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.

... contd.