Saxophone Day: Discover why Mumbai's saxophonists are passionate about the wind instrument

When Ryan Sadri was studying at St Xavier's College in 2001, his mother had just started learning the saxophone from Mumbai's famed saxophonist Micky Correa, who played at the Taj Hotel in the mid-1940s. While she found it a little hard to learn at her age, Sadri got attracted to the instrument which was lying around in his house at the time. Even though Correa was already in his 90s by then, the Mumbaikar used to teach college-going Sadri regularly. "It was lying around in the house and I would see it or I would have never even thought about it or considered it. But Malhar had just happened and I loved the whole band culture. We were a nice group of friends who used to play basketball and then we thought, 'Let's start a band'. Everyone flipped a coin and picked an instrument." It's no surprise which one Sadri took to.

Every year, Saxophone Day is celebrated on November 6 on the birthday of Antoine-Joseph 'Adolphe' Sax, who invented the saxophone. Mumbai has had a rich history of music and saxophonists like Mickey Correa and Jazzy Joe, who have played at iconic venues like the Taj Mahal Hotel and Jazz By The Bay in South Mumbai. It has always showcased a unique side of the city's rich music culture and Sadri is only one of the many that have taken to the instrument over the years. In fact, a year after the Independence Rock music festival returned to the city, this writer witnessed not one but two acts that showcased music by Bengaluru-based saxophonist Gautam David for T.ill Apes, as well as fellow Mumbaikar Rhys Sebastian with Tough on Tobacco.

Falling in love with the Sax
Learning from the best, it didn't take long for Sadri to fall in love with the instrument only because of how much Correa inspired him. They not only formed a band called 'Something Relevant', but they also participated in Malhar, which is one of Mumbai's most iconic college festivals, as planned for the next year. The band went on to write their music, tour, and play together for 12 years and that was only the start of him playing the instrument, which he says is a meditative experience.

Sadri will be seen with his band at NH7 Weekender in Pune on December 1 with his band The Fanculos, a reggae project. Over the years, he had many different setups including RynoSax Quartet, where he plays the more traditional jazz music, and likes to keep it fresh - even making a modern setup where he turns into a DJ on stage, and accompanies it with the saxophone.

Interestingly, Sadri remembers when he came onto the scene in the mid-2000s, there were only a handful of people who used to play the instrument. "There was Jazzy Joe who used to play at Jazz By The Bay. Rhys was still learning the clarinet back then. There was a guy, Nakul who used to play the sax, then there was Dr Farhad who used to play it." So, he was one of three or four people popular playing the instrument in the city but that has changed over the years with Rhys Sebastian also entering the scene.

From clarinet to saxophone
Sebastian may have started with the clarinet at 13 but once he moved to the saxophone, the Mumbaikar hasn't looked back. At the time, he was learning the wind instrument from Joe Pereira, popularly known as Jazzy Joe, who suggested that he pick up the sax, as it was a general progression in wind instruments. He explains, "I was 17 when this happened and in college making new friends in music bands that played rock and pop. And the sax managed to cut through better than the clarinet and that's how it all started." It has been 18 years since but Sebastian says it only feels like yesterday.

Over the years, the Bandra resident has been a part of many collaborations and even started the Bombay Brass Band, which you have heard of if you attend gigs and concerts in the city. The formation of the band is a tribute to Mumbai in more ways than one. "Big brass bands have been a huge part of this city's musical history and heritage, I want to bring that back. I believe our audience plays a big part in all our shows, I would like to think they are the vocalists of this band," explains the 35-year-old musical director and producer.

The popularity of the sax
When one plays the saxophone in Mumbai and is part of the Bombay Brass Band, what is the kind of response he gets? "From where we stand on stage, I think it has been promising and I would strive for the same kind of engagement even if I was part of a band that had one sax. Because, we depend on an excellent rhythm section of drums, percussion, bass, and guitar to fully engage an audience. So I would like to believe that as a brass section, we can probably add a little more value not just on stage, but to your evening," adds the musician, who is also the band leader of Mikey McCleary's band The Bartender.

With Sadri and Sebastian being an active part of the scene, they have seen it grow in many ways over the years. Such is the evolution that 39-year-old Sadri says he has seen the interest in the saxophone blossom in the last five years. "I have seen IB (International Board) schools introduce it in their curriculum, and that is what it is all about. The moment you introduce it at the grassroots level, there is more interest."

At the same time, the Colaba resident admits that the instrument isn't among the most popular ones. Sadri believes it is because the culture around it doesn't exist and you can't even blame people. He explains, "Most people even call it a trumpet till now. They don't even know what it is called but it is okay because you can't blame them. After all, they haven't grown up with it and it's not part of their culture. Even in Mumbai, it used to be part of the culture but not anymore. However, that will change as more people take up the instrument, as many people travel."

It is also evident in the fact that whenever he takes to the stage, the music is received very nicely in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi too.
Sadri also attributes it to venues like Blue Frog, The Quarter in the past, the latter of which has been replaced with The Hotel, and even Bluebop Cafe in Bandra.

Sebastian believes there is more to it. While most people may want to learn the guitar or drums because it being more popular than other instruments, Sebastian says YouTube and the internet have been great tools for exposure to other instruments and it is no different when it comes to the saxophone, and locally Furtados has also given musicians a platform for aspiring musicians.

In all these years that he has been an active full-time musician, the Mumbaikar says he feels the instrument is often typecast as a jazz instrument, and that is a misconception. He explains, "It is versatile and can be used in other genres of music like rock, pop, and even metal." A fact that was evident when the musician, who loves the baritone saxophone, took to the stage with Tough on Tobacco last night to bring a mix of different genres, along with the classic Mumbai music that is hard to miss.

From Bollywood to Mumbai
It's this versatility that drew Harsh Bhavsar to Mumbai. All of 19 years old, the Ahmedabad resident moved to Mumbai four years, three years after he fell in the saxophone randomly at a family function where he heard a performer play a Bollywood song on the wind instrument. He shares, "My dad is a math teacher and there was a wedding in their teacher's circle. While I was busy with my friends and my dad with his friends at the function, a performer played the saxophone and when I heard it, I immediately said 'I have to learn how to play it'."

In Bhavsar's experience, Ahmedabad doesn't have enough saxophonists so it wasn't easy to find a teacher. That is when he turned to the internet and learned everything about the instrument online and started playing it regularly. Looking at the progress, his cousin told the family to post the videos online so that a lot more people could see the talent. Just like that, it was one such video where he played the song 'Kya Hua Tera Wada' that caught the eye of a Mumbai organiser Hemant Kumar Mahajan, who got in touch with him for Bollywood projects. He explains, "Over time I have played with Shankar Mahadevan, Sonu Nigam, Salim Suleiman, Hariharan, Ayushmann Khurana and Mika Singh too." Some of Bhavsar's most memorable experiences have been playing with Laxmikant-Pyarelal in 2019 in Pune, as a part of their orchestra with 111 musicians on stage. Another favourite is playing with Louis Banks, Gino Banks and Sheldon D'Silva for International Jazz Day in 2021.

Moving to Mumbai exposed Bhavsar to so much more than he ever expected. Even though he started by playing Bollywood songs on the saxophone, he wants to grow and that's why he is already soaking in every aspect of Mumbai's love for jazz music and the saxophone. Even when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, he was busy not with performances but learning. "I have been now taking formal classes for the last four years. While I started with Bollywood, during the Covid-19 pandemic, I started learning jazz, pop, western classical, Indian classical music and retro too," shares the teenager, who is enjoying every moment.

It is also the reason why he believes that the saxophone is such an instrument that can make people fall in love with not only English songs but also Bollywood and as long as people love the music, it will continue to become popular in the years to come. "People want something that is relatable and they will get attracted to that. In India, Bollywood works the most. If I play songs that people will understand, the instrument will automatically become more popular. Even today, if I play 'Gulaabi Aankhen', people will be attracted to it more than jazz," he concludes.