The Olive Kitchen and Bar at Mehrauli,resounded with an unusual medley of sound on Wednesdaythe lyrics drawing upon languages like Turkish,Indonesian and French,and the music with Cuban and gypsy overtones,resulting in a French jazz style known as Manouche. The peppy music bounced off the walls,pepped up the tables and brought evening tipplers crowding around the Parisian guest band,Sam Smala. This was the kind of reception that French jazz guitarist Sam Strouk,founder of the band,had been hoping for. I did not want my music to be bracketed under any genre. Instead,I wanted to use my experience of playing various genres like Gypsy,European folk and pop to form my own grammar, says Strouk,30,who set the band up two years ago,after performing solo for a decade. In Afrikaan,Smala stands for family and brotherhood. Since my father hails from Algeria,I grew up listening to this word, says Strouk,about the five member band. On Wednesday they played alongside flautist Rishabh Prasanna,moulding their styles to incorporate the Indian classical sound. Each member of the band is an expert in a different genre. I like to use my versatility in languages and give folksy numbers a jazz touch or compose gospel music in different languages, says Serena Fisseau,the female lead vocalist,who is of Indonesian origin. The group is on a nine-city tour of India and will perform in smaller cities like Bhopal and Chandigarh next. This is our first foreign tour. We decided on India because last year I received a good response while touring the country with a French jazz band called Caravan Quartet, says Strouk.
