Jazz Concert By Louis Banks & Group

The Lahoti Foundation, in association with Kalakriti Art Gallery, is organising the 4th Krishnakriti Art And Culture Festival 2007, at various venues, from 7th to 11th January. A series of art and cultural programs will be organised during this period. Today, the 4th day, a jazz concert by Louis Banks & group will be staged at Durgam Cheruvu. And at the risk of offending several, this is perhaps the flagship event.

The group, along with Louis Banks on the keyboard, consists of Joe Alvarez and Shefali Alvarez with the lead vocals, Gino Banks on the drums and Sheldon Sean D'Silva as the bass guitarist. They will be playing some jazz, funk and blues.

Louis Banks is termed the godfather of Indian jazz. He is a composer, improviser, pianist and keyboard player who specializes in live acoustic and electronic performances covering all genres of music from popular to jazz and indo-jazz fusion. He is an active performer, performing in venues ranging from small alternative clubs and auditoriums to major national and international festivals.

He has appeared in performances with musicians including Eddie Daniels, Roseanna Vitro, Eddie Henderson, Zakir Hussain, Leni Stern, Fay Victor, Angela Hagenbach, Ramamani, Sivamani, Shankar Mahadevan, Hariprasad Chaurasia and Dizzy Gillespie. With his fusion band SANGAM, he represented India in many European music festivals such as The Berlin Jazz Fest, The Cascais Jazz Fest and The Jazz Jamboree in Poland, and in music festivals in Russia, Czechoslovakia and Budapest.

Gino Banks has been playing drums for the past 8 years, and is the son of Louis Banks. His interest in the drums began at an early age when watching drummers like Ranjit Barot and Sivamani perform with his father on stage. He listens to all kinds of music ranging from jazz, rock, pop, fusion and classical to heavy metal.

He has performed at many college festivals with his band NEXUS, and also with his father in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. He has also accompanied a well-known jazz singer Angela Hagenbach from Kansas City. He teaches drums at the music institute in town, The Allegro Institute of Music. He hopes to make a big impact on the music world by spreading the knowledge of music to any and everybody.

Sheldon Sean D'Silva, the bass guitarist, started playing after listening to his father singing and playing the guitar. He is mainly self-taught, and has gained invaluable experience by playing and interacting with good musicians playing different genres of music. The big influences on him are Jaco Pastorius, John Patitucci and Victor Wooten. In India, Karl Peters has been of great influence and guide to him. Sheldon is the precocious 17-year-old who is expected to emerge as a musician and artist to watch out for in the 21st century.

Joe Alvares has been singing for the last 20 years. He is self-taught, and learnt watching and listening to various musicians. He has performed in various venues across India with Louis Banks, Karl Peters, Loy Mendonca and Sivamani, who have also been his great influences on him. He has also travelled abroad and performed with renowned jazz luminaries, including at an awards nite at the Ritz Carlton for the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce with. He is the founder of an all-girl band, The Real Thing, in which his daughter Shefali is the lead vocalist.

Shefali is the daughter of Joe Alvares, and is a volatile and passionate vocalist, deriving all her energy from the bustling metropolis of Mumbai. She has grown up in the lap of music - she has pursued vocal training for over 6 years with the renowned teacher Celia Lobo, studied Hindustani classical for over a year, and has been performing over the last 8 years very selectively, at concerts with her dad and musical luminaries like Louis Banks, Karl Peters and Loy Mendonca.

Some performances of hers worthy of mention are the prestigious Johnnie Walker Club Event all over India, and for the Royalty of Nepal & the Presidential Entourage of US President Bill Clinton at The Maurya Sheraton in Delhi. She was also a special feature at The Regular Thursday Jazz Sessions at Indigo, Velvet Lounge, Zenzi, Seijos, Jazz By the Bay Mumbai & Pune, and has done various corporate events in Goa. She also performs at the Renaissance, Powai, in the Jazz Nites.

The Krishnakriti Art And Culture Festival is being organised every year by the Lahoti Foundation, which was established by Prashant Lahoti in memory of his father Krishnachandra B Lahoti. On this occasion, art camps are organised by eminent artists and the works are auctioned off at the end of the festival. The proceeds from the sales go to The Krishnachandra B Lahoti Scholarship, which sponsors holistic education for deserving and needy students. Last year's proceeds have gone a long way in supporting 70 children.

The detailed list of programs for today at the 4th Krishnakriti Art And Culture Festival is as under:

11th January 2007
03:00pm to 06:00pm - International Art Camp at Kalakriti Art Gallery
06:00pm - Digital Art presentation by French artist Beatrice de Fays at Kalakriti Art Gallery
07:00pm - Khatijabai Of Karmali Terrace - A play by Q Theatre Productions

Entry to the above programs is by invitations, which can be collected at Kalakriti Art Gallery, Plot No. 468, Road No. 10, Banjara Hills. For further details, please contact 6656-4466.