As the decks are cleared for Jazz Goa's next show on the 28th of August, we look back with satisfaction and realise that the jazz family is clearly on the way. People have been calling with support from here, there and everywhere and in many ways, the foundation is being laid on solid ground. Musicians are thrilled, the audience too..... Could we ask for more at this stage?
Of course we can .... undoubtedly; we cannot lay back and rest on laurels since these are not laurels. And they are not laurels because we are dealing with a state called Goa who has music coming off its eyes, noses and ears, all at the same time! I remember the time when I attended a wedding many years back when there was no professional band in attendance and you had to be there to believe that more than 50 percent of the invitees were musicians of great caliber This is where you can gauge the depth of music talent that is present in Goa. And jazz is such a lovely way to express it!
Heritage Jazz looks at encouraging people with talent to come forward, attend workshops and share their talents and genius with all. Mention must be made of a jazz group in Mumbai known as the Jazz Junkeys which is made up of top industrialists, professionals and ousinessmen, and, they continue to make waves in the jazz circuit there.
Don't we have a plethora of these types of musicians in Goa? Whether it is our ex Advocate General Carlos Alvares Ferreira who is an accomplished pianist, eminent surgeon Dr Bossuet Afonso who plays the violin so beautifully or my very own lawyer sister Rita Gonsalves who is so fabulous on the piano, among countless others in music rich Goa, we have an interesting embarrassment of abundance! Wasn't brilliant pianist George Fernandez part of this group just four years ago and who ran a catering business only to be pulled back into performance music after 20 years!
Goa has the ability to be a music capital in the international arena. However, the road is long and winding and it is only we who can make the difference. We hope that we can find dedicated people who are ready to put in that effort, however small it might be, to make this dream come true.
Whether it is working alongside Trancemedia or the Goa Guitar Guild or any other dedicated group of music lovers, the start has been exciting, albeit small, but a journey of a thousand miles starts this way. And, when passion and commitment directs the path, can anything else be found lacking? After all, money cannot buy anything really. It is our dedication to the cause that has to rule.
The romance of Goa is alluring and music expresses it fully. So, keep writing in, visit the website
www.heritagejazz.com ,send us musical titbits, information, anything, and let creative ideas flow.
