Trove Of Tunes– Notes of Freedom, Echoes of Relevance

From the improvisational spirit of jazz to the multi-generational stage at Coachella, a reflection on freedom, identity, and the challenge to stay relevant.

Music has always been looked at as a messenger of peace, happiness and unity by practitioners, politicians, and the civil society at large. Commonly hailed as a universal language, music is a great source and showcase of improvisation. In this piece, I reflect upon the freedom to improvise, and owning the stage of relevance, through the lens of International Jazz Day celebrations and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival from earlier in the year. Read on!

All That Jazz

My first exposure to jazz was possibly on the radio, listening to Kenny G’s 1986 release Songbird, which was just instrumental music to me back then. The first jazz record I’d picked up was Charlie Parker with Strings in the early 2000s. Between Songbird and Bird (a.k.a. Charlie Parker), I went back 3 decades—from smooth jazz to bebop, from a memorable tune to free-flowing mischief, freedom, and reimagination of possibilities with music in every note. It’s difficult to cage jazz and the improvisation it breeds into a spectrum. I was reminded of this when I attended this year’s International Jazz Day celebrations in Bombay curated by Louiz Banks, which was also offered as a tribute to Ustad Zakir Hussain. The final piece ended with the artists fusing Indian Classical elements with individual solos, balancing predictability with finesse—just enough to keep the audience hooked.

I’d always looked at jazz as something that punches a global expression with a range of regional and local influences. It got me revisiting the chronology of jazz, tracing the origins and influences from different continents, countries and cultures. Starting with the coming together of African American, Latin American and European elements, shaping the 19^th century version of jazz, to evolving into a global phenomenon that became inclusive of multiple musical styles and interpretations over time. Artists like Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin to name a few, shaped the extension of the genre into what they called ‘jazz fusion’ in the 1960s and ’70s, but all that jazz is just jazz in my books. Jazz artists broke musical boundaries, became curious to learn and understand different playing styles, and created a space to collectively interpret music and shape something new. So, when I look back at the jam from the International Jazz Day celebrations, it had influences of Indian Hindustani and Carnatic music, fused with western jazz, it was a celebration of jazz in the way it’s evolved today.

‘Relevance’ is a currency

A few months ago, at the 2025 edition of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Brian May—the guitarist of the seventy’s rock band, Queen—took the stage with Benson Boone to perform Bohemian Rhapsody. There were a number of reactions online ranging from admiration and nostalgia, praise for Benson Boone taking on a Queen classic, and a lack of energy amongst the audience when Brian May took the stage. A 22-year-old Boone and a 77-year-old May performing for an audience averaging in the early twenties was always going to be a tough act—bridging the current popularity with yesteryear legends and nostalgia. Today, music festivals are no longer just about music and artists—it’s just social media fuelling social media. This opinion piece by Kamdyn Sargent sums up the current state very well, highlighting the trade-off between focusing on soundchecks and fuelling consumerism. The baseline ticket prices for Coachella have gone up 12x in the past 27 years—icing inflation with indulgence.

Brands continue to infuse themselves with the cultural exchanges, trying to be relevant with each swipe. In the backdrop of so many players buying space for relevance—artists and brands; the audience is struggling to pitch a tent. Everyone is experimenting as one should with evolving trends, which is what Boone and May did at the 2025 Coachella stage. One can hope for recognition and respect for a legendary artist from 5 decades ago, but expecting a reaction similar to a Lady Gaga set from Coachella 2025, or Queen's Live Aid set from 1985, is hoping for one swipe too many.

Listen In

‘All That Jazz’ – the introduction song of the 1975 musical, Chicago, performed by Chita Rivera. The song had nothing to do with bringing the English phrase ‘all that jazz’ into the mainstream.

I’m forever on the lookout for tunes old and new, You can check out my expanding Trove Of Tunes that I’m curating in a Spotify playlist.

Cheers,

Shri

A version of this piece featured on my LinkedIn Newsletter earlier in the year.