From Kazakhstan to Mumbai: Immerse in this cross-cultural performance today

Sometime in 2010, Bollywood star Mithun Chakraborty visited Almaty in Kazakhstan. Such was the craze around Mithun da aka Jimmy, that hordes of frenzied fans thronged the airport, reportedly bringing official programming to a standstill. The Kazakhs clearly don’t need an introduction to Indian music. Indians, on the other hand, could use a refresher in the soundscape of the Central Asian country. A young seven-piece section of the band JuBand seeks to do just that as they take stage in Juhu alongside students of the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) Music Academy.

Samir Seitakhunov and Nurbolsyn Toleukhan

Excerpts from the interview.

How does Kazakh culture find its way into your style of jazz?
In traditional Kazakh culture, there is a genre called kui, which is instrumental musical storytelling. The word itself implies a person’s inner state — their mood, their spiritual energy. When kui is performed, the musician tells a story without words: About the road, nature, fate, joy or human experiences. That is why the combination of jazz and Kazakh music feels natural.

Where did a young collective like yours find inspiration?
Most of our musicians are trained in Western classical music. Later, we discovered jazz — the music of freedom, improvisation and personal expression.
Legends such as Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Chick Correa, Charlie Parker, and John Coltrane had a huge influence on our musical thinking. But at the same time, we grew up listening to the music of Kazakh masters — great kui composers such as Kurmangazy Sagyrbayuly, Tattimbet Kazangapuly, Dauletkerey Shygaev and Kazanqap Tlepbergenuly.

Kazakhstan has been familiar with Indian culture, especially through Indian cinema. Did it influence your journey in music?
Many generations have grown up on Indian films and songs, so we have loved Indian music for a long time. Today, young musicians are discovering classical Indian music, its complex rhythms, ragas and amazing system of improvisation. We admire such great masters as Zakir Hussain, Rakesh Chaurasia, and the outstanding violinist L Subramaniam. We feel that there is a deep kinship between jazz and Indian classical music — because both traditions are based on improvisation, spirituality and the search for inner freedom.