It is true that in Goa, one can cast a
stone 10 feet and risk striking approximately 1,000 musicians; it is second
nature to most Goans. It is no extraordinary occurrence to have several
musicians in the same family for the self-same reason. However, when you have
members of the same family that make music the sole focus of their existence at
an international level, for over four generations, you know that you have come
across something special.
While names like Braz Gonsalves, Chic
Chocolate and Yvonne Gonsalves find themselves tossed around music related
conversations, it is not common knowledge that the links between them run far
deeper. The family’s tale began in the years 1964-65, with then band leader
Chic deciding to invite a young Goan boy over to meet his family.
“My father told me he’s bringing home this
‘extraordinary musician’ and said that my sister Ursula and I must perform a
song on the piano for him. We played a duet before hurriedly shutting the piano
and running off skittish. How was I to know that Braz, who was listening most
intently, was to be the man I would eventually marry?” giggles Yvonne.
Marry they did, in the year 1967, in a
quiet manner, as Chic had passed away shortly before. His elder daughter Ursula
went on to support the family, and Yvonne would perform with bands from time to
time, until the year 1969, when her elder daughter Sharon was born.
“We have been blessed with music in the
family. One of our daughters, Sharon, is a popular vocalist and the other,
Laura, is a music instructor in Canada. The links go further, with Sharon
having married into the musical fraternity herself. Her husband Darryl is a
thoroughly recognised pianist and their children are musicians too,” says the
proud grandfather Braz.
Today marks an important day in the
household, with all generations meeting in an attempt at thanksgiving for their
good fortune. Yvonne says, “I felt that I needed to do something as a mark of
thanks for the success and peace in our lives in a world that can sometimes be
torn apart by chaos.”
The event in Taleigao will see Yvonne take
the stage and launch her album, ‘You Reign in Glory’, with several
contributions from her family and friends. The line-up will include her husband
Braz, daughter Sharon and her husband Darryl along with their sons Jarryd and
Zefan on saxophone and flute respectively. Perhaps there is something in the
adage that the family that plays together stays together.
