Over the course of three evenings, 24 stellar international musicians will descend upon the Tata Theatre as the NCPA International Jazz Festival 2022 makes its long-awaited return later this month
Bouncing back from the setbacks of the pandemic, it would not be inaccurate to say that 2022 is all about making up for lost time. At the NCPA, the phenomenal programming of a bevy of fantastic artistes is an indicator of the great revival. For one, the NCPA International Jazz Festival, the much-awaited annual celebration of jazz at its best, has returned after a long wait and with it comes a dizzying array of acclaimed musicians to match.
A legacy lives on
The festival will open right where it left off three years ago. Those present at the 2019 edition of the festival, when the Mingus Dynasty Quartet turned it all the way up, truly know to expect nothing less. This edition will welcome the Grammy-winning 14-piece Mingus Big Band — a collective that celebrates the compelling music of virtuoso composer, bandleader and bass player Charles Mingus who died in 1979. Featuring a rotation of fine jazz musicians who push the limits of their instruments, the band was nominated for six Grammys and won for their album Live at Jazz Standard in 2011. Like the Mingus Dynasty Quartet, the big band was formed under the artistic direction of the composer’s widow, Sue Mingus, who sadly passed away in September this year. “I have worked with Sue since 1999,” says Albert Sun, booking agent and tour manager of the Mingus bands. “To witness the passion and dedication she had for her mission to promote Charles Mingus was infectious.”
The year 2022 coincides with Mingus’s birth centenary and the band has been playing at festivals and prestigious venues alike. Drummer Donald Edwards, one of four musicians who will return to the NCPA, feels honoured to be able to carry forward the legacy of the multifaceted musician. Also returning is Abraham Burton, tenor sax and member of the Mingus bands for the past 25 years, who says, “The passing of Sue is a tremendous loss for the jazz community and a deeply felt void for those of us who knew her personally. She was an extremely intelligent woman, a writer and, truly, a poet. When you study the history of this music, you become aware of the obstacles, sacrifices and hard work endured by the great musicians before us. I feel fortunate to be a part of this lineage carrying forward a message through this rich art form. This is Mingus’s centennial, and we intend to celebrate the lives of Charles and Sue Mingus with a powerful charge.”
That some of the finest musicians on the scene make the great Mingus Big Band what it is, is a given. Pianist Theo Hill will return to the NCPA too, as will Alex Sipiagin on trumpet. We will see for the first time the band’s music director Boris Kozlov on bass, Earl McIntyre — who has performed with Mingus —on the bass trombone and tuba, and a stellar selection of veterans and next-generation musicians on saxophones, trumpets and trombones. One can expect impactful melodies and rich, thick harmonies in the music inspired by social and political events. There will be a nod to different genres ranging from the blues and gospel to Latin and classical alongside tributes to Mingus’s favourite musicians and jazz solos to boot. Material from The Charles Mingus Centennial Sessions, the band’s 2022 release, will also find its way into what can only be expected to be a very special and meaningful concert. As manager of the Mingus Big Band for over 20 years, Sun knows all too well what touring as a big band entails. “As difficult as it is, the rewards, when you see the response to the music, is so gratifying. I’ve worked with several bands in my career, and this is the only one where I can truly say everyone checks their ego at the door for the sake of the music. It takes a special kind of musician to stay involved with this band. That is some of Sue’s magic, to wean out those who couldn’t cut the mustard for the sake of Charles and the wellbeing of everyone on the team.”
Jazz meets Jamaica
Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Monty Alexander will take to the stage with an ensemble of four marvellous musicians for the second act of the festival. The Jamaican-born, US-based pianist, whose repertoire spans a broad range of classic jazz and Caribbean expressions—the American songbook and the blues, gospel and bebop, calypso and reggae—is tinged with sounds of his homeland. “It is my pleasure to invite the audience to go with me musically around the world because when I play, I draw on my own personal inspiration of the exciting adventures I’ve had in my life. Yes, my heritage of Jamaican culture is at the forefront of all that I do and yet my original love for American music started with the great Louis Armstrong “Satchmo” who I met when I was ten years old,” says Alexander, who soaked in the music of legends like Nat King Cole and other greats at a very young age.
Alexander has recorded more than 75 albums and has been touring relentlessly over the years; since 1976, he has performed 23 times at the Montreux Jazz Festival. At the NCPA International Jazz Festival 2022, he will perform with his bassist from Canada, Luke Sellick; New York-based drummer Jason Brown, adept at everything from Caribbean rhythms and contemporary styles to classic American swing; English trombone player Dennis Rollins, also of Jamaican heritage, who will bring his flair for ska and reggae to the table; and guitarist and electric bassist Joshua Thomas, another musician with Jamaican roots who will embolden all the rhythms Alexander would like to put forth at the concert. “A part of my palette is rhythm, the kind of rhythm that makes one tap their foot or shake their body to it, and to bring out melody sections. But the main point is to bring upliftment to everyone, including myself,” says Alexander. The audience can expect to be treated to material fromLove Notes, his latest and only album to feature his own vocals and which includes classic interpretations of jazz greats suffused with sounds from the island.
Sleek and sublime
The virtuosity will shine through on the last day, when the Thilo Wolf Jazz Quartet takes to the stage for the festival’s finale. With a repertoire that spans a mix of the American songbook and Wolf’s own compositions, the ensemble includes musicians from the rhythm section of Germany’s famed Thilo Wolf Big Band, including Norbert Nagel (reeds), Christian Diener (bass) and Jean Paul Höchstädter (drums). The quartet will play swinging, driving and melodic jazz, characterised by its liveliness and bolstered by the great joy of playing and improvising. “It is important to take the audience with us in the concert and to interact and establish a sense of closeness,” says Wolf.
Over course of his illustrious career, Wolf has worked closely with many a vocalist for both his big band and quartet. This time, the quartet will be joined by Johanna Iser, known for her tremendous musicality and vocal flexibility. “Her range of musical abilities naturally inspires me as a composer, arranger and bandleader. I have worked with many great singers, but Johanna’s flexibility is unique. Whether it’s a quartet, big band or symphony orchestra, something exciting and special always comes out,” he adds.
With the Thilo Wolf Jazz Quartet, Iser, signed with Modernsoul, a publishing partner of BMG, will bring to the mix her ability to merge musical motifs and virtuoso scat singing. “The audience can expect a vibrant, playful mixture of classic jazz standards including high-class instrumental and vocal improvisation as well as individual, modern interpretations, and stunning arrangements of classical standards that they might have never heard before. There will also be a performance of personal songs that members of the band have written together,” the Bavaria-based singer tells us. “So, this will be a colourful soundscape that perfectly suits the ear of a well-experienced jazz standard lover as well as an audience more oriented towards the modern.”
The NCPA International Jazz festival 2022 will be presented on the 25th, 26th and 27th November at the Tata Theatre.
*This feature was originally published in print in the November 2022 edition of ON Stage by the NCPA, Mumbai.
Any Odd Way 