This year, three events were dedicated to music education with the Jazz for the Next Generation at the KJC of Jhamsikhel in Patan. A music competition saw All My Friends – pianist Abhishek Bhadra, drummer Kiran Shahi, and bassist Ian Eustis – as winners and Abhishek Bhadra as Outstanding Musician. [break]
The judging panel of international artists was impressed by the promising jazz scene they discovered in Nepal. A public Master Class was offered with the Swedish band Neighbourhood while winners All My Friends enjoyed private instructions with international artists.
For the Valley Jams, once again Jazzmandu packed three venues for fireworks of jazz performances. The Valley resonated with Jazz and got in a real party mood with Neighbourhood at the House of Music, Bconnected at Moksh, and The Cuban League at Jazz Upstairs.
The Jazz Bazaar at Gokarna and its marathon of jazz and traditional folk and classical Nepali music delighted the audience with Gandharva, the Robin Lal Trio, Cadenza Collective, and the return of All My Friends.
The party went on with the Cuban League, Neighbourhood from Sweden, the Swiss Bconnected, Window Seat from India, and Australian saxophonist Nick Aggs. For the final jam, the crowd was on its feet, dancing and chanting with the horns, saxophones, guitars, keyboards, and the beats of the drums.
The Afro-Latin Jam at Hotel Shangri-La was another lively performance with bassist Yunior Terry, pianist virtuoso Axel Tosca Laugart and vocalist Xiomara Laugart of The Cuban League. Infectious Afro-Latin beats got the audience on its feet again, and other Jazzmandu musicians joined in onstage.
Abhishek Bhadra, keyboardist of All My Friends in a private workshop with Edvin Nahlin of Neighbourhood.
For the charismatic Jazz at Patan, Bconnected, Window Seat, Neighbourhood and Cadenza joined Nepali masters Robin Lal, Guru Dev Kamat and Suresh Raj Bajracharya to fuse jazz and Nepali classical music. A memorable percussions dialogue between Robin Lal’s tabla, Daniel ‘Cicco’’s Latin congas, and Yoann Julliard’s drums was pure magic.
The Jazzmandu Finale at Hotel Shangri-La had all the elements that made the festival such a resounding success this year. For the final big jam, the audience went wild as the music and the ambience recaptured the party spirit of the epic Gokarna Jam.
Suman Sridhar, vocalist of Window Seat.
As things wound down among the exhausted but the jubilant organizers’ talks turned to next year. So mark your agenda: November 01, 2012 for the 10th anniversary of Jazzmandu!
Xiomara Laugart of the Cuban League
(Photos: Shikhar Bhattarai)
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