Add to your weekend bucket list this exciting jazz fest happening in Chennai

If you’re looking for an elegant musical event in the city this weekend, we have picked out an interesting one. Jazz takes over Chennai as Hyatt Regency Chennai rolls out J4Jazz Weekender. This musical extravaganza is all set to become an event to remember, taking the audience back to the golden age of jazz music. We rope in some of the performing artistes to discuss what they have in store.

“We are playing music closer to the ’30s and ’40s based on interpretations of jazz standards by Django Reinhardt,” Joey Sharma from the Joey Sharma Band tells us. Jazz vocalist and guitarist Kirtana Krishna, who will be performing with her quartet, says, “Jazz from the ’50s stands as a reasonable benchmark, something for us all to aim towards. As far as channelling that spirit is concerned, as long as we keep our improvisation game strong, we should be there. The idea is not to imitate but to be original, creative, and relevant in the present.”

Aman Mahajan’s act, Refuge, will be reflective of how the jazz era of the ’50s is being reframed for South India today. “Refuge uses devices from traditional jazz, among other forms of music, as a backdrop to explore ideas of home in one’s musical and personal jour neys. Harmony, form, swing, syncopation... tropes from 1950s NYC jazz are constantly reframed in the context of a contemporary Indian approach, exploring what it means to play this music in south India in 2024,” he says.

Shakti Balu of AV Trio tells us that the band will focus on Latin forms of the genre. “The covers and standards, which we are going to introduce, are mainly Bossa Nova style. It is a Latin beat, translated from Portuguese, meaning ‘relaxed style of samba.’ Derived from Brazilian samba and influenced by American jazz in the late ’50s, it was introduced to America by Joao Gilberto. Bossa Nova won the hearts of people in the US,” she shares. Matt Littlewood, who notes that jazz music has moved on since the 1950s, tells us that the performance with his quartet will have some influences from that era but will also adopt a contemporary style of jazz. “Jazz like many forms of music, is embedded into the cultures that surround them. This is what makes our music so fascinating and why we can develop unique forms of jazz anywhere in the world. Jazz in India would be one of those,” he tells us.

Along with the music, the J4Jazz Weekender is also going to be immersive, offering an exciting flea market to explore and interesting dining options. Sounds like a fun weekend, right?

By registrations only. From September 20 to 22 ,11 am onwards. At 365 Anna Salai, Teynampet