How boring would it be to end a presentation on Jazz without a ‘swinging' performanceIJ The JDB Jazz trio, comprised of Delhi-based musician Jayant Manchanda, Derek Beckvold and New Jersey-based Bob Jordon, played some unforgettable Jazz tunes to render that perfect ending. The trio is not a band but they came together quite uniquely.
While Beckvold and Jordon are friends, Manchanda used to train under Beckvold some time ago. “So we decided to get together to play and perform at different places and try to spread the magic of Jazz,” said Beckvold whose Fullbright-Nehru scholarship will end in August. They hit the right note when they started with the music of All Of Me. The combination of Manchanda's bass fiddle, Beckvold's saxophone and Jordon's drums turned the popular melody into an enchanting one.
And they did not stop there. Their next piece was Dave Brubeck's In Your Own Sweet Way. “The song was composed in 1955 and has a beautiful harmony and a very sweet melody which is unmatched even to this date,” Beckvold pointed out. Another one of Brubeck's compositions Take Five, followed.
They seemed a little partial to the compositions of Duke Ellington because they played a few of his popular songs. “Ellington had a weird habit. He was often accused of stealing the composition of lesser-known musicians. But since the songs went on to become so popular, nobody bothered too much. Jazz musicians did not have much moral high-ground,” joked Beckvold before playing Far East Suite.
Their next Caravan, had everybody jiving in their seats. “Caravan is one of his landmark songs and this, too, was inspired,” added the saxophonist. Ellington's Take The A train, what they played next, has a interesting back story. The musician once took a subway ride on the A subway service that runs through New York City, when the service opened in 1936, and came up with the composition.
They brought the musical evening to an end with Miles Davis' Four. Although Manchanda belongs to the Capital and Beckvold has been in the country for the last nine months, they both feel that Jazz scenario in India is yet to evolve. Even with events like the International Jazz Festival and numerous Jazz evenings across the city, the trio feels that people are not familiar with the genre.
“People turn up in huge numbers at these events but very few of them actually understand the music. Proper advertising and promotion is important from the business point of view but in that process the essence of the genre gets lost. We play to entertain people, now if the people cannot grasp it, our efforts go in vain,” rued Jordon.
photo Sanjeev Kumar