4th Delhi Jazz festival ends on a high note

The fourth Delhi International Jazz festival, organized by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), held at Delhi's Nehru Park, in ChanakyaPuri, turned out to be a fantastic experience. The three-day event, which ended on Sunday, was a delight for music lovers.

Various jazz bands from around the world in the likes of Ari Roland Quartet (USA), Smarton Trio (Hungry), Black Slade (Delhi, India), Tres Butacas (Colombia), Obara Quartet (Poland), Mina Agossi Trio (France), Joe Alvarez / Trident Jazz Trio (Mumbai), PJ Perry (Canada), Modern Han (Korea), Ximo Tebar and IVAM Jazz Ensemble (Spain) took part in the event that was attended choc a bloc, attesting to the mesmerizing tunes and light and sound that dazzled the ambience.

On Saturday, the band from Columbia called Tres Butacas meaning 'Three Chairs', which played tunes based on folkore music, forms the core of the Columbian culture. The Columbian band, added a touch of Indian element as their group head Camillo Vasquez tried his hand with the quintessential 'tabla' with aplomb that wowed the enchanted audience.

The band's drummer Pedro Acosta got nostalgic as he tried to describe how the three, including the other two crucial members of the band one of them being the group head of that band Camillo Vasquez and base player Kike formed this band in 2010.

He also shed light on how they singled out the name 'Tres Butacas' when they were having food in a restaurant and came up with a catchy name.

Acosta felt fortunate for their band getting the opportunity to show their mettle in this years Jazz festival in Delhi and they hope to scale new heights in the coming years.

On a personal note the light hearted charming drummer added that life back in Columbia is not that simple as only playing drums doesn't help one to survive and that he even teaches music to meet the daily expenses. But he was rather positive on the manner in which the jazz exposure was thriving in his country compared to India, he adds that there are like seven different jazz festivals that happen in his country which is a plus for the music enthusiasts. At the same time he exuded hope that in the coming days ahead the jazz scene in India is going to get completely altered with new talents coming up on the horizon in the Indian scene.

Asked on how India and Columbia could have music collaborations, Acosta added that they have introduced 'tabla' in their own way to add a distinct element to it and goes on adding that music is something which goes beyond boundaries.

Acosta, while sipping a fruit juice signed off stating that festivals such as these, will help the music scene in India and forge greater cultural ties between India and Columbia.