“Jazz stands for freedom. It’s supposed to be the voice of freedom: Get out there and
improvise, and take chances, and don’t be a perfectionist – leave that to the
classical musicians,” said Dave Brubeck, a jazz pianist and composer, whose
song ‘Take Five’ added a new element to jazz music with its complex and unusual
beat patterns, the five count. “‘Take Five’ is the most famous song in India
and it is the most requested song at any jazz event,” says Colin D’Cruz, the
man who founded Jazz Goa in 2004 to encourage local talent and keep jazz alive
in Goa. Over the years, artistes have recorded audio and video free of cost at
Jazz Goa’s studio at Sangolda.
Jazz Goa is the only organisation in India that has hosted
International Jazz Day right from its inception by the UNESCO in 2011. Each year,
Jazz Goa shines the spotlight on one Goan jazz artiste. This year’s featured
artiste is 89-year-old pianist Xavier Fernandes, who has spent close to six
decades performing all over the world. The concert will be held on the April
30, 2018, 7pm onwards, at the Central Library auditorium in Panjim. Entry is
free and seating will be on first come first served basis.
Colin D’Cruz recently launched a series of four albums after 40
years of performance. The first album, called ‘Back to BASSics, features the
upright bass; the second album, titled ‘Fretless and Free’, features a fretless
bass; the third album, ‘I love my Kala bass’, features a bass ukulele and
finally, the fourth album, titled ‘My Jazz Yatra’ is a compilation of tunes
composed by Colin along his journey into jazz. All four albums are available as
free downloads at www.jazzgoa.com. “To me, jazz is a form of improvised music,
the key element here is ‘improvisation’. Jazz has been around for much longer
than we know; it’s just that a new name was coined for it in New Orleans and I
love the name. Today, jazz has grown into something much bigger than its name.
It’s not just about improvisation; it’s about a meeting of minds and cultures,”
says Colin.
Colin’s first encounter with jazz started in the early
seventies, when he was offered a job as a bass player, without knowing a single
jazz standard. My first night on the job I got a “just keep walking” brief from
the band leader and at that moment, I thought I was being fired. It turned out,
the term used for ‘swing’ bass was ‘walking’ bass and that was my first ever
learning experience,” he says. However, for him, every song was a challenge and
he admits to having the best on-the-job ear training.
His
dream of someday moving back to Goa came through when he settled in Sangolda.
“Within four years, Jazz Goa had a database of over 5,000 jazz enthusiasts and
over a hundred jazz originals composed by local talent and produced by Jazz
Goa. Many of these tracks reached No.1 on international internet charts and
this only encouraged me to do even more,” he adds. Colin went on to host a
radio show called ‘Goa Grooves’, which featured only originals by local talent
and went on air as a first of its kind in India for Western music. “I was now
performing, producing audio and video, hosting radio and television and running
a website, all at the same time. Local talent in Goa finally got a platform
that launches them, giving them the exposure they need. And here’s the best
part, it’s done absolutely free of cost. Just my way of giving back to a
profession that has given me everything and more,” he says.
He adds, “One of the high points in my career came when I got a
phone call from a UNESCO official who wanted to explore the possibilities of
having Panjim as a host city for a future International Jazz Day. This would
mean that just about every living jazz legend would come to Goa and perform
here, putting us on the world jazz map. I gave them all the information they
asked for and have my fingers crossed. Goa always has great visiting jazz
artistes but this would be an absolute game changer for jazz in India.”
Working
constantly on pushing the envelope when it comes to promoting new talent, Colin
is happy that the world of music is connected through the internet. “Today, the
internet offers us a world of knowledge and virtually the world itself. I
produce a song and broadcast it to the whole world the same instant. The
internet has done away with the middle man. Artistes can create and showcase
their work internationally even without being signed on to an artiste
management or record label. My advice to youngsters starting off with music
careers today is to make use of technology but don’t forget that music is
created by musical instruments and not by pressing the play button on a
laptop.”
