Musicians from
Goa have an appeal that goes
beyond geographical boundaries. It is not unusual to watch Goan bands
entertaining crowds at weddings or at shows in different cities in the country.
They leave behind pleasant memories. Increasingly Goan artists are carving a
name for themselves on the international stage. Goan artists are being invited
to perform at international music events. Yes, the virus has put paid to plans
for the near future but interest is strong.
Seby Fernandes has been a musician for several years. He used to
play in Delhi for over twenty five years as a commercial musician. He said “I
played the regular music so that people could dance too. But I have always
loved jazz. Once I started spending time with Colin D Cruz, my love for jazz
blossomed. I wrote jazz songs in Konkani that were sung by Usha Uthup. It’s
been nice to do what I love doing.” He said he had also performed
internationally in Canada and in the USA to audiences that love jazz. It was,
he said, not any community related event in those countries. Seby said several
of the Goan musicians who played in the Bollywood film industry for their
livelihood were superb jazz musicians and this was a continuation of a
tradition that was steeped in Goan culture. He said that there were so many
musicians in the state and out of those numbers; it was always possible that
there would be some really talented outstanding musicians who would emerge and
play jazz and other genres and catch the eye of the international audience thanks
to modern technology. Audiences, he said, would be initially surprised to see
Indian musicians playing jazz but once they started, there was no problem at
all. Now he is sitting at home in Goa composing Konkani songs with a jazz
touch.
A band that has certainly
caught the imagination of audiences in Goa is the Black in White a band that
sings covers and importantly originals too. Noel Rosh the keyboardist and
manager of the band said the band was currently sitting at home for the past
couple of months due to the virus. He however said the band had performed in
the Gulf, specifically Dubai. He said “We were invited to perform there and it
was in front of an international audience. We have performed in other
international venues too and it is nice to be appreciated”. He said people were
interested in calling them over to perform internationally but nothing could be
done due to the virus. The band caught the imagination of the local audience
when they recorded an original composition called “Take my Hand” which
generated more than its usual share of views on various popular online
platforms.
The very experienced
Colin D Cruz who has been strumming the bass for decades first in Mumbai and
now in Goa has been performing internationally for a while. Now of course his
online presence ensures he can touch any part of the world whilst sitting at
home. Colin said “I have performed at the jazz show in the Crimea. The Russian
Jazz festival has been flying in some of the greatest jazz bands and musicians.
They heard me on Youtube and invited me. The Brown Indian Band they said would
represent India. This of course was in 2014. Recently I performed at the
JazzBistro in Canada.”
He said it was always
interesting to watch people’s reactions when they learnt it was a band from
India that would be playing next. He said “Half the battle is won there; it’s
one of the reasons why I am proud to be Indian”. He said when he played in
Australia, the local musicians were surprised that musicians from India were
playing jazz. It was, he said, an education for them. Colin said when he played
in Bahrain and Muscat several international musicians would drop in and jam
with him which was a great experience. In his typical style he said Goan
musicians were appreciated more out of Goa than in the state.
Sonia Shirsat, a rare
professional Fadista in the Indian subcontinent, has been singing
internationally since 2008. She said singing abroad was always an interesting
experience because it could be pleasant as well as dicey. She said “I sing in
Portuguese and Konkani which are foreign languages for a lot of people abroad.
That can turn dicey. I was singing the Fado in Canada and the audience was
Portuguese but I was singing in Portuguese as well as in Konkani. They
understood half the show and the rest went right over the head. The same
happened in Singapore where the audience was Chinese, Malay and expats working
there. But yes its always been interesting”. She said when she first performed
in Portugal, the crowd knew their Fado and they were judging her but thankfully
she passed muster. She said they were surprised to see a Goan singing their art
form and doing it well. She has gone on to sing seven times in Portugal.
Goan talent is making its mark on the international stage slowly
but surely.