Jazz Nite By Louis Banks & Gary Lawyer

They're perhaps as different as 2 artists could possibly get. This, then, is the equivalent of 2 big concerts for you. Do you mind?

The Times Hyderabad Festival is back this year with 9 days of music and art. The festival will see some renowned musicians, dancers and singers, like Ustad Amjad Ali Khan on the inaugural day, Sonu Nigam on 1st April, and Vani Ganapathy, Ghulam Ali Khan and Ehsan Bharti Ghungroo Wale on 6th April. There are also a fashion show by Vinita Pittie and Neeta Lulla on 7th April, and renowned plays Dance Like A Man by Mahesh Dattani on 7th April and The Vagina Monologues by Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal on 8th April. In addition, there will be carnivals at Eat Street on 31st April and at Hyderabad Central on 7th & 8th April, and cooking classes at Taj Krishna, Novotel, ITC Kakatiya, Mainland China, Taj Banjara and Touch from 2nd to 6th April.

Today, the inaugural day, Louis Banks and Gary Lawyer will perform a jazz concert, at the Grand Ballroom of Taj Krishna. 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.

No individual artiste has had as much impact on the Indian rock music scene as Gary Lawyer. Billed as India's answer to the great Jim Morrison, Gary started his singing career at showcase theaters and night clubs in New York between 1977 and 1983. Back in India, Gary proved to be a great favorite with the advertising community. So much so that his portfolio today reads like a virtual who's who of the marketing world - Cadbury's, Yamaha, Thums Up, Wrangler, Close-Up...

The music market, though, was dominated by the film industry. So Gary established his reputation as India's premier rocker by staging two Doors concerts. He also performed for an Elvis tribute play Are You Lonesome Tonight? and staged shows at various rock venues across the nation.

With MTV which introduced India to a whole new world of American and British music, Gary added his own eclectic sound of Indian rock with This Cannot Wait and High Standards - Vol 1. But it was with his third album, The Other Side Of Dawn, that Gary established his place in the fiercely competitive world of rock and roll.

The entry to the concert is by invitations only. For further details, please contact 2335-5335.