In Chennai, Friday is for jazz – The Hindu

After a week of hard work, everyone deserves a place, and a soundtrack, to unwind. As jazz sees an unprecedented interest across the country, the Hyatt Regency has created a space for fans with jazz nights at their 365 AS bar every Friday.

Ruban Das, general manager, says the move is partly inspired by his years in Kolkata where he studied. “When I was growing up in Kolkata, artists like Louis Banks and Pam Crain played in various clubs across the city. I thought why not bring in jazz to Chennai, because it is a kind of music that goes with this space. It is very ‘speakeasy’, as you can talk with your friends while enjoying the music. We intend to carry on with jazz evenings for the rest of the year.”

Though the bar had been hosting these evenings since January, Chennai-based jazz band Many Things featuring jazz saxophonist Maarten Visser, bass player Aravind Murali and drummer Manu Krishnan, gave their very first performance last Friday. They set the mood for the evening with ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy’. Maarten will be performing solo every Friday, and along with the band every last Friday of the month.

Vocalist Sharanya Gopinath, popular for songs like ‘Lovea Lovea’, ‘Naa Rumba Busy’ and ‘Pori Masala Pori’, left the audience in a dreamy state performing old favourites like ‘Fly Me to the Moon’, ‘Girl from Ipanema’ and ‘Summertime’.

Stating that a “lot of learning happens while performing,” Sharanya says, “Though I do have a bit of training in western classical, I am not a trained jazz vocalist… Whatever jazz songs I know are because of other musicians who have introduced me to them or I just found them. My favourite artists are Ella Fitzgerald, bass players like Chet Baker, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong. Jacob Collier is more like a multi-instrumentalist.”

Jazz nights start at 7pm at 365 AS, Hyatt Regency, Teynampet. A table can be booked for ₹2,000, which is redeemable for either drink or food. Call 9884369333 for details.