A history lesson in Jazz

A group of jazz artists is set to trace the history of the foot tapping world of Jazz through a musical concert and presentation over this weekend.
A musical evening- 'A Trip Up Memory Lane from the Origins of Jazz to now - 1890-2000' is set to be held at the QLA here on August 9 in a form of live concert-cum-presentation .
"Jazz has changed exponentially over the ages. From being a rudimentary expression of a 'field song' it has become one of the most sophisticated and harmonically superior forms of music today," says Rajeev Raja, jazz and fusion flautist.

"The story of Jazz will be told in an interactive manner, with the band playing representative songs from each era, from the origins of Jazz in the 1800s, to its evolution in the 1900s through Gospel, Blues, Ragtime, Dixieland, Be Bop, Cool Jazz and Jazz Fusion," says Raja.
Considered one of the country's most exciting jazz and fusion flautists, Raja studied Carnatic music in his formative years, and blends Indian and Western elements in his playing.
Other jazz musicians like Sanjay Divecha on guitar, Karl Peters on Bass, Karan Joseph on Keys, Shirish Malhotra on saxophone and Benny Soans on drums are set to be featured.

Essentially, a music genre which originated from the African American Communities during the late 19th and the early 20th century, Jazz emerged in many parts of the United States in the form of independent popular musical styles.
"Jazz originated in America when the white music of the time fused with the music of the African slaves, and from it emerged a form of music we call Jazz today. Over the years, Jazz has been embraced by every culture, which brought its own nuances to the music. Cultures from Africa to South America to Europe to India...All embraced and contributed to the evolution of Jazz," says Raja.