Free your mind

The Gonsalves home at Campal is bustling with activity as prepara­tions are gung-ho for an evening of jazz on December 19. The musi­cians are all known jazz names, whose love of music has eased them through chal­lenging times. Take Babush Santana for example. He continues to play the drums, violin, trumpet and sing despite his de­bilitating struggle with multiple sclerosis and the death of his mentor and brother, Joe Santana. The multi act concert also features heavy weight names in jazz like Ranjit Barot on drums, Karl Peters on bass, Sonia Saigal on vocals and Amit Heri.

This time around, the concert will not just entertain, but will support a cause - the Goa Chapter of the National Association for the Blind. The show called Liberate Your Jazz will take place at Gonsalves Mansion in Campal on December 19, 7.00 pm onwards.

Armando Gonsalves from Traacemedia, says, "For this show, the line-up is really talented and they have it in them to bring an audience to their feet. We've also decided to support a cause, because only through mu­sic can something like this happen."

Babush Santana, who also worked with Trancemedia to conceptualise the concert says, "This was a dream I shared with my late brother, saxophonist Joe Santana - of performing in our native land in front of our own people. With this concert we also want to create awareness on blindness and multiple sclerosis. I was not born blind but lost my sight about seven years ago due to multiple sclerosis (MS). After this I got so scared and disheartened I stopped playing any instrument for' nearly nine months. I had already given up playing the drums after the untimely demise of my brother in '96, but thanks to my family and friends, I overcame this mental block. Although the physical problem remains, in that, I play my instruments with a great deal of ef­fort, I have started to play the violin again and about three years back I started with drums. I have challenged my body further much against the wishes of my wife Celin, by starting on the trumpet, saxophone and flute."

Know the band

Babush Santana is a legend in his own her style of singing has received right. He started his career at the age of eight and turned professional at conducting his first major 14-piece band in Mumbai. .

A graduate in violin from the Trinity College Of Music, London, Babush and his brother, the legendry jazz saxophone great, the late Joe Santana shared the privilege' of being the only band to have represented India on four occasions at Jazz Yatra, an international jazz festival. For a number of years, Babush and Joe Santana organised 'Just Jazz' concerts in Delhi until Joe's un­timely death. Widely acknowledged as one of the most popular music directors in the world of theatre in Delhi, he has arranged and composed for stage productions' like My Fair Lady, Starlight Express, Jesus Christ Super­star, Les Miserables and Matilda for which he composed and arranged music.

Babush is currently working on a jazz album wl1ich has music composed and ar­ranged by him and features his niece Laura Santana. Laura Santana (vocals): Daughtel; of Joe Santana and niece of Babush Santana began singing at the tender age of three. She has to her credit the jazz series 'Just Jazz' as her first professional level performance at the age of seven. Alongside jazz she has been working con­tinuously in theatre, acting and singing in musical productions by leading theater directors such as Aamir Raza Hussain, where her style of singing has received critical accolades.

Laura is the voice behind many jingles on radio and television. Recently, she released a Indi pop album Salsa which has aired on several music channels. Laura is now work­ing on a ja,zz album produced, composed and arranged by her uncle Babush. Lawrence Ireland (keyboard): Law­rence has worked in the music industry for over 25 years. He has played with practi­cally all the best jazz and pop bands in India. Hailed as one of the best keyboardist in the capital, Lawrence is versatile in any genre of music, but feels at ease with jazz.

Joe D'Costa (lead guitar): Joe hails from a renowned musical family. Having started on the guitar at a very early age he, believes the guitar to be an extension of himself. Joe is also a composer and has composed for various TV jingles. Recently, he moved to Mumbai.

Jude Manual ,(bass): The son of jazz veteran Joe Manuel who was a pianist of great repute in his time. Jude began his career early and has since played with vari­ous bands. He has played with some of the finest musicians in the capital coming from various music styles pop, rock, and jazz. He also plays the keyboard, but the bass is his main instrument.

Amit Heri: One of the few Indian musi­cians to perform at major international mu­sic festivals (Berlin Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, London Jazz Festival, Paris Jazz Festival, Rome World Music Festival, WOMAD .' Festival, World Social Forum and many more), Amit Heri studied on a scholarship at the world-renowned Berkeley College of Music, USA and has performed with various internationally known art­ists including Charlie Mariano, AIm Moon, Zakir Hussain, Trilok Gurtu, Matt Garri­son, Robert Miles, Salif Keita & Angelique Kidjo. He has scored music for feature films (including Morning Raga); for dance per­formances by Astad Deboo and the STEM Dance Theatre and for theatre productions.

Amit Heri's albums include Amit Heri Group (Earth Music, India), Morning Raga (Music Today, India), Charlie Mariano, Ban­galore (Intuition: Germany), Louis Banks, Music For Romance (Music Today, India) and Universal, USA and Trilok Gurtu Beat Of Love.

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