Indian jazz improving, youngsters coming forward: Louis Banks

Credited with pioneering jazz in India, Grammy Award nominated composer Louis Banks says that youngsters can "take forward" the genre that has been growing and improving.

"The status of Jazz is improving because a lot of young peoples are taking interest in jazz. That is really great a thing," Banks told IANS, on the sidelines of "Pancham Studio", organised by Euphony Friday, a musical ensemble dedicated to preserving the legacy of legendary music director R.D. Burman.

"Only the young people can take jazz forward. So, now the young stars are doing that and this is a very good sign. Jazz is growing and I am so happy. Today we use jazz with R.D. Burman's music, which is a very good sign for the jazz future. It's amazing," he added.

However, Banks also rued the fact that piracy had taken roots in the music industry due to advent of technology.

"It is a wave that cannot be stopped because of technology. Technology has made it very easy to copy, so everybody is taking advantage of that. The musicians, who played the music, and the producers who spent money to produce the music, to record the music are not getting their returns because one person is buying the CD and hundreds are copying it," said Banks.