Introducing: The Bollywood Jazz Band

Musical worlds collide in joyful jazz fusion combo…

YOUR NAME: Supriya Nagarajan.
BAND NAME: The Bollywood Jazz Band.
WHAT DO YOU DO/PLAY? I am a Carnatic vocalist and part of a band that is best described as a joyous collision of styles! Virtuoso jazz musicianship meets the technicolour drama of Bollywood for a journey through cinematic sound.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TOGETHER AS A BAND/PLAYING MUSIC? Two years.

GIVE US 3 REASONS WHY WE SHOULD TRACK DOWN, LISTEN AND DISCOVER YOUR MUSIC?
We are exciting, we are different, we are new.

WHERE DO YOU SOUND BEST – FESTIVAL, CLUB, BEDROOM – OR SOMEWHERE ELSE?
Of course, we enjoy performing in all sorts of settings, but I would say that during our first tour we sounded better in a club.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST RECORD…
The first piece of music I ever purchased was by ABBA, which was on cassette tape. Back in India, my friends and I used to dance and sing to ‘Dancing Queen’.

SO, WHEN IT ALL GOES RIGHT AND YOU’VE GOT A MANSION AND A SUPERMODEL GIRL/BOYFRIEND, WHAT WILL BE YOUR BIGGEST MUSICAL INDULGENCE?
My only real musical indulgence would be to record with a big record label and release an album under their name.

SO, WHEN IT ALL GOES WRONG AND YOU’VE ACRIMONIOUSLY BROKEN UP CITING HUGE MUSICAL DIFFERENCES, WHAT DO YOU FALL BACK ON?
A couple of the band members have PHDs, so they would go back to working in the university. But I can’t imagine what Matt would do because he’s worked in music for such a long time, and I can’t picture him doing anything else. I suppose he’d probably go back to teaching music. I would probably open a café.

PLEASE CITE SOME INTER-BAND MUSICAL DIFFERENCES…
We all bring our own thing to the table and the nature of the music we perform means that all weird and wonderful ideas can be worked into the finished item, without too many fall-outs, disagreements or compromises.

WHO ARE YORKSHIRE’S FINEST IN CULTURE, SPORT AND MUSIC?
Yorkshire’s finest in terms of culture is the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and I have always been a follower of cricket, so people like Geoffrey Boycott have to be high up the list for sport. Musically, there are some great venues across Yorkshire, but I have seen some great multi-cultural gigs.

NAME YOUR SUPERGROUP – WHO’S PLAYING WHAT AND WHO’S ON VOCALS?
My dream would be to work with someone like Bjork and her band. Together we could create a truly experimental Bollywood Jazz project.

GO READ THIS BOOK: The Handmaids Tale.
GREAT LOST BAND/ARTIST: Imogen Heap.
WOULDN’T BE CAUGHT DEAD SUPPORTING: We could truly go on stage with anybody, honest!
LONDON, L.A OR LEEDS?: Leeds.

AND FINALLY… AS YOU LEAVE THE STAGE, WHAT ARE YOUR PARTING WORDS?
Namaste.

For more info visit: bollywoodjazz.band