On Tuesday, 16.01.2007, I had the privilege of watching two of the greatest living (Jazz) musicians, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, live in concert.
The concert was organised by the American Centre, held at Siri Fort in New Delhi and was marked by the sort of mismanagement that seems to be a trademark of all events at Siri Fort. It started over an hour late, passes were over-issued and atleast a thousand people were turned away at the gate after having queued up for well over an hour. I would've been one of those people, if I had not found a friend near the front of the queue and joined her. I had NO idea Delhi had that many Jazz enthusiasts.
As it turned out, the concert was well worth the trouble. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to listen to these guys, so influential in the history of music, play live. I am admittedly a jazz newbie, in so far as even though I love the music, I haven't been driven to find out more about it - its origin, its history. However this concert changed all that for me, and (totally coincidentally) I happen to be reading Eric Hobsbawm's Uncommon People as of now. The combination of the book and the concert has led me to read more about Jazz and its beginnings, and what I've found out has made me love the genre even more.
Hobsbawm's incredibly well-written book (much like his other, more political, books) traces the history of Jazz from the 1920s social rebellion to Sidney Bechet, through to Ella Fitzgerald and the decline of Jazz to Miles Davis and its resurrection in the 1960s/1970s. Jazz, especially Hobsbawm's take on it, has a very inspiring story behind it, given its roots in the Civil Rights Movement, and its status as music of oppressed peoples, for lack of a better word.
All music post Jazz owes a very big debt to it. Without Jazz, there would be no Hip-hop, and even rock would sound incredibly different. Thus to see such practitioners as Hancock and Shorter in their skin was a surreal but humbling experience.
The concert was organised by the American Centre, held at Siri Fort in New Delhi and was marked by the sort of mismanagement that seems to be a trademark of all events at Siri Fort. It started over an hour late, passes were over-issued and atleast a thousand people were turned away at the gate after having queued up for well over an hour. I would've been one of those people, if I had not found a friend near the front of the queue and joined her. I had NO idea Delhi had that many Jazz enthusiasts.
As it turned out, the concert was well worth the trouble. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to listen to these guys, so influential in the history of music, play live. I am admittedly a jazz newbie, in so far as even though I love the music, I haven't been driven to find out more about it - its origin, its history. However this concert changed all that for me, and (totally coincidentally) I happen to be reading Eric Hobsbawm's Uncommon People as of now. The combination of the book and the concert has led me to read more about Jazz and its beginnings, and what I've found out has made me love the genre even more.
Hobsbawm's incredibly well-written book (much like his other, more political, books) traces the history of Jazz from the 1920s social rebellion to Sidney Bechet, through to Ella Fitzgerald and the decline of Jazz to Miles Davis and its resurrection in the 1960s/1970s. Jazz, especially Hobsbawm's take on it, has a very inspiring story behind it, given its roots in the Civil Rights Movement, and its status as music of oppressed peoples, for lack of a better word.
All music post Jazz owes a very big debt to it. Without Jazz, there would be no Hip-hop, and even rock would sound incredibly different. Thus to see such practitioners as Hancock and Shorter in their skin was a surreal but humbling experience.
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