The Tata Theatre was packed to the gills, as jazz fans came to see the Legendary Trio, comprising American pianist Cyrus Chestnut, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Lenny White. Though White was the best-known name, because of his stints with jazz great Miles Davis and pianist Chick Corea’s fusion band Return To Forever, the clear star was Chestnut.
The youngest in the group, 61-year-old Chestnut gave a bravura performance, whether it was on an ‘uptown’ version of a Prelude composed by Federic Chopin, a rendition of Miles Davis’s Nardis, the Buster Williams piece Toku-Do or Lenny White’s creation Dedication. It was textbook jazz, where the double bass and drums maintained a tight rhythm section, and the melody instrument came up with dazzling trills and runs. He had a sense of humour too, quipping, “The Chopin fans would have shut their ears”.
Chestnut is the latest in a line of amazing jazz pianists to play at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) over the past 20 months. With the exception of grandmaster Herbie Hancock, who graced the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre in the same complex, they all performed at the Tata Theatre.
While this column will take a re-look at these performances, let’s also announce that there will be more piano at the venue this year. Israeli pianist Darya Mosenzon, who plays Moroccan and Algerian melodies besides jazz, will perform at the Mumbai Piano Day curated by Louiz Banks on September 28.
The NCPA International Jazz Festival 2024 from November 22 to 24 will feature young American pianists Brandon Goldberg and Matthew Whitaker, and Cuban genius Gonzalo Rubalcaba.
The ‘visitors’ to Tata Theatre have primarily been Latin or Central American, followed by American and European. Thus, one has heard a mélange of piano styles, Latin America itself providing many diverse sounds. In case you missed these shows, you can always find their music on the streaming platforms or YouTube. Some recommendations are given below.
In November 2022, the NCPA International Jazz Festival featured Monty Alexander, originally from Jamaica but settled in the US. His show was titled ‘Jamaica To Jazz’, as he played a mix of popular jazz tunes, reggae and the folk style of mento. A day after he performed, Thilo Wolf of Germany was joined by vocalist Johanna Iser at a show titled ‘A Swinging Affair’, a mix of swing and standards.
In June last year, Colombian sensation Jesus Molina attracted a large number of musicians to the auditorium. He went on a melodic tour of South America, playing samba, salsa, bossa nova and timba, from different regions like Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Puerto and his native Colombia.
Thilo Wolf and vocalist Iser returned for the NCPA International Jazz Festival 2023, this time with their big band. The next two days featured two virtuosos – Emmet Cohen from the US and Cuba-born Alfredo Gonsalez. Cohen had a guest in trumpeter Benny Benack III, and his set was a great example of teamwork, where everyone participated equally. In contrast, Gonzalez was fabulous on his own, but like the Legendary Trio show last week, the bassist and drummer had a supportive role.
This year’s piano proceedings began with Hancock, who came with vocalist Dianne Reeves and members of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, including pianist Miles Lennox. It was Hancock’s third concert in Mumbai, and this time, he let Reeves and the younger musicians play longer spells. His impromptu creation is, of course, etched in one’s mind.
The other piano shows this year were that of Italian musician Rita Marcotulli, who played with trumpeter Paolo Fresu and drummer Trilok Gurtu, and Brazilian veteran Eliane Elias, who dazzled on the ivories though she also sang in Portuguese.
Jazz fans may check out the new Elias album Time And Again, with both Portuguese and English tunes, or go in for Molina’s latest release Selah. Or they may hear Chestnut’s albums Natural Essence and There’s A Sweet, Sweet Spirit, both with the Legendary Trio. The list goes on. On another note, how about more saxophonists next year?
