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…”

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