By the time guitar mogul Amyt Datta walked onto the stage in the late 1970s, jazz in Kolkata was already running towards the light. Just like lit windows in a building consecutively blackout during an alien invasion in the cine world, in the real world, Amyt saw most jazz venues in Park Street, the city’s jazz hub at the time, either shut down or their green signal fade to black one after...
By the time guitar mogul Amyt Datta walked onto the stage in the late 1970s, jazz in Kolkata was already running towards the light. Just like lit windows in a building consecutively blackout during an alien invasion in the cine world, in the real world, Amyt saw most jazz venues in Park Street, the city’s jazz hub at the time, either shut down or their green signal fade to black one after the other. In a way, Amyt’s generation played the swan song for India’s jazz age.
But even with its diminished popularity, jazz remained etched in Kolkata’s cultural ethos. In modern Kolkata, while the music genre continues to remain stagnant, one can still see some sparks as the city is buzzing with talented musicians who continue to practise their love for the genre.
The end of the golden age
To understand the end, let’s rewind the tape to the beginning. When the United States of America ushered in its jazz age in the 1920s, its impact travelled to the other side of the world, all the way to India. As if someone kick-started a randomiser on the global soundscape, Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Bombay (now Mumbai) became the epicentres of the era that came to be defined as the golden age of jazz in India.
Up until the 1950s, Kolkata enjoyed the privilege of hosting revered jazz musicians from all over the world. Hence, this genre is more than just a footnote in Kolkata’s musical history. In the 1960s and 1970s, well after the end of the golden age (1920-50s), jazz continued to be performed at various bars, pubs and cafes.
But buoyed by a host of factors, that’s when the music began to fade.
“During the early 1970s, heavy entertainment taxes were imposed on certain restaurants and other venues, which started to affect the music scene. India Tobacco Company (ITC) used to be one of the major sponsors but since it was a cigarette company, ITC was banned from putting out advertisements. When the ads stopped, sponsors withdrew and took down the music scene with them,” Amyt Dutta, who is also an acclaimed producer and music teacher, told The Federal.
While many rue the end of the ‘golden age of jazz’, Amyt denies it every existed.
One of the senior-most musicians in Kolkata working today, Amyt started learning guitar back in February 1972 and began playing professionally sometime between 1979 and 1981. He is known to play various genres including rock, jazz and blues.
“In my opinion, the golden age of jazz is a myth. It never existed. When you have about 10-12 bands doing about two shows a month, you can hardly call that a scene. That is not enough to make a living. In that environment, some of us were lucky to get by, but most couldn’t,” he said.
When Kolkata had about two to three shows a month, New York had about 100 a day.
“Even during the 1970s when people used to frequent jazz venues, the motivations were hardly at the right place. They were there with their friends to grab a drink and watch a band perform to have a good time. The music was never the primary focus,” said Amyt.
People versus jazz
Almost two decades into the new millennium, Kolkata continues to be a place where art is appreciated but never paid for. In a characteristic feature of the city of joy, which shows a cultural homogeneity across most art forms, every art form is struggling to survive. In the absence of an organised industry, making money and earning a livelihood is a blind spot. Musicians and artists don’t have a way to sustain themselves without compromising on their creative pursuits for commercial gains. Something that is more commonly known as “selling out”.
What also ails the city is a disconnect between musicians and promoters. Premjit Dutta, a member of the experimental jazz fusion/avant-garde outfit The Bodhisattwa Trio, believes this is due to most promoters caring largely about the business side of things and not the art form.
Premjit is a drummer, who started as a Latin percussionist in the early 2000s and eventually shifted to jazz during 2008-09. He is also a music educator at The Calcutta School of Music, where he teaches drums.
“Kolkata has no prospects for commerce. The promoters have no intention to influence pop culture in any way. This is why many musicians eventually shift to Mumbai or Delhi due to lack of work. For example, we [The Bodhisattwa Trio], in the past few years, have performed over 50 shows all over the world but only five in Kolkata. Most venues in the city have no vision geared towards preserving jazz in the city,” said Premjit.
“Here, I am just someone in the background. I’d rather be in a place where we musicians are considered important. Delhi is a stark contrast to this city. The Piano Man Jazz Club, for example, is a great place for musicians to perform as the club has established its identity as a hub for live music,” said Premjit.
There are hardly any record labels that are willing to produce jazz albums now. Most artists self-produce. Venkat Raman, a 22-year-old musician who started in Kolkata, self-produced his first EP, Fleeting Fancy. The album was positively reviewed by Rolling Stone India with a rating of 3.5/5.
“Record labels are getting obsolete, and buying studio time is getting all the more expensive day by day. I usually record, produce and mix my own records,” said Venkat.
All is not lost
While the overall picture of jazz is grim right now, there are redeemable factors. One of these is the growing younger demographic of fans. “The college-going crowd has always been one of the more enthusiastic fan bases wherever I perform. Unfortunately, since they’re young they can’t always attend the gigs, which I understand. But they’re a big reason why I’m still playing,” said Amyt.
Despite venues getting shut and persistent conflicts with promoters, there is still hope for musicians in this city. Skinny Mo’s Jazz Club is one of the few dedicated clubs in the city.
“In 2019, after organising the Thursday Jazz Encounter for almost six years, Munir Mohanty, co-founder of the club, and I decided to have a place dedicated to jazz music. We eventually found one in an old art decor building,” said Nishit Arora, co-founder of Skinny Mo’s Jazz Club.
The club organises around three shows a month. Unlike the rest of the city, Skinny Mo’s has been selling out all their shows. “We showcase a lot of local acts, and before the pandemic, we were also showcasing acts from other cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Travelling musicians from European countries have also performed at our club,” said Nishit.
“Despite all the adversities, the club is in an interesting space right now. We were aware that setting up a jazz club is a very niche idea and there would only be a few takers for this kind of music. And, so when all the shows we have had until now sold out, it kind of blew our minds. We have had the pleasure of having all kinds of audiences: those well-versed in jazz and those not,” added Nishit.
Ever since the early 1990s, Kolkata has been organising the Annual Jazz Festival in December at the Dalhousie Institute. The festival is aimed at celebrating jazz music and bringing it to the people of Kolkata. The festival scales big with international acts coming from all over the world. Usually, eight foreign bands, and one Indian act are featured.
However, organising such a festival around jazz has its constraints, financially and otherwise. “I work throughout the year to organise this festival. We start preparing for the event and promoting it as early as March. The preparations for this year’s festival have already begun,” said Varun Desai, director of the Annual Jazz Festival.
Varun took over the responsibility of the event in 2016. This was a time the event had been making huge losses for years. “Earlier, a bunch of people from the corporate sector were organising this festival on the side. They invested their own money into it and were still facing losses. When I took over, I came in as an industry professional, and my goal was to make it sustainable, which I’ve achieved,” said Varun.
The price of authenticity
The comparative tale charting the course of two artists is an age-old one. Both are creatively motivated as beginners, and both hoping for success. But over the course of their careers, one takes the commercial route appeasing a larger demographic, and the other stays true to his art with a smaller crowd supporting him. The classic dichotomy: Money or authenticity? Selling out or remaining a niche?
“Even in the 1960s, live music was a niche. Making money through music has always been like a day job because if you are to earn decent money, you need to cater to the audience, and in India that means working on pop and Bollywood music,” said Amyt.
The plight of the musician remains the same. “If someone gets into complex music, it sucks the life out of you. You practice 20 hours a day to get to a basic level and get worried when you don’t see much improvement even after many years. Then that person decides to add something to his music to balance things out. This balancing factor is very tricky,” said Amyt.
Elaborating on the balancing factor, Amyt said that musicians get so lost in trying to make their music more palatable, they eventually stray too far away from what they were trying to do in the beginning and become a sell-out.
“Coming back to his roots for this particular musician is very tough. By that time, their headspace has changed, and they wouldn’t want to give up the lifestyle they have gotten used to. Going back means losing comfort, money, and seeing your fan base shrink. To return to playing at smaller shows from huge arenas is a difficult choice for people to make,” said Amyt.
Venkat, feels his music so far, has been a very selfish endeavour. “I feel down the line, I want to be more listenable, and tell my stories through simpler means. That doesn’t necessarily mean I’m not allowed to incorporate the things I like, and what I am in the process. That being said, nobody cares if I play an exotic chord or a simple one, as long as they can relate to it,” said Venkat.
“Despite all the things I’ve said, my career has been fantastic in pockets. I just wish there was a hotter scene. But I will always believe there will continue to be mad people like us, who in spite of all the problems, will put our blood, sweat and tears into making music we like and stay true to the aesthetic of the art form,” concluded Amyt.