Jazz Goa is a collective, label and studio, which was founded by Colin D'Cruz and formed by a group of musicians and music lovers to promote jazz in and out of Goa. Their principal aim is to improve upon and provide an organised platform for local as well as visiting international jazz musicians and record local interpretations of jazz like Konkani Jazz. Beautiful surroundings, laidback lifestyle and the people's genuine warmth and hospitality has made Goa a destination for visiting jazz musicians and Jazz Goa has played host to these jazz musicians by offering them opportunities to perform in informal jam sessions as well as full fledged concerts and gigs at various venues in Goa that feature live jazz.
Jazz currently has a niche audience in Goa and one of Jazz Goa's goals is to broaden the listener base by encouraging general music lovers to experience and enjoy the magic of spontaneously improvised music through workshops and interactive sessions with performers.
Future plans of Jazz Goa includes releasing live recordings of selected performances in Goa, sourcing corporate sponsorship to launch deserving local jazz musicians at an international level and scholarships to finance talented youngsters who would like to study jazz at some of the world's best institutes for jazz.
The following is a transcript of the interview that took place on the Jazz Goa Show broadcasted on www.zeno.fm/berlys-brain-dance and covered Konkani Jazz, Portuguese Jazz, Bollywood Jazz and Goan Reggae.
All tracks featured on the show can be found for streaming/purchase on www.jazzgoa.bandcamp.com
Firoz Berly 0:00
Colin, welcome to the show. You are an immensely popular figure in the internet space, I have been doing my research on you. And there is only positive things that people have to say about you. They attribute the whole revival of jazz in Goa to you and your organization. And I know that you started off your career in Mumbai. So while right now we have these nightclubs playing techno and electronic music, at that time, during your time, there were these smoky jazzy nightclubs, where you were a resident bass player, and worked with multiple bands and you learned on the go.
From what I know, this inspired you to craft your own path and you moved back to Goa and you started your own scene there. And you started welcoming others into your space after building a studio and this led to the growth of Jazz Goa. Now how I came across your music, was that I was looking for Creative Commons content, which I could put on my radio and I come across this album called 'Konkani Jazz'. And it had the most amazing rendition of Konkani Jazz that I've ever seen. And I don't think there's any other album out there, which has mixed Konkani and jazz together and has done such a perfect job as well. So I dug deeper. And that's how I came across the Jazz Goa band camp catalogue.
I want people to know more about you and your work and your organization's work. So here are a set of questions that I want to get through to you. And again, welcome to the Jazz Goa Show on the brain dance radio.
Colin D'Cruz 1:32
Thank you Firoz. Thank you for having me on your show
Firoz Berly 1:35
And glad to have you here! So now one thing that you had mentioned, I think in in an interview with the 'Citizen Reporter' was that you came from a family background where there were no musicians, none of your ancestors were musicians, and no one in your immediate family were musicians, but you had that passion for music, and especially for jazz. And that's how you started off. Now, could you tell me as to what inspired you to start off with music and jazz in particular, especially when you're in an environment where you did not have music around you?
Colin D'Cruz 2:09
My earliest memories of music would be live music events that my parents took me to as a child, I vividly remembered there was some kind of magic taking place on stage. This probably stayed in my subconscious and came into play when I finally decided to be a musician. So even if my family didn't have musicians, it was a family outing that started it all. Like most youngsters, I began playing music hoping to be a rock star. Jazz came into play much later. And when it did come, it came with a bang. It was love at first sound. I was hooked for life.
Firoz Berly 2:49
Considering the amount of skill that's required to play great improvisational pieces in jazz. How many hours did you practice in a day? So are there periods where you take a break? Or have you been consistently going at it? And if consistently on an average, how many hours were you spending and keeping apart the amount of time that you were putting in for learning the instruments? How much of your time went into finding artists arranging spaces, finding venues and you are now at this point committed to four different bands? How do you juggle all of these? Do you spend your whole day in the music space itself?
Colin D'cruz 3:28
I never really had a regular practice regime. When I decided to play professionally, I realized I would need to know more about what I would be spending the rest of my life with. I taught myself to read music from some great books, and used my reading skills as a tool to increase my musical vocabulary. I still enjoy playing it by ear. At any given point in my career, I will always be a member of more than one band. I think hanging on to just one circle of musicians can come in the way of widening your musical horizons.
Firoz Berly 4:03
You were born and brought up in Mumbai, you are playing in Mumbai. And then one day I think you found a better scope for your music and for your work in Goa. How was that transition for you to move from the place where your family was and where you're born and brought up to a completely new space and you have to start everything from scratch. So how do you go about building your studio there in during such a time? Did you have people around to help you to do this? Did you yourself have the expertise to develop a studio and was it difficult to run and operate a studio at that time?
Colin D'Cruz 4:48
Like most Mumbaikars, moving out of Mumbai was a very difficult decision to make. I finally moved to Goa in the year 2018 and I only had one regret, I wish I had moved earlier. I have lived in many countries around the world and I think there's no place like Goa, it's not just the beautiful surroundings and beaches, it's the warmth of the people who live here and their peaceful, happy, relaxed lifestyle. Setting up a studio and working with musicians here was a piece of cake simply because people have all the time in the world here. Unlike Mumbai, where I have no time is a standard reply. Goa is a second home to musicians from around the world. It's an inspiring place for any creative artist. And I always say why travel out into the world when the whole world travels to me in Goa.
Firoz Berly 5:44
How did you find artists in Goa? Or do these people come and inquire about you? Do you go out there, go for different live gigs and scout and say 'Hey, this is good talent right here. I want him to work with me in my studio'. Is that how it works?
Colin D'Cruz 6:09
After over 12 years, Jazz Goa has established itself as an entity not just in Goa and across India, but around the world. Thanks to the internet, the same way that you found me, most locals find out about Jazz Goa. They always approach me when they have a song they would like to record. Jazz Goa, as a studio, is available to them free of cost. I have been collaborating with musicians from all over the world for a long time. Now, you can hear some of the amazing results of that on the Jazz Goa app. It can be downloaded for free from Playstore.
Firoz Berly 6:46
Now there's a whole pandemic happening here. And the live music scene has come down a lot because of such circumstances. And you can noticeably see that there is a slow transition of people playing music live but sharing it with the audience in a virtual space or online or by broadcasting it. So what do you think will happen to live music? Do you think we will go back to the olden days where you know, people would gather together for live music performance? Or do you think we are going to completely transition into a digital concert space?
Colin D'Cruz 7:20
During this pandemic, most musicians took two digital platforms. You can't keep a musician down for too long. One thing I'm quite sure about, these online gigs are a temporary solution, nothing can replace the magic of human interaction, live music will soon return to its rightful place on a concert stage.
Firoz Berly 7:41
While going through the Jazz Goa catalogue, I was very impressed with the wide range of genres that were there within the catalog itself. So not only were you covering jazz, and local interpretations of jazz, you also had fusion, reggae, and blues. Now, what particularly struck me was that reggae is quite far away from the conventional and traditional sense of jazz, but it fits in very nicely with Jazz Goa, and what it had to sell. So how did that come into the picture? Did you go out and find people who are playing reggae music and go or were the reggae artists who heard about your work? +
Colin D'Cruz 8:31
Jazz is the most open, alive and evolving form of music. it embraces all other forms of music, you name the genre, and you can find a jazz attached to it. Jazz Rock, Pop Jazz, Latin Jazz, Country Jazz, Jazz Blues, you name it. It's all out there.
Firoz Berly 8:53
And on those lines, apart from the copious amount of attention that you give to jazz, are the other genres of music that really interest you and excite you?
Colin D'Cruz 9:03
The more forms of music I listen to, the more I widen my jazz horizons. When it came to music, I always wanted it all.
Firoz Berly 9:10
I think when the movie ''LaLa Land' came out, I'm not sure if you've seen it, but it's quite a hit with the mainstream movie audience. There's this one part in the movie where they talk about how jazz was born during a period where African Americans couldn't freely communicate with each other and you know, express their anguish, their emotions, clearly to each other. And jazz was a great instrument for them to do that. And during these jazz jams and performances that were happening, these players would play the music in such a way that they were actually, through their music, talking to the person right next to them, to the band member right next to them. How much of this is true? I mean, do you actually feel like you're having a conversation with another member?
Colin D'Cruz 10:02
Yes, a jazz musician does communicate through his instrument or voice, not just with the fellow musicians on stage. But across the stage with the audience, I always had this contention that if jazz is improvised music, it didn't originate in America, Indian classical music is all about improvisation, improvised music always existed in the world. It's just that America coined a new name for it called jazz.
Firoz Berly 10:30
From my perspective, jazz has been spreading in the widest of areas. And there are a lot of young musicians who are pushing the jazz movement in all directions. So a couple of my favorite new age jazz musicians would be Saarathy Korwar and Mark Giuliana. For you who's been in the jazz scene for a really long time, ss there any fresh and young talent that you would recommend to people to take listen to? Or are there any older artists or a classic jazz musician whom you would like the younger generation to pay attention to?
Colin D'Cruz 11:09
Today, jazz has grown into a global entity. It's no longer your music or my music. It's our music. And it's not just about improvisation. It's a meeting of minds and cultures. To keep one foot in the past and plunge the other into the future. I listened to the legends Louie Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald. At the same time, I listened to the innovators who pushed back the boundaries of jazz Weather Report, Yellow Jackets, and many more.
Firoz Berly 11:40
As I mentioned before, you are a prominent face in the jazz scene in India and the face of Goan Jazz. And it's a fact that the United Nations approached you for conducting a jazz festival and helping them organize a jazz festival in Goa. Now, when it comes to these jazz festivals, you participated in several international ones. Would you recommend any specific jazz festival that they can attend to get a taste of what jazz has to offer?
Colin D'Cruz 12:11
The Jazz Yatra in Mumbai launched in 1978 used to be the longest standing Jazz Festival in the world. It featured legends from all over the world. The festival came to an end after record breaking run. Internationally, the North Sea Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival, are just some of the festivals still holding the fort.
Firoz Berly 12:38
What plans do you have for yourself and for your organization?
Colin D'Cruz 12:49
I live in Goa, remember? So no big master plan in the pipeline, Jazz Goa, will just go with the flow.
Firoz Berly 12:56
What advice do you have to give to people who would like to step into the world of jazz as a musician, and especially for the younger generation that's out there right now?
Colin D'Cruz 13:12
There are three stages to every musician's career, imitation, assimilation, and innovation. My advice to youngsters is to go through all three. Finally innovating and creating an identity for yourself in the world of music.
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