The stars (and moon) over Shisha

Review by Sudheer Gaikwad

Wednesday, December 26, 2007. The stars were out, a big moon was around - and one could almost touch or taste the buzz up on Pune's Shisha jazz cafe rooftop, the eager hush and pause before swing-time, calm before jazz-y storm. After all, it's not every night that one can get to see/hear legendary Hindustani keyboardist/composer Louis Banks - and certainly not in such eclectic company as German saxophonist Tony Lakatos, Puerto Rican bassist Mario Sosa and 'little' drummer Gino, scion of and heir to the brilliant Banks legacy.

Ten minutes ahead of show time, a foliage-shaded nook was the closest ringside i could make. And what a perspective it turned out to be! A close-up view of Gino's amazing deft dexterous cymbal-riding right hand and wrist that seemed to turn more nifty and nimble with every passing bar. On the far side was acoustic bass-bopping Mario, whose head was in ever electric swirl, in sync with his fleet-finger forays up and down the fingerboard of his resonant acoustic bass. Alas, maestro Banks was completely out-of-sight (literally) and if all i could see was horn-man Lakatos' back, the torrents of keyboard and saxophone sounds seemed to invade my every sense to the brim - till my proverbial cup was running over. If you think I make too much ado, here's the nitty-gritty.

Vocalist-in-tow Joe Alvares urged the standing-room-only audience to 'fly cerebrally' as the trio eased into its act with a couple of instrumentals, the opener a 6/8 time swing-er, followed by an original, in tangy, kind of wistful vein, for the band to flex and stretch and sizzle some. "His folly today is jazz," said Banks as introduction and invitation to crooner Joe, who joined in with a lively 'I'm walkin’ and exuded quite an affinity to spontaneous scats during cover of Johnny Mercer's 'I remember you' and a vamped- and funked-up 'Nature Boy'. That made way for Banks' 'Be Bop Raga' featuring Sosa's expressive plucked and bowed bass solo. The jazz-raga concept grooved good enough, though I thought some transitions were a little too facile and/or abrupt. But for sure, Banks knows his ragas as comprehensively as his altered and diminished jazz modes. Time then for a reworked 'Blue Moon', up-tempo 'Autumn Leaves' and Sting's ethereal 'Sister Moon' (that Alvares did not do justice to) that Banks shimmered and shined up with crystal clean keyboard cascades that son Gino kept impeccable time to. (There was this little girl not more than 5, sitting by herself on the Shisha cafe steps, clapping and grooving - and wow, that made the picture complete.)

Imagine! swinging to jazz at the age of 4 or 5... or 55! Beautiful girl, beautiful venue, and a 'wow' band!

'Round Midnight' was a treat with Banks, Lakatos and Sosa making the most of Monk's inspired diminished minor chord tapestry. Joe's crooning though seemed to gloss over the myriad plangent nuances in rather insensitive rush. Which brought on the tour de force, 'Song For Gino' written on the night Gino was born. A drum intro made way for red-hot swing, with Lakatos raising pure steam on his horn, and Banks sneaking in some raga-ish motifs while the band cooked up switling brew. And then little Gino claimed spotlight with a drum solo worth going miles and across potholes and through traffic jams to see and hear. Mature way beyond his years, 'little' Gino, from teeny paradiddles and tings and tinkles turned it up to triple forte crescendo, arms flailing dervish-like, feet thudding into bass drum thunder punctuated by time-keeping hi-hat splashes, including a spell when he was playing on just the airwaves, flitting like butterfly over the sparkling metal of his tuneful cymbals - all in view of a rapturous spellbound Shisha throng, including jazz-buffs and hosts Mehdi and Prithvi! 'Ain't No Sunshine' set in lounge-like mode was followed by Banks' scintillating 'Shanti' - and I thought, this is what it must have been to hear Miles and Coltrane and Dizzy play - that's what Banks, Lakatos, Sosa and Gino brought to the Shisha stage, the magnificence of jazz, played at virtuoso close-to-the-edge  brink. 'Accentuate The Positive' was the title of the encore, fittingly.

"Shisha is by far the best 'live' jazz venue in India," said Banks as he was wrapping up his music sheets and gear. Is this jazz revival? People are catching on to the magical fun essence of jazz, feels the cool patient Luois Banks, who has woven his keyboard wizardry for decades, from Blue Fox, Park Lane, Calcutta to the hot spots of Mumbai - and now in 'amche' Pune too. "I'm incredibly proud," confessed Banks on having prodigious son Gino to play alongside with. Talk to Gino, and his disciple/son rapport with dad Louis brims over. Thanks Banks, and Shisha for a most buzzed-up boxing day night out.

My only grouse? There are so few bands/musicians in India who take it to the jazz limit like Banks does. Sure, i would like to but don't know how, nor are there enough fellow music-mates to swing in way out orbits with. But, hey, it's 2008 and 'things ain't what they used to be', as Mercer would say...

Review by Sudheer Gaikwad

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