In 1984, I was sent by a Calcutta newspaper to cover the Jazz Yatra in Mumbai – it was at the Brabourne Stadium I think. Which meant that someone was paying for my train tickets, and paying me for my writing! Entry to the Yatra was free since I had a tag saying ‘Media’ round my neck.
In this and later edition of the Jazz Yatra, I heard many bands that I’d just read about – catching them live was a seriously fun trip. Henry Threadgill’s Sextett was one such, starting with the name itself – this was a seven-member band, but with two drummers, hence ‘sextett’. Why the 2 ‘t’s at the end I don’t know. Here’s Threadgill (with Craig Harris behind him), and the masterful bass player Fred Hopkins.
Another band which I enjoyed very much was Oregon. Colin Walcott was dead (sadly killed in a road accident in what was then East Germany) and had been replaced by Trilok Gurtu, Colin’s own choice for his replacement should it become necessary. I could not retrieve pictures of Trilok; these ones of Ralph Towner, Glen Moore and Paul McCandless.
Vienna Art Orchestra was an extraordinary band – over time I’ve collected about a dozen of their albums, and each time I hear them I’m surprised to discover new things, and new ways it approaches the music. Most of the pictures that I took of the band did not survive, but these two, of singer Lauren Newton and the founder and director Mathias Rüegg, did.
In the next couple of posts, I should be able to share pics of some titans – Don Cherry, Stephane Grapelli, and Max Roach.
thecrestedjay 
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