JOIN USAnd all that jazz
Born and brought up in Bengaluru, guitarist Peter Dickson lives in Australia and recently performed in the City after three years. “I studied in Baldwin’s and later, Cathedral’s. So my roots are in the City and it was very exciting to perform here after a long time,” he says. The spirited musician feels that the City’s crowd is one of the best. “The audience here is really nice and special,” he gushes.
A believer of original music, Peter has been composing his own songs for almost three decades now. “I don’t see the point of recycling songs or playing covers as the amount of effort that goes into either is the same. I’d rather compose something new than practice someone else’s song for hours,” he notes. His inspirations are vast as he says, “I have a subconscious sense of Indian rhythm since I was raised here. When I was in the United Kingdom, I was highly influenced by flamenco. So I brought a touch of flamenco to my compositions as well. Paco De Lucia, a flamenco artiste, was my favourite and has been a huge inspiration to me.”
Closer home, Zakir Hussain has been a big influence in his life too. “In the 70s, Zakir had formed a fusion band called ‘Shakti’ with John Mc Laughlin. Those days, there was no genre as world music. So the band was way ahead of its time,” he says. Recalling the moments he spent with the band, he says, “In the late 80s, I was working as a DJ in ‘Knockout’, which was one of the first discos in the City. It was on Brigade Road and to my luck, ‘Shakti’ held a press conference there. I was so excited and spoke to all of the members!” He rubbed shoulders with Zakir again in Melbourne. “I actually ran into him. He was looking for a cable for his earphones! So I took him to an electronics store,” he laughs. Over the years, Peter has interacted with him many a time and is all praises for the artiste. “He is a special human being. There is a higher element of humanity and spirituality in people like him. You can sense it when you interact with him,” he adds.
Peter now plays different styles of jazz and has even created a twin-necked guitar for his shows.
“Just playing one guitar for an entire show is not enough. You need to vary in your sounds. You should have an element of surprise for the audience,” he says.
Though he feels jazz is challenging to play, he tries to bring some commercial elements into his music to keep his audience entertained. “The harmony in jazz is complex. It is so advanced that the structure becomes complicated. So I try to not be a traditional jazz player and keep my tunes commercial,” he sums up.