In Conversation: Still Waters and Jim Porto from JIC

Jazz India Circuit’s 2017-18 season culminated on Saturday, March 17^th, at One Golden Mile in the National Capital, with an evening bursting with talent, intensity and the sharp flavour of freedom synonymous with jazz. Headlined by Grammy-nominated Jamison Ross, the concert also featured a mind-blowing performance by students and teachers from One World College of Music, which was followed by a collaboration between veteran Brazilian composer, pianist and singer Jim Porto and Still Waters, and left audiences clamouring for more.

  Loudest Contributor Gayathri Natarajan, met  Jim Puorto and Lester Godinho of Still Waters, right after their collaboration on stage, and found out what drives their music. Gayathri: What is the state of music business in India? Lester: I’m going to be blunt about it. Firstly, There is a lot of clutter. There are too many people who have nothing to do about music, jumping on the bandwagon. Secondly, the opportunities for music have now increased. As a result, there are even more people coming in. Ultimately, there will be a only a few that will stand out. Jim: As musicians, we are always independent. We don’t have a boss. We have a manager, but not a boss. I’m very lucky to be here, I can travel the world. I came to India last year and my friend introduced me to Lester Godinho in Goa. It was incredible, because I knew nothing about Goa! I found out Goa was a Portugese colony! Lester spoke to me in Portugese! It was wonderful.

Gayathri: In India, lots of musicians are struggling to build a career and at the same time feel dignified about their profession. Do you see this too?

Jim: It’s not just India, but a lot of the world is like this. You have to visualize a point in life, and tell yourself “I want to go there” . As a little boy, I decided that I wanted to be a musician. My father, my friends, all of them asked me, “Do you know what you are doing?” and I would say,

I don’t know how, but I’m going to do it.

Yes, it is very difficult, you have to pay the rent, send your kids to school, buy groceries. If you don’t know what you going to for the next six months, you are at a loss with yourself. It is very difficult due to reasons like this. I’ve been lucky, as I have been doing this for a long long time and my single-point conviction has got me through this. But when we go on stage, when people like our music, it makes us happy. That’s what it comes down to, in the end. Lester: There are a certain things that money cannot buy. The feeling of being on stage and involving your audience completely, is one of them. It is the conviction that matters. I would say, follow your heart, and if anything goes wrong, tomorrow is another day. Jim: I found my passion through my culture. Just like India, I come from a land with many different cultures, races and religions. My mother was very Catholic and my father was from a culture of a form of Voodoo from Africa.  It was a different kind of upbringing. My grandfather was Portugese, my grandmother was black from Africa. My music, my passion is a result of all these cultural influences.  That is why  I love it so much in India. You, Gayathri, could pass off as a Brazilian, so could one of our team members Parul. The melting pot culture of India reminds me so much of Brazil. So culture is a very important part of one’s passion. If not, what are you going to do? Lester: I agree, my father has been my inspiration, my friend, my Guru and my icon. Do you remember the movie Teesri Manzil? All the drumming was my Dad! Whatever I am today, my music, my passion, I owe it to him. I have had a great academic career too, but in the end, I gave it all up to pursue music. Today, I have no regrets. Once you follow your passion, the money will stop mattering.

Why Jazz?

As Joe D’Costa, guitarist of Still Waters put it,

Jazz for me, is being there when something is not there. It is always a search. You are constantly trying to add something more to your music personality.  Jazz is mysterious, and that’s why I love it.