17th November, 2024
20th February, 2021‘Louiz Banks - A Symphony of Love’, a biographical account of the ubiquitous pioneer of Indian Jazz Movement, Louiz Banks was released in Mumbai recently on the occasion of his 80th birthday in the presence of celebrities from Indian music world including Shankar Mahadevan, Fazal Qureshi, Rakesh Chaurasia, Bharat Dhabolkar, Gino and Neil Banks, Lorraine Banks, Ojas Adiya, Nayaab Udhas among many others were present on the occasion.
The book is an account where people close to Louis Banks have shared their views on how they have unanimously hailed him to be the Godfather of Indian Jazz and one of the Pioneers in Fusion Music in India. The book also shows how the maestro stood out from others and how the octogenarian legend is still making a great legacy for the posterity to carry. Some of the great names who have enriched the book with their accounts are Ustad Zakir Hussain, Drums ShivaMani, Shankar Mahadevan, Piyush Pandey, Ranjit Barot, Alyque Padamsee, Prahlad Kakkar, Braz Gonzalves, Nildari Kumar, Kailash Surendranath, Bharat Dabholkar, Usha Uthup among others.
‘Louiz Banks - A Symphony of Love’ is not only the biographical account on the life and exhilarating journey of the great man who excelled in jazz and works of the great Jazz Legend of our country, but also the first book on him.
The ubiquitous pioneer of Indian Jazz Movement, Louiz Banks started his career as the leader of a music band in Darjeeling right at his teens. Inspired by the ideals and jazz lessons imparted by his father George Banks, one of the country’s best trumpet players of the then India, Louiz learnt and mastered the subtle nuances of jazz. He grew up in a country where advanced harmonic concept was an alien domain and hence his contribution to Indian music has been phenomenal.
His name as the jazz band leader spread when he led one of the most famous Indian jazz bands of all time Louiz Banks Brotherhood in Park St. Calcutta in the early 70s. From there till the present day, he has been like a Paladin in the Jazz Movement, a lone man’s unwavering endeavor in bringing India to the jazz map of the world.
Louiz has been instrumental in composing music for over 50 Hindi Films, Indo-Jazz Fusion, over 50 Stage Musicals and Theatres, Indi-Pop Music, Music of Anthems, documentaries, over 15,000 Ad Jingles, TV Serial Title Music, Doordarshan’s English News Signature Tune and also been the man man behind composing, arranging and producing 2 iconic Anthems - Mile Sur MeraTumhara and Spread The Light Of Freedom.
He has also composed many iconic AD Jingles such as Cadbury’s Kya Swaad Hai, Hamara Bajaj, Britannia’s Ting TingTi Ting among thousand others. The biography has been authored by Ashis Ghatak who put in four years in research for it. It is published by Rupa Publication.
Some of the quotes from the book need special mention here:
