Tajmahal Foxtrot: The Story of Bombay's Jazz Age

🎷 🎹 🎺 When was the last time you attended a bar talk that explores the history of jazz music in India? When was the last time you attended a bar talk that tells you how a city in India became a hub for the best jazz musicians in the world?

♪♫♪ From the accounts of most standard jazz histories, it took the genius of American saxophonist, John Coltrane to demonstrate in the 1960s how jazz could enrich itself by seeking inspiration in Hindustani classical music. But the reality is more complex. From the 1940s, a passionate group of Indian jazz musicians had been attempting to find an Indian way to play jazz, both in art music and in popular music. The presentation will introduce the audience to forgotten geniuses such as Chic Chocolate, Rudy Cotton and Frank Fernand. It will use audio clips and photographs to trace the journey of jazz from New Orleans to Mumbai, exploring how an American transplant became a vibrant Indian hybrid in the fertile soil of the subcontinent.

Pint of View Mumbai is inspired by the Lectures on Tap and Pint of Science communities, and we're taking this format across 10+ major cities in India and counting! It’s where big ideas meet bar tables.

🎤 About the Speaker: We're delighted to present Naresh Fernandes, the editor-in-chief of Scroll.in. He is the author of Taj Mahal Foxtrot: The Story of Bombay's Jazz Age and City Adrift: A Short Biography of Bombay. He has helped assemble India's largest jazz archive, at the Archive for Research Centre for Ethnomusicology in Gurgaon. Fernandes has previously worked at The Times of India, the Associated Press and Time Out magazine in Mumbai and the Wall Street Journal in New York. His journalism has appeared in leading publications in India and abroad.

📖 About the Book: Taj Mahal Foxtrot: The Story of Bombay's Jazz Age is the winner of the Dr Ashok Ranade Memorial Award and the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize. It was shortlisted for the Economist-Crossword Book Award in the non-fiction category and the Tata First Book Award. The book tells a story of India, especially of the city of Bombay, through the lives of a menagerie of geniuses, strivers, and eccentrics, both Indian and American, who helped jazz find a home in the sweaty subcontinent. They include the burly African-American pianist Teddy Weatherford; the Goan trumpet player Frank Fernand, whose epiphanic encounter with Mahatma Gandhi drove him to try to give jazz an Indian voice; Chic Chocolate, who was known as 'the Louis Armstrong of India'; Anthony Gonsalves, who lent his name to one of the most popular Bollywood tunes ever; and many more. Taj Mahal Foxtrot, at its heart, is a history of Bombay in swing time. You can explore this web audio guide to the book and can buy the book using this link.

What to Expect:

🎷 🎹 🎺45-minute lecture about the origins of jazz in India and how it became a part of Bombay's music landscape

🎤 30 minutes of interactive Q&A with Naresh Fernandes

👋 30 minute mixer with the speaker and other participants

🍺 One complimentary Moonshine Mead or Regular Mocktail/Hot Drink and a snack is included with your ticket

🤩 Avail "happy hour" benefits from Woodside Inn from 4 pm to 8 pm

This isn't your typical university lecture. Think storytelling circle energy, cozy pub atmosphere, and groundbreaking musical research – all woven into one unforgettable evening.

Event Details:

📅 Sunday, 14th December | 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

📍Woodside Inn, Bandra (Location Details)

🎫 Limited to 75 attendees only

💰 Early bird pricing available for first 15 tickets

Disclaimer: Ticket holders must be of legal drinking age (21 and above).

Address: Woodside Inn, Shop 4, C 781, Pali Naka, Pali Hill, Bandra West, Mumbai

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