In a message dated Wed, 13 Aug 2003 7:53:51 AM Eastern Standard Time, EdgarStmartins writes:
>In a message dated 8/12/03 9:57:16 PM Pacific Daylight Time, >[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > >> >> Au contraire! I said that jazz was probably popular in Bombay as people in >> Bombay were more tuned to music in English unlike �Goans who appreciated >> Portuguese and Konkani music. The only jazz I heard was when my neighbor was >> trying to impress us village types with his rendition of �Satchmo's 'What a >> wonderful world' on his wacky guitar! >> --Helga >> > � � � I agree with Helga that Jazz was more appreciated in Mumbai than in >Goa as much as Jazz is more popular in the US than in Brazil where the >proportion of Blacks in the two countries is high. Even Brazilian Jazzmen like >Laurindo >Almeida, Jobin and Astrid and Carlos Gilberto had much exposure to Jazz >emanating from the US. > > � � � Jazz in Mumbai had its roots in English Films (rarely seen in Goa) and >in the concerts (under the auspices of the US Information Services who wanted >Indians to know American Culture) held in Mumbai. I heard Jack Teagarden, Red >Nicols and Louis Armstrong in Mumbai and Dizzie Gilespie, Charlie Parker and >Quincey Jones in Karachi. These were held under the auspices of the US Embassy >and USIS. > > � � � � Portuguese music (like the Fado) though pleasant are incomparable to >Jazz. Listen to Cesaria Evora (who hails from Cabo Verde and lives in >Portugal) and you get a good idea of Portuguese melodies. Comparing the two styles of >music is like comparing apples and oranges. They are both excellent styles >depending on the listener. > > � � � Jazz records were not easy to get in India and rare in Goa. >Furthermore only some had gramophones or disc players. The Clubs in Dhobitalao did >not >possess a culture of owning Disc Players but one often heard a lone musician >play his horn and the music waft above the Din of the traffic in Dhobitalao. >They probably played for the Film industry and to Hindi Music. Chic Chocolate was >a great Goan musician who was often wrongly compared to Satchmo (probably for >his complexion and not for his standard). �Dizzie Sal who briefly came to >Mumbai came from Singapore or Maylasia �where Jazz was popular due to the tourist >trade there. > > � � � �Jazz (like sport) is in the blood of the 'Negro' and is identified >with their roots in Africa and their desire to express in verse their sufferings >in America. Pseudo jazzmen copied these expressions as it was popular. The >Swedes, English, Polish, Czechs, French (who produced Dgango Reinhardt and >Stephan Grapelli) �and Dutch have excellent Jazz and Swing groups but their music >is no where comparable to the expressions of US Negro Jazzmen who I do not have >space to mention. They have yet to scratch the outer fringes of Thelonious >Monk, Charlie Bird, Parker, Bechet, Miles Davis and Satchmo. > > � � � � That neighbour of Helga was learning to play the guitar (I could have been > the culprit trying to woo Helga) and I doubt >if she knows the standards of guitars to classify his guitar as WACKY. 'What a >wonderful world' if Jazzy as played by Satchmo could sound like a fado or >falear if played by a Wacko on a Contreras guitar. Depends on the musician and >the listener. > > � �Edgar Martins > ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
