JAZZ Concert

By Atelier Mozar

IGCIC

28 February 2019

Good evening and welcome to all of you to this Jazz Concert by Atelier Mozar.

The High Commissioner Mr. Tanmaya Lal, who had suggested this initiative, very much wanted to be here this evening but regrets that he is not in a position to join us today. He has requested me to read out a brief message on his behalf which is as follows :

• Good evening all of you and a very warm welcome.
• May I begin by thanking the Mauritian Jazz Group atelier Mozar, who have accepted our invitation to perform here this evening at this Indian Cultural Centre.
• I understand that this group was founded by Jose Therese, a popular Mauritian artist more than 2 decades ago, as part of his initiative to fight the drug problem.
• Atelier Mozar has performed in renowned concert venues outside Mauritius, including in Cuba and Italy last year.
• Today we are proud to host 12 of their young artists here. They will be joined by 3 Indian artists and 2 other Mauritian artists in presenting some fusion items also.
• Jazz, as an art form, incorporates several influences including from Africa. It emphasizes improvisation and in that sense is very similar to Indian classical tradition.
• There is a long jazz tradition in India for instance in Mumbai, Bengaluru and other metropolises. Several early Bollywood songs reflected this influence clearly in their instrumentation and rhythm.
• As is well known, music knows no boundaries. Melody and rhythm connect us all. Our collective musical heritage enriches our lives daily and, on a larger scale, builds bridges and brings different communities together.
• It is in this spirit that we have taken this initiative to invite the popular Jazz group of Mauritius Atelier Mozar to perform this evening at this venue.
• We hope that this confluence of seemingly different and very sophisticated art forms rendered by artists from Mauritius and India will contribute and further strengthen the deep cultural links between the peoples of our two countries.
• I very much regret that I cannot be present here today. It is a great personal disappointment. But I have greatly enjoyed interacting with these wonderful artists a short while ago.
• We look forward to continuing our efforts to bring together different art forms and artists from India and Mauritius on a single platform.
• I wish everyone a wonderful evening of music and hope that you will enjoy this concert.

Thank you.