Which Concert Will You Go For This Weekend?

The Three Ladies of the Blues.

Diwali has come early for music lovers in Mumbai, with three big gigs being staged this weekend. A guide to helping you decide where to head:

JAZZMATAZZ
Where: Tata Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Nariman Point. Tel: 6622 3737.
When: Friday, October 14, from 6.30pm; Saturday, October 15 and Sunday, October 16, from 5.30pm.
Entrance fee: Rs600, Rs800, Rs1,000, Rs1,500.
The National Centre for the Performing Arts adds another festival to its annual roster with the inaugural edition of JazzMatazz. The three-day jazz festival, much like the long-running Jazz Utsav, will feature jazz talent from across the world but with one core difference—instead of the often experimental, electro and fusion jazz forms that have dominated the latter event in recent years, JazzMatazz will put a focus on “straight-through, traditional” jazz, says Romit Chaterji, a member of the NCPA jazz committee. JazzMatazz will begin with a set by Cartlon Kitto’s Jazz Ensemble; Kitto is the veteran Kolkata-based guitarist who is the subject of a soon-to-be-released documentary on the history of jazz in India, entitled Finding Carlton. American trumpet virtuoso Jon Faddis, who was mentored by, and is often compared to, Dizzy Gillespie, will also perform on Friday. On Saturday, critically lauded American trombonist Steve Turre (he’s won “best trombonist” in jazz bible Downbeat’s annual readers’ poll no less than five times); and renowned American pianist and composer Cedar Walton will take the stage as will as the only vocal act in the programme, the US-based The Three Ladies of the Blues, namely Joan Faulkner, Joanne Bell and Harriet Lewis. On Sunday, the line-up comprises the Beets Brothers, a quartet that includes three Dutch siblings, pianist Peter Beets, double bass player Marius and saxophonist Alexander plus their drummer; Sri Lankan pianist Harsha Makalande and his band Khrome; and veteran American drummer Louis Hayes and the Cannonball Legacy Band (named after Hayes’s former band mate, saxophonist Cannonball Adderley).

LIVE FROM THE CONSOLE
Where: Recording Studio, First Floor, Mehboob Studio, Hill Road, Bandra (West). Call 99675 39983 for details.
When: Saturday, October 15, doors open at 6pm.
Where: Rs150 per head.
Thanks to the fact that Sony Music releases Pearl Jam’s music in our country, this weekend, we’ll get to see Pearl Jam Twenty (the rockumentary wasn’t released in Indian cinemas and the DVD isn’t out until later this month), director Cameron Crowe’s cinematic chronicle of the first two decades in the life of the iconic Seattle grunge band. It will be screened at the fourth edition of Live From The Console, the monthly series of concerts organised by Sony Music India’s indie division Day 1 and Oranjuice Entertainment. The Pearl Jam documentary, which was put together from over 1,200 hours worth of rare archival footage of performances and interviews with the group’s members and their friends and colleagues (including Kurt Cobain), has won much praise from fans and critics, one of whom couldn’t “help but be impressed by the kind of personal and professional integrity that has kept the band honest and allowed them to endure and prosper”. Needless to say, the performers will throw in a few Pearl Jam covers in their sets. This time, the line-up comprises singer-songwriters Sonaluna (aka Sonal D’Silva) and Tek (aka Vitek Goyel, the frontman of the band Slow Down Clown), who will play their respective songs but will accompany each other on stage; and two popular Mumbai-based alternative rock acts, whose sound owes at least a little debt to Eddie Vedder and Co.—Dischordian and Blakc.

STUPIDITTIES V
Where: B69, 21 Bhaidas Bhuta Compound, Mogra Lane, off Old Nagardas Road, near Shiv Sagar, Andheri (East). Tel: 93200 38513.
When: Sunday, October 16, from 5pm to midnight.
Entrance fee: Free, pay what you want.
As the marketing manager at the Indian edition of Rolling Stone magazine, Rishu Singh seals deals with brands, finds sponsors for events and partakes in other such soul-selling activities that are seemingly at odds with the punk rock philosophy that led him to form his event/record company ennui.bomb in the mid-noughties. Singh, however, says that his day job enables him to keep ennui.bomb afloat and to continue to give out its Stupiditties series of “un-metal” indie rock compilations for free. The fifth edition of Stupiditties, which will be released at a launch gig at B69 this Sunday, is by far the biggest yet—a double CD featuring no less than 45 acts from across the country (two of our favourite new groups, Bombay Bassment and Peter Cat Recording Co. are on there). A handful of the 23 bands from Mumbai that appear on the album will perform at the launch gig: alternative rock groups Slown Down Clown and Spook, and punk outfits The Lightyears Explode!, Artificial Red, Blek and the cheekily-name Punk on Toast. It will also feature the reunion of Aftertaste (the alternative rock band whose rhythm section went on to form part of Bombay Bassment) as well as a performance by Love Kamikaze, the new trio formed by Aftertaste guitarist Michael Lee. Free albums will be given out to everyone at the show. Though the concert too is free, you can leave a pay-what-you-like sum at the door.

ALSO THIS WEEKEND
• UK-based street musicians, saxophonist Mr. Woodnote and MC Lil Rhys perform at Bandra bar Bonobo on Friday, October 14, from 9.30pm. The entrance fee is R300. See a clip of them performing together here. Kenilworth Mall (KFC Building), Phase 2, Second Floor, off Linking Road, Bandra (West). Tel: 2605 5050.

• Norwegian hardcore band Social Suicide headlines the next Metal Night at Blue Frog, this Sunday, October 16. The gig, which begins at 9pm, will also feature performances by popular Mumbai groups Scribe and Goddess Gagged. The entrance fee is Rs200. Mathuradas Mills Compound, Tulsi Pipe Road, Lower Parel. Tel: 6158 6158.