Many
musicians list Bob Dylan as one of their influences
and his songs have been covered by many more artistes. With a career
spanning more than 50 years, the artiste shows no signs of slowing
down when it comes to writing and performing his songs. His most
recent album, ‘Fallen Angels’, which is his thirty-seventh studio
album, was released by Columbia Records on May 20, 2016. The album
features covers of twelve classic American tunes chosen by Dylan
himself.
In
Goa, the musician’s life will be celebrated by the musical concert
co-hosted by Cavala and Lester today, on May 24, 2016 as the musician
turns 75! Cavala Baga will host musician and filmmaker Ranjan Palit
who will play over 20 of Dylan’s songs, covering the years of the
musician who has inspired and influenced generations. Ranjan will
also screen excerpts from his award-winning documentary, ‘Forever
Young’, on Lou Majaw, a 65-year-old rocker/hippie from Shillong who
has been celebrating Bob Dylan’s birthday by doing a tribute concert
for the last 40 years.
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Ranjan
Palit is a cinematographer/filmmaker who has shot 100 documentaries,
200 commercials and 15 feature films including ‘7 Khoon Maaf’ and
‘Dreaming Lhhasa’. He has also directed 11 documentaries, won 4
National Awards, 2 Golden Conchs and several other major awards. His
film ‘Forever Young’ was shown on Storyville, the most well known
documentary slot on the BBC, as well as numerous film festivals all
over the world. He recently filmed a documentary for Maemae Dylan,
the grand-daughter of Bob Dylan and Sarah Lownds. He is presently in
Goa to shoot his forthcoming film, ‘The Orphan’.
“This
free gig is a dream come true for me. I feels that, for me, and many
other fellow filmmakers in India, Bob Dylan has been the most
influential guy ever. He is our hero, poet, guru, baul, mentor,
healer all rolled into one,” says Ranjan, as he urges fellow
musicians to jam up with him by just bringing their musical
instrument and favourite Dylan song.
Lester
Fernandes who is co hosting the event, says, “I came across Ranjan
through a few friends and I felt connected with him because of his
passion for retro music, especially Bob Dylan’s music. We decided
to have the concert and Marius Monteiro of Cavala who is also a very
big fan of Bob Dylan was very supportive in hosting the event by
providing us the place and the sound. I have seen documentary films
on Bob Dylan’s life and the best one I have seen is ‘The Last
Waltz’ which has Dylan playing the last 2-3 songs.”
Ashley
Fernandes from Margao who is part of the trio ‘Music Oasis’ calls
Bob Dylan a classy singer. “Bob Dylan is a very innovative
musician. The style he uses in his live concerts is different from
his studio music. He improvises his own music with hits like
‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ or ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’
which were later covered by many artistes,” says Ashley.
Speaking
about how the musician has kept his music going, Ashley adds, “It
takes hard work, perseverance and the will to get better to continue
in music. What keeps Bob Dylan going is his humility. If he was
having a concert in Goa, I would be the first one attending it as he
belongs to a class of his own.”
Vince
Costa, a musician and song writer who recently released his album,
‘Saint & Sinner’, says, “I remember the first song I heard
of Bob Dylan; it was ‘Mr Tambourine Man’. There are many
musicians who speak about him and his music, but as a musician, I
struggled to build a rapport with his music. His songs were more of a
folk revivalist and he was involved in the history of America. We
used to sing his songs at family parties with lines like ‘This Land
is my Land’, which was made popular by Bob Dylan. Elvis Presley was
also popular in those days but Bob Dylan was more popular in the
Anglo Indian community in places like Kolkata and Mumbai.”
