Jazz Weekender - Second Edition - 2023

Desmadre Orkesta is a really festive and eclectic band. It takes you from the brasses of the Balkans, to Colombian cumbias, having first a little swing in New Orleans, and even one or two milongas down in Buenos Aires. With the powerful imprint of brasses, they play melodies of popular character, both traditionals surprisingly remade and originals, always with virtuosic details and accomplished arrangements. Music is just the starting point for their characteristic scenic display: lots of dancing, movement, energy and special attention and enjoyment in interacting with the audience. The result is a joyful, intense and dynamic show, which always leaves you with a smile on your face and a happy heart.

In Ambika’s life, every day feels very new. Singer, producer-DJ, model, actor and voiceover artist, the young maverick is now manifesting everything she wanted to be growing up. Amongst her developing personas is Kayan. A clever flip of her last name, read with a sense of mystique and curiosity, it just stuck - birthing Kayan, who seeks solace by inhabiting soul, electronic, pop and R&B terrains. Born into a household deeply entrenched in traditional dance and music – her mother a Hindustani classical vocalist and her grandmother a seasoned kathak exponent – Ambika says that her formative years were quite unlike most kids. A family outing usually meant going to a play, concert or art exhibition, imbibing culture from a very young age. Through her childhood, studying the dance form of Bharatnatyam for about seven years, Ambika adds that it will never leave her system. Her connection to music is even stronger, having attended TSM in Mumbai where she co-founded bands such as Kimochi Youkai and teamed up with producer-keyboardist Nirmit Shah to become Nothing Anonymous, an electronic duo influenced by genres like neo-soul, dream pop, hip-hop and beat music. As Kayan, in her honeyed vocal style that’s informed by artists such as Jorja Smith and Kali Uchis, she’s always singing about stories – a theme she plaintively carries forward in her debut single “Please.” Her latest release, “On My Own” is an upbeat R&B pop anthem with an empowering message combined with a music video entirely self-shot, styled, and produced by Kayan herself. With a keen determination towards levelling up and expanding her audience, it’s this very flow of enthusiastic energy that makes Kayan one to watch. She’s already conquered stages around the country, holding forth a distinctive narrative as a rising artist who can’t stop, won’t stop.

Born and raised in Amsterdam’s suburbs, the Dutch artist, rapper, singer and songwriter Cero Ismael uses music as a form of self-healing, sharing his own stories with alluring candour. Influenced by his own personal story and struggles, Cero creates an intriguing, raw and dark mix of alternative, r&b, rap, hip hop and electronic music. A mature and sincere lyrical style, like a poet he chooses his words wisely to explore themes of love, fear, anger, loneliness, self-love and acceptance, mental health and more.

Growing up in Peckham, as part of a British-Bengali family has given Tara Lily a unique perspective on music and global culture. She has spent her life absorbing a multitude of sounds and genres from her surroundings, ranging from alternative R&B to classical jazz and traditional Bengali folk music. From training at the Trinity Laban conservatoire of music (where she studied Jazz piano and voice), to learning Indian classical music and being the first act singed to Motown Records UK. Tara is an musical anomaly.

Prolific drummer and son of the “godfather of Jazz” in India, Louis Banks, Gino Banks (World Percussion) and guitar virtuoso Rhythm Shaw (Acoustic Guitar) come together to create a high energy, melodic and rhythmic musical adventure that traverses Indian music, world fusion, progressive jazz and much more. They perform original music from Rhythm Shaw's album 'The Opening Act' as well as display masterful solos in the set. Don’t miss this rare combination of musicians, set to take the world by storm!

The Many Roots Ensemble is an ever evolving entity that creates and delivers original music along with renditions of tunes the members of the band really vibe with. The sound of the band is derived from a multitude of genres and methods of arrangement ranging from Afro, Funk, Disco, Latin, Hip-Hop, R&B, Jazz, Classical etc. When it comes to the pure substance that is music which can be acceptably used and used some more- the ensemble sees no ethnicity, stereotype or genre and that keeps the pursuance and reasons to do music pure.

Mary Ann is a R&B/Soul artist born in Kerala and now residing in the beautiful city of Bengaluru. She's been a recording artist since the very young age of seven. She can captivate the audience through her voice and versatility.

Merak is an upcoming electronica music duo of siblings Brandon and Belinda Mendes from Goa, India. Growing up they listened to rock, folk and jazz as early influences. Their music is inspired by Radiohead, Cinematic Orchestra, Billie Eilish and The Marias to name a few, even though it sits outside of conventional genres. Their approach is story based: they focus on storytelling with mood enhancing sound design, poetic lyrics and like to play with different arrangements and compositions to keep their music engaging. Between the two of them, they play the guitar, piano and violin and incorporate these organic sounds with electronic components to complete their unique sound. The most notable achievement since Merak began in 2018 was their IndiaFilmProject 2020 Platinum (First place) 50 hour song win for the Electronic Category for “Time travelling Soul”. Their prizes included a music video which premiered on MTV. They also bagged the 2022 Gold award for the same competition. The released two singles with renowned Indian labels Boxout.recordings and KrunkKulture and a music video that premiered on VH1 in August 2022.They have been featured by well known publications such as Rolling Stone India, Wild City, Humming Heart, Rockstreet Journal, Times of India and Indian Music Diaries to name a few. They have been named by “The Hindu” as 6 new artists to look out for in 2022. Merak has an upcoming EP this February with Boxout recordings.