Bombay Bop

Indian music has long held a fascination for jazz musicians, but Indo-jazz fusion as a genre has focussed exclusively on Hindustani or Carnatic classical music. Bollywood songs – a repertoire larger, richer, and more flamboyant than the Hollywood equivalent which has given us the Great American Songbook – have gone largely ignored. Bombay Bop’s mission is to put this right. I am a founder member of the Bollywood Brass Band, and have been playing this music at Indian weddings and festivals for over 25 years. This new band takes the drama, romance, passion and energy of Bollywood and mixes it up to produce a fresh and invigorating jazz sound. Expect gorgeous ballads from the fifties, slices of funk from the sixties, right through to the invigorating dance sounds of the present day.

 Besides myself on trombone, the band comprises:

Dawid Frydryk (trumpet) is a Polish composer and jazz musician who is rapidly establishing himself on the London scene.

Tony Gooderham (piano) is a fantastic and versatile pianist who adds a bit of magic to everything he plays.

Peter Marsh (bass) is another Londoner, with a broad background in straight ahead jazz and folk.

Paul Brett (drums and percussion) plays in a range of jazz and world music bands, and is a mainstay of Afro Fusion band Yaaba Funk.

Rav Neiyyar (tabla) is a powerhouse percussionist who has shared the stage globally with the likes of Lauryn Hill, Snoop Dogg, and Page & Plant. His deep musical knowledge and curiosity has taken him from bhangra and classical Indian music through to cutting-edge contemporary sounds.