These “aficionados” are a pretty inclusive club, always eager for new converts to join the fold. And so I headed to Haze Blues and Jazz Bar (frequented by Arundhati Roy and Soli Sorabjee) in Delhi to catch the Shillong-based blues band Soulmate unplugged in a two-hour performance.

Climbing the smoky stairs adorned with posters of geniuses like Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Marvin Gaye, I felt as close to New Orleans as I could in New Delhi. The ambience here, much like the music, is smoky, sensual and smooth. After an edgy and mind-boggling performance by the band and some freewheeling chat with the regulars, not to mention the gyan on the music, I’m a “newbie” no more.

Jazz isn’t exactly the newest story as nightlife in the Capital and other cities throws up so much ‘new’ stuff—floating nightclubs, music-and-theme ambiences, lounge, rock groupies... Jazz and blues, as old as our grandfathers if not the hills, may seem like part of a been-there-done-that world. So, these days, when soothing lounge music is all the rage, what has jazz and blues—often thought of as elitist and the preserve of pretentious middle aged men—got to offer? It is rich, complex and sensual. Besides, as Louis Armstrong put it, “it is life”.

So, quietly but surely, the jazz and blues niche is growing, not only in India but also worldwide. The Afro-American form of music has been adopted in countries as wide-ranging as Latin America, Europe and Asia. Says Rudy Wallang, frontman of Soulmate, which is ready to release its second album: “There are wonderful things in this form of music, the liveliness, the improvisation, the being at one with the audience.”

The audience, typically, is one that is not looking for a loud noisy evening out. Kiran Sant, proprietor of Haze Bar, says: “Instead, they are looking to unwind over relaxing and smooth music, like chicken soup for the soul.” Sant, who grew up listening to jazz and blues, realised that there are lots of people out there who are starving for this kind of music. “There was nowhere for these like-minded people to get together. That has changed. Now, of course, there are a lot of joints that regularly host jazz brunches and blues evenings,” he adds. The audience, though generally dominated by thirty-somethings, could range from teenyboppers to the young-at-heart 70-year-olds.

Unlike the raw head-banging energy of rock, jazz and blues, with its inherent complexity, leaves its groupies mostly a quieter and thoughtful lot.

It all began in 1978, with the erstwhile Jazz Yatra— now Jazz Utsav—the formative jazz festival in India, which after a brief spell when it was discontinued, was revived three years ago. This year, Jazz Utsav, which will kick off in December, promises to be bigger and better. “For years, it has been the rallying point for jazz lovers in the country. The last couple of years, we have brought on many renowned international jazz greats from US, Canada, Norway and Hungary to India. We will do the same this year as well, along with musicians from India,” says Amit Sehgal of Rock Street Journal, the organising body behind Jazz Utsav. Not just the festival, in fact, jazz tours are common in the country all year round. “Whenever we organise jazz weekends, we are assured of a full capacity crowd,” adds Sehgal.

Just a couple of years ago, Mesin Monzes, the grand old man of jazz in India, announced that India has more jazz music and musicians now than it did a decade ago. What he might have added, is the hot blood that is coming into it. Once the preserve of veterans, these young bands and musicians, like Saturday Night Blues Band from Kolkata, Black Market from Mumbai, Lou Majaw from Shillong and Soap from Delhi are breaking the rules and innovating on their own.

Says 21-year-old Arjun Sagar Gupta, frontman of Soap: “All the money lies in Indipop or rock, while jazz and blues is something that musicians would not attempt. Besides, with all the improvisation, this form of music is also very complex to perform live. However, with corporate funding coming in, things are finally changing so that musicians like me can now contemplate a full-time career in jazz and blues.” So much so that Gupta has already launched a swing band T.H.R.E.E in the Capital and is busy performing gigs on most nights.

But it is really blues, from which jazz is originally derived, that has seen a popular renaissance this year, with the formation of the Blues Club of India.

With more than 800 members already on board, founder member and entrepreneur Arvinder Dhingra is more than happy. He explains: “We formed the club to keep the music alive and to get the younger lot interested in the blues. The response has been incredible. The members meet almost every week, for live gigs and endless talk.” Dhingra describes blues as something that brings solace “when you can’t stay afloat, can’t pay your rent and your woman leaves you to aching loneliness…”

Do you have the jazz/blues DNA?

• Most likely to read Kafka, not Harry Potter

• Mostly likely to watch European cinema

• Most likely to think that pop music ranks amongst the most denigrating experiences

• Mostly likely to head for a soiree, prefers wine and cheese

• Condescending of popular culture

• Likely to use complicated words when simpler words would do