Blues are back for the musical good

Attending any event that announces itself as “house full” always provides the additional pleasure of feeling privileged, and so it was with the 11th anniversary of the Mahindra Blues Festival held at Mumbai’s Mehboob Studios on February 11 and 12, 2023.

This was accompanied by a genuine sense of nostalgia as the last edition occurred in 2020 just before the pandemic controlled the world, although a stop-gap Mahindra Blues Special was introduced last year at Mumbai’s Bayview Lawns in Mazgaon.

Arinjoy Trio

With two stages ready, folks, for showtime: Polka Dot Parlour, and the superbly designed Soulstrat Saloon, Kolkata’s Arinjoy Trio – winners of the Mahindra Blues Band Hunt 2018 – had the pride of opening the proceedings of the Mahindra Blues Festival 2023. How appropriate it turned out to be with the band’s core sound having taken great musical strides forward, whether in guitarist Arinjoy Sarkar’s songwriting or in his musicianship as he held blues patterns together across several songs from his 2019 eponymously-titled album (released by Free School Street Records LLP), accompanied by Sounak Roy on drums and Aakash Ganguly on bass. As part of his live repertoire, Sarkar played a spirited instrumental too, “Blues For Kirk”, dedicated US-based guitarist Kirk Fletcher, a one-time member of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, the very band in which Stevie Ray Vaughan’s older brother, Jimmy, was previously a member.

Arinjoy Trio surely carried the mantle of Indian blues forward that commenced with Soulmate and, to a certain extent, Blackstratblues, with guitarist Arinjoy Sarkar cementing his stature as a potential guitar giant for promoting modern blues.

Ivan Singh

From Argentina, not a country easily recognised for its blues, 29-year-old guitarist Ivan Singh appeared next, explaining the roots of his surname going back some 130 years when his forefathers emigrated to Latin America. In utilising what appeared to be a guitar made from a can (Lata de Batata), Singh went on to play his own brand of blues, often switching to a flying V guitar popularised by Albert King to Scorpions’ Rudolph Schenker, accompanied by his falsetto voice. Covers were galore as part of his set list, ranging from Santana’s “Maria Maria” – wherein the lyrics of ‘played by Carlos Santana’ were substituted by ‘played by Ivan Singh’ – to Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va”, Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel”, and the Muddy Waters-popularised “Got My Mojo Working”. While Singh’s guitaring was also obviously influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, he did indulge in some “original” Spanish content from his self-titled debut album from 2019. Singh returned to his expertise of covers as part of his encore too, venturing into the glimmer twins’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” as he strode into the audience with saxophonist Gary (aka G Funk).

Quite a show person, obviously aimed to be a crowd-pleaser for a younger audience, but whether Ivan Singh’s interpretations could strictly be referred to as blues remain moot.

Taj Mahal

For the concluding act on day one, the audience shifted to the larger Polka Dot Parlour, featuring a musician with the familiar Indian name of Taj Mahal (original name: Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr.) . While this was his second appearance at the Mahindra Blues Festival, a personal connect had occurred during school days when, in 1972, a movie called “Sounder” was viewed by this writer, containing the music of Taj Mahal. Not that the music was remembered but, rather, the Indian name was…not realising then that the composer would finally reach the Indian shores of Taj Mahal.

With well over 50 years of composing/recording/performance experience, Taj Mahal’s repertoire was expectedly wide-ranging, including reggae, funk, jazz and, of course, his brand of folk-blues; that of a clearly stripped-down variety, especially in comparison to the previous performer, and certainly not focused on popular appeal. With a startling mix of authenticity and enthusiasm, Taj Mahal and his accompanying musicians provided a compelling amalgamation of blues of the past with contemporary world music, resulting in not only Taj Mahal keeping traditions alive, but expanding and deepening it by tracing its roots and developments through the course of American, Caribbean, and African cultures. A guest appearance was provided to Scherezaad Panthaki, brought up in Mumbai’s Cusrow Baug, on a rendition of Mack Rice’s song from 1965, “Mustang Sally”, popularised by its usage in the soundtrack of ‘The Commitments’.

Running through songs such as “Everybody Is Somebody”, “Queen Bee”, “Loving In My Baby’s Eyes”, and “Corrina”, Taj Mahal has always been considered a bluesman, which is true enough, since the basis for everything he does has largely been country blues. But Taj Mahal is not a traditionalist at heart, and has always looked for ways to push the blues into new places and shapes, especially the genre of Americana, when he switches to playing the banjo as he did this time around. At other times, in adding rhythms and sensibilities that are drawn from reggae, ragtime, calypso, and zydeco, among other genres, Taj Mahal practices a kind of blues hybrid that is his alone, culminating in winning the 2023 Grammy for “Best Traditional Blues Album” for ‘Get On Board’ with Ry Cooder. The duo picked up the win in a star-studded category featuring Buddy Guy, Charlie Musselwhite, John Mayall, and Gov’t Mule.

Kingfish

Day two commenced with guitar slinger Christone “Kingfish” Ingram performing at Soulstrat Saloon. With a resume on the 24-year-old from Clarksdale, Mississippi anointing him as “the next explosion of the blues” by no less than Buddy Guy. Kingfish lived up to the boast by swinging between the Delta and Chicago traditions, with nods at ’70s hard rock and soul along the way, featuring original songs from his two albums such as “Another Life Goes By”, “Not Gonna Lie”, “Empty Promises”, Your Time Is Gonna Come”, “Something

In The Dirt”, and the slow-burning ballad, “Fresh Out”. But the electrifying moment really occurred when Kingfish spoke about having a “Facebook friend of two years ago” guest with him…none other than Arinjoy Sarkar, as he strode onto the stage, and right into the biting, sharp notes, and unexpected fills between sung lines and aggressive solo flourishes and turnarounds between the two guitarists on “That’s What You Do”.

Ending with the title track of his album, ‘662’, which shone a light on Chuck Berry before the scorching lead break from Kingfish had him firmly grounded in this historical moment. Nevertheless, the bottom line is that Kingfish arrived as an already authoritative presence, all revved up, and now ready to take on the rest of the world too.

Buddy Guy

It was time to move to the concluding act of this year’s Mahindra Blues Festival at the Polka Dot Parlour as headliner Buddy Guy, who was present here in Mumbai for the opening of his ‘Damn Right Farewell Tour’. Despite technical glitches with his microphone which was corrected soon enough, Buddy Guy ran through his now conventional set list, including covers such “I Just Want To Make Love To You” and “Hoochie Coochie Man” (both compositions by Willie Dixon, who was the bassist for Muddy Waters), Little Willie John’s “Fever” (popularised by Peggy Lee), and Denise LaSalle’s “Someone Else Is Steppin’ In (Slippin’ Out, Slippin’ In)”. Guy’s singing remains appealing – supported by his guitar, which still sounds muscular – as the legend moves into the twilight.

This may have been his umpteenth visit to Mumbai, and he played, once again, to predictability; be it his polka-dot shirt, his set list [largely], his chatter, and his on-stage and off-stage antics. However, nothing changes the fact that, at 86, Buddy Guy is the last of the Chicago Blues exponents who was privileged to have performed with the legendary Muddy Waters during the glory days of Chess Records. The Festival ended with the expected all-star line-up bringing the event to its inevitable end.

But the thrill of attending the “house full” event – superbly organised by Hyperlink Brand Solutions –had a downside too: a lot of genuine Blues fans missed out on an opportunity of furthering their musical interests as the Mahindra Blues Festival had been largely taken over by an audience that believed it to be a social occasion, spending time on everything between snacks to spirits, but for the Blues…