At 74, composer Louis Banks still finds ways to reinvent himself. A major figure in the Indian jazz scene, Banks received an early education in music from his dad. Today, he tours the world with his percussionist son, Gino, who pushes him to stay young.
On Saturday night, the Banks — joined by sitarist Purbayan Chatterjee — will perform at Madinat Theatre, Souk Madinat Jumeirah.
“[Gino’s] a carbon copy of me. He plays drums instead of piano, but he is a carbon copy of me, and he reminds me of myself in my younger age,” Banks told tabloid!, laughing. “He’s turned out to be such an exceptional drummer. He knows my music inside out, and I’m really comfortable with him playing. He pushes me on stage, and a lot of exciting things happen on stage because of that.”
The three, joined by Dubai-based Cuban saxophonist Joaquin Sosa, will form the second edition of Indo-Jazz fusion group, Sangam. Banks shared what they have planned, and discussed the harsh harmony of suffering and joy in a career of music.
Do you prefer to preform solo, or to collaborate with other musicians?
I welcome it, actually. But what is very important [is] that the guest has to be an exceptional musician. See, we don’t have much time when we meet, we just have a day for a rehearsal, then we have to go on stage the next day, right? That’s the whole excitement of jazz, you know? Once you play the music with people with calibre, the magic happens on stage. It’s not like three years and you play the same notes again, and again and again. No, it’s not that at all. It’s never boring. It’s always fresh and spontaneous. That’s the best part of this music.
What’s something your son’s learnt from you, and something you’ve learnt from him?
He learnt from me, of course, I’m his guiding force. Then once he knows my music, he contributes his expertise and his imagination and his creativity, and I learn a lot from that. The high energy that the youngsters have, it revitalises me and I keep reinventing myself because of that. I play with various other musicians also, but I really enjoy playing with my son.
Tell me about Sangam. How different will it be from the first edition?
The format is different, the compositions are different, so it’ll sound different. We’re having rehearsals tomorrow, format what we’re going to do and make our set list, and make it as exciting as possible.
What’s your opinion on today’s musical landscape?
There’s so much music in the world today, and so much variety. People are trying different things because everybody wants to do something new. We feel that the audience also deserves something new. Fresh combinations, and fresh compositions, and fresh formats. It’s an exciting moment in music. Fusion music, of course, you have to be very, very careful — because fusion can turn into confusion. It needs rehearsals, it needs planning, and it needs a high expertise on the part of the musicians, high imagination, high creativity.
What’s a piece of advice you’d give young musicians, especially instrumentalists, who are just starting out?
I would say follow your passion, definitely. If it’s music, then be serious about it and dedicate yourself to the art. Discipline yourself and work very hard. There’s no getting away from there. Just following that dream from a distance is no use. You have to really get into it and work towards that dream and towards perfecting your skills. It’s not an easy path. As somebody said, there are only two paths to follow: one is easy, and one is hard, and successful people always follow the hard path. There’s a certain joy in that, also. Suffering brings joy.
What are some of your goals for 2016?
Oh, me? I just want to play as much as possible, and I want to archive my music, which I’m already doing. We have eight albums in the pipeline that we’re working on. I keep doing that on a very regular basis — that keeps me going. That stimulates my mind, because I can get bored very easily.
*Tickets available at Madinat Theatre Box Office or online at madinattheatre.com Ticket Pricing: Balcony: Dh100, Silver: Dh200, Gold Dh300. Doors open at 7pm. For more information, call 04-3666546.
