French jazz band Sam Smala is coming to town with their unique brand of music Their music resounds with an unusual medley of soundsthe lyrics draw upon languages like Turkish,Indonesian and French,and the music weave in Cuban and Gypsy melodies with a French jazz style known as Manouche. Despite the strong jazz content,the music is a melange of styles. It bounces off the walls,peps up the tables and brings evening tipplers crowding around to where the band,Sam Smala,plays. French jazz guitarist Sam Strouk,founder of the band,is hoping to recreate this very reaction when he plays in India. I did not want my music to be bracketed under any genre. Instead,I wanted to use my experience of playing various genres like Gypsy,European folk and pop to form my own grammar, says Strouk,30,who set up Sam Smala two years ago,after performing solo with many bands for a decade. Translated from African,Smala stands for family and brotherhood. Since my father hails from Algeria,I grew up listening to this word, says Strouk about the name of the band. The five members who make up the group are all friends from Paris who believe in transcending the barriers of music genre. For their Delhi performance,for instance,they played alongside flautist Rishabh Prasanna,moulding their styles to incorporate the Indian classical sound. Each band member is an expert in a different genre. I like to use my versatility in languages and give folksy numbers a jazz touch or compose gospel music in different languages, says Serena Fisseau,the female lead vocalist,who is of Indonesian origin. Smala maintains classical jazz elements in its performances with impromptu sessions between bassist Guillaume Marin and drummer Quentin Braine. Some of their popular songs online are the Indonesian track,Irra Maku (my inspiration and rhythm of life) and a Turkish number,Lakin (But). The group is on a nine-city tour of India,including Delhi,Chandigarh,Bhopal,Hyderabad and Trivandrum. This is our first foreign tour. We decided on India because last year,I received a good response from the crowd while touring the country with a French jazz band called Caravan Quartet, says Strouk.
