I came to know Madhav Chari when Venatius took me to see him play at a hotel/club in New York. Then, I met Madhav in Toronto when he migrated to Canada. The same year he came I invited him and other friends for Christmas dinner and we had a good time talking about music and other things. I felt bad for Madhav as he did not enjoy the dinner. I had cooked all non-veg and I did not know Madhav was a vegetararain. He played in Toronto for a short time, I think, as I and another friend tried hard to contact him later but with no success. I was surprised that he moved back to India and this time to Chennai. It is nice to know that he is good some good work there. As for his piece, I can say that the jazz scene in the US and Toronto is far different from that of India. Toronto lags far behind. I have attended many jazz festivals in Toronto. Unfortunately, I haven't attended any Montreal Jazz Festivals, which, I am told, are very good. I know he has picked upon Naresh's piece. It must be understood that it is very common in India to give titles such as India's Elvis, etc. To say that Braz Gonsalves is India's John Coltrane is not to say that Braz and John are in the same class. I have heard John's CD and I have seen Braz play live. In fact, I wrote a piece or two, I think, on the first Jazz Yatra in Mumbai, held at Rang Bhavan. Braz was impressive and then there were other greats, including Sonny Rollins. I think, Braz played with Louis Banks. Meeting Braz after he migrated to Canada, he once told he found it hard to break into the Toronto jazz scene. However, he did play but after couple of years he felt he could not achieve much and went back to India with his wife Yvonne, a noted singer. I did not know how many children he has, but I knew that one of his daughter stayed back. Years earlier, I had seen play two saxs at one time. It cannot be said to be a musical high note but more of a showmanship. In the same vein, Chris Perry (Pereira) was nicknamed the Miles Davies of India. They are poles apart and a comparison between the two. Chris paid his personal tribute to Miles by naming one of his sons Miles who, along with his brother Glenn, did work with a noted band (forget the name) in Los Angeles. Glenn is in Dubai, where Chris set up a music school, and does lot of singing and has made one album. I have heard Miles on CDs and have heard Chris at hotels, live performances, etc. I think Naresh is only repeating what is the trend in India. It is foolish to do an comparative analysis between the top-notch Goans and those who play the same instrument and considered to be legends. Even now, you have hear people talk of some up and coming singer of being a "new Lorna." Remember, Chico imitated Alfred Rose that he almost sounded as Junior Alfred. Chico's own individuality did not surface. Chari was gone a bit deep in his piece that would read well in dedicated music magazines. When the first Jazz Yatra was held, I think the man who initiated is Niranjan Jhaveri or Shah, the jazz scene in Mumbai was nearly non-existant. I had a drummer friend Tony who played at jazz jigs and he was a regular at a band playing at the Ambassador at Churchgate. So, one must take Chari's take on the Naresh's piece as supplementary knowledge by someone who has studied the scene. Eugene
