Jazzfest 2018: Mnd Flo sets the tone for Day 1, Ozma and Supergombo impress with their improv skills

“The music has changed down the years, and the one big difference I see is that there are no melodies anymore,” said Surjit Singh, music aficionado and long-term Jazzfest attendee, who has been at the festival since its inception in the 70s. “But one could argue that jazz is all about evolving and improvising, and the musicians are doing exactly that, aren’t they? Incorporating influences that they find around them,” I countered, eager to weigh in on the pre-show discussion. He was having none of it. “If you hear Take Five even once, you will remember it all your life.” The passion in his voice as he evoked his favourites made me smile. I felt a sudden surge of affection for this city and its old-timers. One thing that sets the Jazzfest apart for me is its audience. A melting pot of regulars who have been attending the festival for decades, and young first-timers clutching their beers and milling around in bright-eyed anticipation, the excitement is palpable. This is a city that loves music, and the three-day festival that brings us the best of the contemporary international jazz scene over three evenings is a rare treat. Residents look forward to it all year round. I was snapped out of my reverie as Varun Desai of Little-i (festival organizer) grabbed the mike and began to introduce the first band. Mnd Flo took the stage. Jazzfest 2018 was underway! The evening started off on a mellow note with Mnd Flo, a young band from the US. True to their name, they had a fluid sound, smooth and lilting and a little hypnotic, and they had the audience hooked a few songs in. Rather than individual instruments taking off on solos, their music was largely about the harmony they created together. The band (Sharik Hasan, Alexander Toth and Anthony Toth) was conceived at the Berklee College of Music where they studied, and even though the vibraphonist Simon Moullier joined a bit later, they had an instant connection. [caption id=“attachment_5654461” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  (Clockwise from top left) A scene from the first day, Supergombo, Mnd Flo, Ozma[/caption] Their music seemed to come out of the energy they share with each other. Speaking to me after the performance, Sharik said, “Sometimes I would come in with a melody but it would be very bare bones, and then we would just play for hours on end for days, fine tuning, and everyone would make contributions to the arrangements and add elements to it.” They talked about how they “take all the crazy energy they have” and feed that into their music. A lot of their inspiration comes from sources outside of music. For example, one of their songs was influenced by a mugging, and so it has a dark tint to it. The mood of their compositions is set by their experiences together out of the studio. Next up was Ozma from France, brought to us by the Alliance Francaise, who support this festival every year by introducing us to exciting French artistes. It is very hard to pigeonhole Ozma’s sound as they have hints of electro and rock adding to their eclectic aura. Their music was haunting and melodic, with sudden bursts of unexpected frenzy. What made them stand out was the element of surprise that characterised their sound. Just when they had you dreamily spellbound, there was a flurry of activity to snap you back into the present moment. I asked them how they achieved this and band member Stephane said, “We like to have very narrative music, with surprises, and we like to surprise each other, and sometimes things change because one of the musicians decides to go in a different direction. So we are really having fun with this.” He added, “The melody is written but then we go into improvisation and it’s open. I would say about 80 percent of what you hear on stage is improvised in the moment. That is why no two performances are ever the same.” The evening ended on a high note with Supergombo from France. Their energetic afrofunk had the happily buzzed audience on its feet. The space between the stage and the chairs became a makeshift dance floor as the crowd kept time with the rhythmic beats. With its roots in ‘Senegalese Mbalax, Congolese Soukouss and funk’ their music, which they describe as ‘frenzied and uncontrolled’ is an interesting mix of pre-written and joint improvisation, no mean feat for a line up consisting of seven musicians! Supergombo provided the perfect end to a great first day of the festival. When the band finally had to stop playing, no one wanted it to end and shouts of “Encore!” and “Just one more song!” reverberated through the crowd. With such a dynamic start to the festival, I am eager to see what the rest of the days hold in store for us.