GT Digital
African-American jazz musicians brought jazz music to Bombay (now Mumbai) and Calcutta (now Kolkata) in the 1920s.
By the 1930s, Goan musicians were getting inspired by these new sounds. Jazz and swing music began gaining popularity at social dances in Goan villages.
Struggling to make a living in Goa, musicians like Abdonio Rodrigues migrated to Bombay and made a living playing music in hotels.
Others, such as the De Mello Brothers, played in clubs. This picture shows the sextet at The Gymkhana Club, New Year 1962.
Goan musicians, who had learned Western music in parochial schools during the Portuguese rule, easily absorbed jazz into their compositions and arrangements. They eventually wrote hit songs for India’s film industry.
Goan musicians were part of the growing jazz scene in the Bombay of the 60s.
Braz Gonsalves, Chris Perry, Chic Chocolate and the Monseratte brothers were just a few of the Goan jazz musicians who made a mark across India and beyond with their music.
Jazz great Louis Armstrong (left) shooting the breeze with Goan saxophone and clarinet player, Remedios de Mello (right).
Goan musicians, on tour, played at clubs and associations in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and across Africa.
These places soon had their own bands, like the Goan Institute (GI). The picture shows Jazz Swingers playing at a club in Dar es Salaam, Africa.