Members:
Seating L-R Anjan K. Ray, Satyajit Roychaudhury, Siladitya Ganguly
Standing L-R Vivek Dev Burman, Ranjita Karlekar, Tapan Desai, Ashok
Banerjee
Not in picture Anindita Rawat, Atul Singh Rawat, Enisha Roychaudhury, Sanjiv
Mathur |
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Congo Square was formed in the winter of 2002 as a non-profit
society to promote jazz and blues in India. Members of Congo Square
have had experience of running an international jazz festival, Jazzfest, every year from 1978 to 1982. These featured
over 30 international jazz groups of the best-known musicians from the US and Europe. We were also proactive in
promoting both overseas visitors and Indian talent, including epoch-makers such as Shakti, Joe Williams, Mingus
Dynasty. The audiences always numbered upwards of a thousand - glitterati, youth, musicians and aficionados. These
memorable concerts stopped only because the youthful organising team set off on divergent careers.
Congo Square is formed with the same core group, networked
with both overseas and Indian musicians. Our goal is not to promote the highest margins but to reach the largest
number of music-lovers in Kolkata with the best music - jazz, blues, jazz-rock, rock n' roll, fusion, etc.
Congo Square revived this programme of activity, with
six concerts in 2003 (including one each at Aizawl and Shillong) and a four-day international festival of world
music, Jazz Blues & Beyond in January 2004. Once again the fare ranged from fusion music featuring the prodigious
guitarist Jonas Hellborg with percussionists V. Selvaganesh, Taal Tantra with Tanmoy Bose and the electrifying
folk-rock group Bangla from Bangladesh to excellent jazz combos from Holland, Germany and Italy, and distinguished
old friends, the Rena Rama Quartet and the Karin Krog Trio. |
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