The First Day First Show that launched the Quarter at the Royal Opera House was more than a jazzy affair
The moving spotlight on the facade of Royal Opera House meant something special was up at India's only surviving opera house -- the launch of the much-awaited The Quarter. Mumbai's new-sprung cultural headquarters has four venues -- Live At The Quarter (a live music club), Dine At The Quarter (an Al-fresco restaurant), Drink At The Quarter (a mozzarella bar) and Cafe At The Quarter (an all-day café). The debut gig, named First Day First Show, saw stalwarts of the music industry coming together to give one of the most scintillating performances.
The evening began with The Blues All Stars – the supergroup featuring Loy Mendonsa on the keys, Ranjit Barot on drums, the prodigal Mohini Dey on bass, vocalist Uday Benegal, guitarist Mahesh Tinaikar, and jazz fusion artiste Dhruv Ghanekar. The musicians regaled the audiences with tracks like Stratus and Cissy Strut (with Kush Upadhyay), While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles), Roxanne (The Police), etc.
The second half of the evening had a collaboration of Indian and international artistes who formed The Jazz All Stars, including Ranjit, Mohini, Sean Freeman (saxophone), Marc Guillermont (guitars), pianist Osam Ezzeldin, Tom Walsh (trombone), and Vasundhara (vocals). The ensemble played most of Ranjit's OCs including Tempest, Singularity, and Emerge.
Ranjit kept the lineup of songs spontaneous. If his signature drumming, Mohini's thumping bass, and Guillermont's guitar solos were all on point, it was the saxophone and trombone that took the set to an astral level. Each instrumentalist wooed the audience with their solos, as the ensemble as a whole got into the groove to end with Tempest (that Barot has gorgeously played with Bill Evans and Etienne Mbappe in the past) on a high note. Ranjit led the song with his vocal directions with a hint of Hindustani classical notes. The beauty was how Ranjit planned the songs that gave each the focus but didn't take away the feel of the song and keeping it inline.
The musical notes moved from the Opera House to Live at the Quarter, the cosy jazz club, where Tom Walsh paid a tribute to Miles Davis with songs like Four, Blue in Green, Boplicity and more.
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