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Home > Lifestyle News > Culture News > Article > Watch Abhinav Khokhar cast a spell with stringed instrument at a Jazz gig tonight

Watch Abhinav Khokhar cast a spell with stringed instrument at a Jazz gig tonight

Updated on: 02 May,2017 04:37 PM IST  | 
Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya |

Double bass player Abhinav Khokhar shares trivia about his unique instrument ahead of a gig

Watch Abhinav Khokhar cast a spell with stringed instrument at a Jazz gig tonight


The musician learnt to play the oldest stringed instrument in orchestra history at a music institute in New Delhi. He is now a regular at Jazz concerts in Mumbai


A double bass or an upright bass is one of the oldest and lowest-pitched stringed instruments in orchestra history. Standing at 180 cm from the scroll to the endpin, the huge instrument is played with a bow. Abhinav Khokhar, who shifted from an electric bass to an upright bass, is one of the few upright bass players in the country. Watch him cast a spell with the instrument at a Jazz gig tonight.


The Delhi-born Mumbai-based 26-year-old’s ear for Jazz led him to the instrument. "Upright sound is hard to replicate if you hear those old Jazz recordings. I struggled to get it right on an electric bass. Then, I spotted a double bass at Global Music Institute (GMI) in New Delhi. I plucked a few notes and found the tone I was looking for," shares Khokhar, who signed up for a six-month course at the institute.


"The faculty flew down experts from Berklee College of Music (Boston) and music conservatories across Europe," recalls Khokhar, who borrowed the instrument from Gautam Kaul, who used to play with the Delhi Symphony orchestra in the late ’80s. "Later, a friend bought me one from the US," he says.

What about the logistics involved? "The one I own can be folded. But, it is tricky to carry in public transport. It is fragile. So, if something goes wrong, I have to wait for two months to have it repaired," he says.

At the gig, he will play a set of originals and Pop covers in Jazz style. Amandeep Singh (guitars and vocals), Anurag Naidu (keys) and Aron Nyiro (drums) will join him. "We will cover songs by Corinne Bailey Rae, Thundercat and Anderson Paak," says Khokhar, who accompanied Ustad Zakir Hussain at a musical event last year. "Zakir ji gave me recordings of banjoist Bela Fleck and upright player Edger Meyer, so that I could improve my style. He had worked on an album (The Melody of Rhythm) with them."

Time 9 pm
At The Little Door, Shree Siddhivinayak Plaza, Andheri (W).
Call 39659462
Free

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