Expansion
Expansion, an exhibition of paintings by Jaya Shankar Son Shrestha.
29 October to 20 November, Siddhartha Art Gallery, Babarmahal, (01)4218048, www.siddharthaartgallery.com
Tiharai Aayo
Nepal celebrates the festival of lights next week.
1 November, Kag Tihar, Dipawali kicks off with a puja for the bird of good tidings.
2 November, Kukkur Tihar, next up is a puja for man’s best friend, woof!
3 November, Gai Tihar, celebrate Laxmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, by paying your respects to the cow.
4 November, Mha Puja, Newars puja themselves in Kathmandu, and elsewhere people pay homage to Gobhardhan, an avatar of Lord Krishna.
5 November, Bhai Tika, sisters puja their brothers to protect them from Yama, the harbringer of death.
Nhudaya Bhintuna, the Newari calendar turns a new leaf. 4 November
Rooftop market, bring your old stuff and sell it for quick bucks or give it away as donations; with music, drinks and snacks.
2 November, 2pm onwards, Sattya Media Collective, Jawalakhel, 9813485716
East to west, an inter-nations dance show, feel the energy, passion and heat of three traditional dance forms – Flamenco (Spain), Charya (Nepal) and Bharat Natyam (India), along with a rare fusion of Kathak and Flamenco; proceeds go to Tewa and Sushila Arts Academy. Rs 500, 1 November, 5 to 7 pm. St Xavier’s Auditorium, 9851135910, (01)5572654/9, lilu@tewa.org.np
Beatnik acoustic competition, show your talents on the acoustic guitar and win up to Rs 15,000. Registration Rs 2,000, 2 November, 11am, Funky Buddha, Thamel, 9849096621
Generation J
Last Thursday, the 11th edition of Jazzmandu hosted its Jazz for the Next Generation music competition at Moksh in Pulchok. Three acts, each consisting of under-30 artists from Kathmandu ranging in size from a duo to a quintet and style from fusion to funk jazzed it out for the title.
With their dynamic tabla, smooth keyboard, and personable female vocalist, Con-tusion with Axata took home this year’s top prize. Nepali Times caught up with the trio after the competition to get their reaction and their views on the future of jazz music.
Nepali Times: The three of you come from eclectic music traditions. When did you each decide that jazz was something worth exploring?
Yuvash Vaidya (keyboard): For me, it’s the attitude of jazz. What is a surprise is the balance between structure and spontaneity, and what happens when those two things are juxtaposed. I like to explore that.
Ashesh K Rai (tabla): You could have gotten yourself into jazz and might not even realise it. Sometimes I think “What’s this jazz thing?” and I finally compare it to my music and I’m like “Oh, I’m doing jazz.”
Axata Singh (vocals): Jazz is something totally new to me. I’ve sung RnB and soul, but I’ve only just recently gotten into jazz. I started learning jazz with my piano lessons, but singing it has opened up a whole new world.
What needs to happen for the jazz scene to grow in Kathmandu?
Axata: The first thing we need is an attentive audience. Most of the time, people don’t care what they’re listening to when they’re out at restaurants and bars. If more people could respect the genre, it would be great.
Yuvash: Only a handful of people in Nepal listen to jazz therefore jazz musicians are rarely called to perform. Musicians are paid by the amount of crowd they can pull which shouldn’t be the case as this leads to artists performing more crowd-pleasers, often at the expense of experimentation or improvisation.