Smooth Flights of Jazz

Had a nice relaxed Sunday after a crazy hectic week at work - the pace is rapid especially at the end of a month and the beginning of a new one. What made the past week even more chaotic was the need to fly to Delhi on official business right in the middle of the week. 

I'm not a frequent traveler... but this flight took me back in time. While it brought to mind the many trips I've made around the world, it took me on a musical journey. As I settled down in my aisle seat, the music that filled the air was soft, pleasant and relaxing - exactly what you would expect from Smooth Jazz

Hyde Park (Jeff Kashiwa) - that sound makes up the background sound of a video I compiled of the day I spent exploring New York City including the Rockafeller centre and the visit to the Observation Deck at the Empire State Building 2008 on One Summer Day (Ken Navarro). 

While it was around this time that I was attracted to this wonderful genre of music, I think the earliest influence of Smooth Jazz to be touched me was back in the studios of All India Radio, where a guest DJ (or RJ) on YuvVani - the bi-weekly youth show played Morning Dance (Spyro Gyra).

The guest DJ was a senior of mine from college, back in the day when we had only three main stream to pursue - Commerce, Arts and Science (within which Engineering and Medicine were the most aspirational). Things are different today with lots more options to choose from. In fact, just last week, NMIMS (the B-school I studied in and currently serve as a guest faculty) launched the NMIMS School of Performing Arts.

This is the first ever venture in India towards a degree in Music, is what I understand. But there's the whole wide world of talent out there for talented musicians to Rise (Herb Alpert).

While we'll have to wait and see for what the future holds, I'm looking back once again. Just the couple of weeks ago, when I reminisced about about completing 30 years since my first ever show on All India Radio in my post - My Radio Days (and Nights): Remembering Saturday Date. In fact was well pleased that this post registered well over 700 Pageviews... Thanks to all... it Feels So Good (Chuck Mangione).

With trust you enjoyed the music on this post, here's one of my favorite tunes in Smooth Jazz - Take Five (Dave Brubeck).

I was inspired to write this post by the music I heard on the flight I was travelling in. Talking about flights, a week ago a TAP Air Portugal flight from Amsterdam to Lisbon made an emergy landing at Porto. The delay prompted Ray Chen to pull out his Stradivarius violin and entertain his fellow travellers. Check this out.

Keeping Olympic Time

The world is back in Brazil - this time for the Olympics that kicked off over the weekend. Was reading an interesting article on Olympic Humour this morning written by a sports-writer and cartoonist friend, Austin Coutinho

Over the years the Olympics have inspired a good lot of motivational songs encouraging effort to maximize one's potential and give it your best. The first Olympics Opening Ceremony I remember watching on TV was the 1984 Los Angeles Games when we woke up at 4.30 am. And the song I remember from that elaborate Opening Ceremony is "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand) which I believe was performed by Olivia Newton-John. I can't seem to get a hold on this one, but have the link to the Diana Ross version instead. 

Four years later (1988) in Seoul, the whole world was Hand in Hand with Koreana.

Part of the 1988 Olympic music was Whitney Houston's award winning single One Moment In Time. I've played accompaniment for this song on the keyboard as well as the guitar on many many occasions for my sister and others as well for various performances and competitions.

Atlanta in 1996 carried forward the same theme with Gloria Estefan's Reach 

Keeping with aspirational theme, Olivia Newton-John performed with John Farnham at the 2000 Sydney Olympics urging us on to Dare To Dream.

Back to the present time, the songs for 2016 Rio Olympics is a samba-rap fusion by Thiaguinho and Projota titled Alma e Coração" (Soul and Heart).

And the English song on that list is Rise from Katy Perry

So let's rise to every opportunity that comes our way and support the spirit of Sport. Enjoy the Olympics. Despite all the controversies that may surround this one, I trust there will be some exceptional performances and records to make this one memorable.