Our sound is a blend of Indian classical and jazz," says D'Cruz. Indian classical music, like jazz, is all about improvisation--even though it is linear, and improvisations are based on one scale called 'raga.' Jazz, on the other hand, has a broader palette where multiple scales are often used to improvise through harmonmic changes. Indian classical music is known to be very melancholic whereas jazz can be extremely exuberant. Indian classical music however, has subtle quarter tones and complex rhythm structures that add a whole new dimension to jazz."
The result is a cool smooth blend that has become the signature sound of the hotel, where they play original compositions six days a week. With imitation the greatest form of flattery, some of their tunes are regularly reproduced at other Mumbai nightspots.
The band members are well known in their respective fields. Flute player Dhiraj Kapadia has been involved with Bollywood music for over 30 years. Keyboard player Tony Dias has also scored film music and is a trained western classical musician. while Kapadia and percussionist Jayesh Dhargalkar are trained in Indian classical music. D'Cruz has experimented with nearly every genre of music, performing with various musicians from all over the world, including blues legend Dana Gillespie, Indian Rocker Remo Fernandes, Country singer Gary Lawyer, Playback siger Sonu Nigam and reggae artist Apache Indian. D'Cruz often performs several different genres of music at any given times but says he's most at home with jazz, which he calls the most open, alive and evolving form of music."
So why lounge around on the job?
The idea is to have an informal atmosphere like a living room, where you have these musicians hanging around and jamming. It has been extremely well received and a lot of people actually hang around and listen. They connect with us," says D'Cruz.
For more information contact All About Jazz.