Hey Jude” has been explored at length by many musicians, jazz and otherwise.

This treasure trove music from the Beatles’ song book is just right for a jazz band, with it’s scope for improvisation to work with. On July 2nd, a jazz band is doing just that at the Tata Theatre at Mumbai’s National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA). Flautist Rajeev Raja will lead a band of jazz musicians – Sanjay Divecha (guitar), Karl Peters (bass), Anurag Naidu (piano), Ramon Ibrahim (trombone), Andrew Kanga (drums) and Carl Clements (saxophone) in a concert playing the music of the Beatles, jazz style.

The arrangements will be done by Anurag Naidu, who is a graduate of the Bill Evans Jazz Institute in Paris. It should be exciting how the famous Beatles songs – “Michelle”, “Hey Jude”, “Yesterday”, “Yellow Submarine”, “Lucy In The Sky”, “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and others are improvised on in a jazz context. The best way to find out is to be there!