If you have been in the know about Chennai’s music scene in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, it is likely that you might have noticed a rise in the number of venues featuring jazz acts. While clubs and consulates have off-hand performances, two venues — Vinyl and Brew and Hyatt Regency — have supported musicians both from India and abroad, to ensure that the city gets its fair share of the groove.
AlterNation, a musical partnership and social enterprise, founded by four friends-musicians-volunteers, has been an essential part of this exercise. Since their formation in September 2024, they have put on 11 shows, says Vivek Ayer, one of the members. On January 31, AlterNation will host its first jazz festival at Zol Gardens at Palomar in ECR. The show prides itself on platforming artistes from the city playing original music, including the band Jatayu and Many Things.
For about three years now, Maarten Visser, a pioneer in the Chennai jazz scene, has been mentoring and training the Tuesday Jazzers, a collective of around 30 musicians from the city, who have been trying to find their individual voices. This ensemble will open the festival performing three sets of well loved, classic American jazz music. “Musicians from the Tuesday Jazzers have gone on to form bands of their own and will soon be performing in festivals across the country,” Vivek adds.
Many Things, a jazz band from Chennai
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Special Arrangement
One such is the Gautam Menon Quartet. “I began jamming with the Tuesday Jazzers in 2022 when I moved to Chennai but life got in the way. In 2025, I took a chance and went to the same venue only to find that there is a lot more people here now. After meeting three other musicians and penning down original music, the quartet emerged. We learn from each other and that is exciting. I am kicked to perform at the festival this year. We have also gotten enquiries to perform in Bengaluru soon,” says Gautam Menon, an edupreneur and a jazz drummer.
An act to look forward to is Many Things comprising Maarten Visser, Aravind Murali and Manukrishnan, who rely on improvisation, combining jazz, rock, classical and funk. The trio usually take listeners down a trip of eclectic, mesmerising music.
“Until recently, most shows at Vinyl and Brew have been listening sessions. This is because we want people to focus exclusively on the act unlike in venues where jazz is in the background,” Vivek says.
He adds that the popular band Jatayu, a genre-blurring four-piece band from Chennai, has performed in several locations other than their home city over the last few years. The festival will be a homecoming for the band, where they will perform ragas with contemporary sonic design, blending Carnatic music, jazz and rock. “Playing at the AlterNation Jazz Festival feels important to us because it’s happening at home, in Chennai. It’s refreshing to see a platform like this emerge in the city, and we want to support festivals that invest in jazz, original music and local voices. We’re excited to present songs from our new EP and to perform with a horn section in Chennai for the first time,” says Sahib Singh, guitarist and band leader of Jatayu in a press release.
Suman Sridhar
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Special Arrangement
Suman Sridhar, a singer and award-winning artiste from Mumbai is the only invited act from another city. She will be playing with her band Black Mamba, fusing jazz, pop, Indian classical, opera, and spoken word in her performances.
Besides this, Vivek says that they are trying to incorporate jazz paintings, with live visual composition composed on the fly, by Chennai-based new media art duo, Television Dust.
“We want people to know that jazz is for everyone and not something that is performed at clubs. Music from Chennai has many similarities with this style of music. It is improvisational and based on pulse. Several people have been part of the pre-show jam sessions at spots like Brod Bakery and Kat and Kin on ECR. Our last pre-show performance is at Vinyl and Brew on January 25 which is free and open to all,” he says.
The first edition of the AlterNation Jazz Festival is on January 31 at Zol Garden, The Palomar, ECR starting 3pm. Tickets for the event are priced between ₹750 and ₹1,500 and are available on Skillboxes.com
