Let’s hear it for Joe

Joe Vessoaker

Mumbai's air is filled with honking cars, and relentless clanking from construction work. But if you slow down during the work-home commute, the city will offer you a different tune. Walk by Bazaar Road in Bandra late in the morning or evening and you'll hear trumpets sound. One trumpet, actually. It's Joe, or Joseph Vessoaker. "I'm a self-taught musician, teacher, and bandleader. I've played with well-known musicians and the Bombay Chamber Orchestra. But I always consider myself a street player," Joe, 72, introduces himself.

Vessoaker in his youth

The Bandra icon practises the trumpet in his gully for four hours a day. The residents around know him; he'll play their favourite songs if he sees them. Joe's got stories to tell about the streets and people he grew up with, including fishing with his father and learning to play the clarinet, trumpet and whatever he fancied from "the box of instruments", and being known as the local funeral musician. If you've got an ear and walking shoes, join him on his musical walk called Jazz with Joe organised by Hallu Hallu.

Participants will pass through Waroda Road. Pic/Aslam Saiyad

In the manner of a bandleader, he will take participants of the walk through the narrow lanes surrounding Bazaar Road that house his personal and collective memories as an East Indian resident. You'll get a glimpse of the Bandra of the 1960s, '70s and '80s, the history of its landscape, and the culture of its residents. The walk will begin outside Joe's house, and end with chai and fugias. "We want to voice people's narratives that are connected with Mumbai and are part of its ecosystem. These stories are disappearing amidst urbanisation," says co-founder Aslam Saiyad. "People who live in a neighbourhood are the best voices to reveal the secrets of their place to the rest of us," adds Gopal MS, co-founder of Hallu Hallu.

Recalling old memories is like playing songs you almost forgot about. Joe's memories come with songs like Maria pitache, Gulabi aankhen, Hello Dolly, When the saints go marching in and Autumn leaves, as well as other Marathi, Hindi and jazz numbers. He'll play them for you along the walk because as Saiyad says, "Joe's a rockstar."

On: March 6, 8 am to 10 am
Starting point: Bazaar Road, opposite National Bakery, Bandra West
Log on to: @gohalluhallu on Instagram
Cost: Rs 799