It is amazing how great things happen when good and spirited friends get together in a spirit of camaraderie. After having many live music events at the verandah of my family home Gonsalves Mansion in Goa right from the early 90’s, it was a playful challenge that was then thrown at me by my dear friend George Fernandez that sowed the seeds of a revolution that has taken all of us by storm. I not even being an avid jazz lover those days, & considering that it was difficult to get a handful of jazz lovers together for an evening of good music in Goa, it was George’s smartness that got me down to doing something that is now part and parcel of my life, something that I am very thankful to him for.

George Fernandez performing at one of the earliest shows held in 2003

Armando Gonsalves on the keyboards, again at one of the earliest shows

Without doubt, the mainstay of Goan life is in its music and its majestic homes. Whatever may be said about Goan beaches, it is the Spirit of Goa that beckons people from all over the world to partake in what is legend…the warmth and the love of the people of Goa. Uniting two of Goa’s most important elements, which are, home and music, this is how Heritage Jazz was born! Equally important in all this subsequent but explosive jazz growth was the subtle anger that was aroused in me when I was told that many musicians were hitherto not allowed to dine in the dining halls of various starred hotels in Goa for reasons best known to those managements. We turned this lack of respect on its head when we ensured that the dining arena in our 22-room house was reserved primarily for musicians who graced our home. It was this spirit of camaraderie that lit the fire; it lit the imagination of musicians who were delighted beyond bounds that they were cared for. And why not?

The initial events were impromptu shows that happened in our 30 metre verandah that were basically powered by none other than George and his various friends. Musicians from across the world dropped by after they finished off their gigs in all parts of Goa with saxophone, trumpet, flute or guitar in toe, and these gigs went on through the night, very often having the diehards sharing breakfast at our home when the traditional baker honked his way through the leafy streets of Campal much to his as well as our own delight! And these were jazz pounds as I would call them since people would bring in wine, beer, juices, samosas, sandwiches, cakes…just anything so that we could partake of in a unifying spirit which is the thread that binds us till this day!

As this whole thing developed, it was obvious that the musicians hoped that the process would be of benefit to them, and slowly, their participation which was free at that time could not continue in that way since the explosive interest in what we did spilled into the commercial arena thus bringing in moolah to them, much to everyone’s joy, surely! When George and his friends spent 31st December 2001 with me without a gig in hand despite it being New Year’s eve, it was obvious that things had to change, and change it did. And how! Jazz is virtually the genre of music that is most admired in Goa, and wasn’t it obvious that it would be? With so much creativity flowing through the Goan vein, with so much pedigree of the past to fall back on, the jazz juggernaut had to roll. Heritage Jazz provided that catalyst with its sheer simplicity of unifying people in the true Spirit of Goa, right in Goan homes that are an attraction across the world.

As this revolutionary change unfolded, musicians started to earn more with earnings skyrocketing, thus forcing us to professionalize. More and more musicians from across the world were attracted to what we were doing through India’s very popular website, our very own www.heritagejazz.com With Google rating it as Numero Uno in searches under “Jazz in India”, “Jazz in Goa”, “Heritage Jazz” and many others, it was obvious that many world music capitals would take note what was happening on a calm and charming road in Campal which is affectionately referred to as The Heritage Jazz Street. Shows became bigger; the verandah events spilled on to the streets thus becoming community events.

Our penchant for doing things for the community meant that we did events for various causes. The Tsunami of 2004 made us raise funds for Tsunami Relief, our very own blind musician Babush Santana inspired us to donate 100% of the proceeds of our show held on the Liberation Day of Goa in 2006 to the National Association for the Blind, the distressing sickness of our very own diva Belinda Oliveira brought the highly emotive “Jazz Greats” concert to our home, another event raised funds for an orphanage in Siolim amongst other such endeavours. Children were a focus, and they will always be. We happily ventured into creative workshops to inspire kids to take up to music, and scores of schools across Goa have been on our radar from then on. It is amazing how much these workshops do for kids, so many of them enroll for regular classes with different music teachers across Goa, and we believe that the central pillar of culture in Goa which is music, will soon be that much stronger, that much more resilient when the children of today embrace it with that much more vigour. And just a few weeks ago, we even ventured into painting and photography… our heart for working with the downtrodden has only got softer, not because we think we are doing anyone a favour, but because we sincerely believe this as our calling from God. In the confusion, we are firing the spirit of love in our staff, a firebrand team with the passion for peace, in their eyes!

With a penchant for the extraordinary, we just could not shy away from being the first people to do a LIVE concert soon after Mumbai terror. Having already done the emotive “Fusion for Peace” show during the mayhem that took place in Jaipur, Bangalore & other cities before the infamous one in Mumbai, the people of Goa responded in one voice, one determination whilst coming out for a candle light vigil in Campal which ended with the stunning “Jazz for Peace” which was thrown open to everyone, free of cost, so that Goa could participate and be together at a time when our very idea of nationhood was sought to be torn asunder. It was humbling then, to receive the prestigious Karmaveer Award for promotion of Peace and Harmony, something that has fired our zeal even more. The more I personally see myself, the more I realize that my new foundation is clearly in the social sector, thankfully!

 The Jazz for Peace show brought cheer to everyone after our belief in our motherland was sought to be torn asunder

The Fusion for Peace show brought people from all over in a spirit of camaraderie. The candle light vigil was so electric!

And then, the jazz yard at my home, that cozy spot nestled at the back of the Home of Jazz as it is fondly known as, has taken this movement to another level altogether. A spot that can handle a maximum of 120 people, it is the area that brings friends together, makes friends out of enemies, brings exciting and renowned musicians directly in personal touch with the jazz crazy audience of Goa, fuses the powers that be with the proletariat, and the stars amongst musicians with the ordinary but richly endowed musicians of Goa…all in a spirit of brotherhood, love, peace, unity, togetherness and all the wonderful things only our Lord can bless us with. We are truly thankful! Whether it is Saskia Laroo, the magical trumpeter from the Netherlands, or the immensely gifted Tala Faral from Madagascar, or the beautiful Sascha Ley from Luxembourg, or the stunning saxophonist Sigrun Jording also from Holland, or the inspiring horn player Marcus Wyatt from South Africa, or the absolutely exhilarating gypsy jazz guitarist Harri Stojka from Austria amongst hundreds of others from across the world, and of course our very own geniuses Louiz Banks, Braz Gonsalves, Sonia Saigal, Gerard Machado, Bondo, Frank Dubier, Lester Godinho, Carlos Gonsalves, Colin d’cruz and others, they have all graced our various stages in Gonsalves Mansion with grace, brilliance as well as humility, and we really have no clue as to how we can repay them for bringing so much joy not only to ourselves as a family, but to scores of people from across the world.

Of course, it all started with that beautiful and friendly challenge from my dear friend George, but what injected us all with this madness is the fact that this is a dedication to my two delightful children Zenisha and Nihal. Nihal in particular produced such an amazing 3 minute video of the jazz at our home in its earlier days, when he was only 7 years old, that Stanley Pinto, ex Managing Director of Lintas Malaysia and Lintas Singapore and a jazz aficionado cum pianist of repute, patted him on his back & complimented him by saying that he was the best young cinematographer he had ever met in his life. And Zenisha always gave her best in encouraging her father, yours truly, to give his best to the cause. Since we did suffer a personal setback in our family, it made me feel that I should give them more than 100% of myself, and I landed up giving them a lot more! Would that friendly challenge have worked if I were not trying to surmount the huge mountain of personal mishaps I went through? Certainly not, jazz was my companion right through this period and it is only because of that, that I allowed myself to take losses after losses whilst creating a brand that is now known across the music firmament across the world!

Did I say that they were losses? Well, my sincere apologies…nothing with jazz could possibly have been a loss. Let’s convert it into a glorious investment on the way to make Goa the Music Capital of the East!