You may have heard the rocking beats of the drums from the songs in Rock On!! or you may have felt inspired by the rhythms introduced by the drum elements in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Drummer and composer Darshan Doshi, who’s behind the fabulous drumming work of these cult-hit songs, is also known for his live performances with industry biggies like Farhan Akhtar, Armaan Malik and Salim Merchant.
Darshan’s independent ventures that are spread across various musical genres are also gaining the spotlight, and how! After delivering a unique album called Better Than Sax, the drummer collaborated yet again with saxophonist and music director Mark Hartsuch, and bassist Tony Grey and took over the jazz world with their recent performance at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CPT Jazz Fest). In our conversation with Darshan, we discuss his experience of performing in Cape Town, the state of the jazz scene in the country, and more.
Excerpts:
How was the experience of performing at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival?
The experience was just amazing. The Cape Town crowd wa so good and received our music well. We had the best time performing to a crowd who loved instrumental and independent music.
Any interesting moment from this festival you can highlight for us?
The most fun moment at the festival was to meet the audience after our performance and to get positive feedback about how they loved our music and performance. I also conducted a workshop for local students regarding the application of Indian rhythms on the drums and they enjoyed it.
What was it like performing with Mark Hartsuch and Tony Grey?
Mark and Tony are phenomenal musicians. I have played with them separately in different setups. It was the first time three of us were coming together as a trio and with just one rehearsal before the concert day, both of them just aced it. It was an honour for me to share the stage with them.
Give us insights about the current jazz scene in the country and how would you like to see it grow.
I am very happy with the current jazz scene in the country, especially to see young musicians taking up jazz music. I only hope we get more venues to perform jazz across the country. The audience needs to support us as well by buying tickets for these concerts, so that we can release more music and do live concerts for them.
What’s next for you?
I am currently on my way to Nashville, USA, to record my next album with saxophonist Mark Hartsuch that will be Volume 2 of the Better Than Sax album. We also plan to record new singles with bassist Tony Grey very soon. I will be releasing a few tracks from the CPT Jazz Fest performance on my YouTube channel as well.