Jazzing Delhi

In the vast community of jazz lovers in Delhi,the name Veronika Harcsa always sends ripples of excitement. The Hungarian vocalist’s albums and singles have topped the vocal jazz charts in her country,and established her as a voice to look forward to. So,when Harcsa arrived in the Capital last week for her maiden performance in India,a housefull of people turned up at India Habitat Centre. The evening,called ‘Jazz Fusion Concert’,marked the change of guard at the helm of the European Union — Hungary,which headed the organisation for a six-month term,has now made way for Poland.

Dressed in pink and orange,Harcsa towered over the stage,and proceeded to weave the magic she is famous for. She started with the joyous Play Me,Play Me before moving on to deeper pieces like Come on Over,about human bonds and friendship,and the introspective You. Accompanying her were eminent instrumentalists from Hungary like pianist Attila Blaho,double bass player Zoltan Olah,Janos Aved on the saxophone,Balint Gyemant on the guitar and Gabor Subicz on the trumpet.

Interestingly,for Come on Over,percussionist Mohit Lal added distinctly Indian beats to the Hungarian music. “I arrived only half-a-day before the performance,so Mohit and I hadn’t practised. We improvised a lot. I have great respect for Indian classical music but unfortunately not much knowledge of it,” said Harcsa.

The evening also included a few jazz pieces from Poland,an Indian segment,in which Johar Ali Khan presented raag malkosh on the violin,and a jugalbandi between Khan and the Hungarian troupe.