Jazz and avant garde band, The Bodhisattwa Trio, has been at the forefront of experimental jazz music in India since its inception in 2012. With albums The Grey Album and Heart of Darkness, the trio pushed the boundaries of the genre. Now frontman and guitarist, Bodhisattwa Ghosh goes solo with his new album, Darkest Days and Brightest Nights. The nine-track album represents both the gloom, as well as the hope, in the world right now. We speak to Bodhisattwa to know more:
Why did you decide to go solo?
Over the years, I had written music which could not fit into any of my existing projects because of the differences in sound. But I had always wanted to make a guitar-oriented solo album. So I decided that this
was the best time to do it.
Expand on the dual theme of ‘dark days’ and ‘bright nights.’
The pandemic really reflected a dark time in our history. Artistes like me were completely out of work. But in the middle of all this, I had a lot of free time on my hands and a lot of creativity seemed to take shape in the form of music and compositions. So I decided to call my debut solo album Darkest Days and Brightest Nights. The album is very honest and personal, and is actually a reflection of who I am as a human being and as an artiste.
With this album you are going back to rock, the genre you started out with. Tell us more about those early days.
I grew up listening to rock and it had a strong influence on my taste in music. Twenty years ago, I decided to take up the guitar seriously after listening to David Gilmour’s guitar solo in Comfortably Numb. When I heard that for the first time, I imme-diately knew what I wanted to be in life. All other conventional plans were thrown out of the window.
Which other rock musicians inspire you?
I am extremely fond of the music of Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Sat-riani, Steve Vai and even modern players like Joe Bonamassa, Eric Gales and Nick Johnston. Indian
guitar players like Amyt Datta (my teacher), Warren Mendonsa, Bruce Lee Mani and Vikramjit Banerjee also hugely inspire me.
What’s next in the pipeline?
I have a lot of plans for 2022, especially with my band The Bodhi-sattwa Trio (we will record our
fourth album in July 2022), and my rock band Lakkhichhara has things lined up as well. But with this project, I am trying to put together a few concerts in early 2022.
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