JOIN USThe Delhi International Jazz Festival, regarded as the biggest Jazz festival in India, celebrated its fifth anniversary over the weekend. The three-day festival in association with Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) was from March 20 to 22. Like every year, the festival had a theme which this year was ‘Blue’.
According to a visitor who came to Nehru Park for the event, the ‘theme is a colour that signifies the symbol for youth and is not gender-specific’, while another jazz enthusiast said the colour blue ‘reduces psychological problems and fabricates wisdom, royalty and strength.’
The show was a huge success if the full house attendance from 6 pm to 10 pm every day of the event is anything to go by. More than 2,000 people were lucky enough to grab seats with an almost equal number standing and sitting on the ground. Under the dark sky and cool breeze, people sat with friends and savoured the tantalising moments. The festival featured some of the world famous international artistes as well as the best local talents from India.
A French band, The Remi Panossian Trio (RP3) performed on the first day of the event, their band is famous for the album, ‘Add Fiction’ 2011. Piotr Wojtasik, a jazz trumpeter, composer and also one of the most celebrated trumpeters and leader of his generation in Poland performed on the first day. Enrico Zanisi Trio from Italy played on the second day with an assuredness that only belied their years of experience, with a wonderful touch, lyricism and swing.
The Indian band ‘Soul of India’ –Kamal Sabri and Party, gained immense popularity amongst the eminent classical vocalists, as their music adapted to the changing scenario and tried to set new trends and standards within the Indian music traditions.
Norbet Kael’s Trio (Hungary), played a fusion of classical and jazz styles using a new approach that emphasised on sensitivity. The group is popular for arranging classical pieces into jazz keeping their original character intact in a unique way. Esteban Copete y su Kinteto Pacifico band, a Colombian troupe formed in 2000, played jazz with vocals. “These songs are inspired from the daily lives of people in villages,” Esteban Copete told Metrolife.
Dishanka Paul a visitor exclaimed that the Colombian was the best band he had heard in the entire festival. The band kept up the heritage of the village Choco, where they hail from, and also their ancestral influence. They added their personal share
in the search for new ways of musical expression in the region.
Rimon Jazz Institute Trio from Israel also enthralled the audience with their compositions that they developed especially for the third and final night.
In all Delhiites enjoyed a wonderful three-day soiree. The entry was free
for everyone and made every evening of the past weekend memorable.