There are concerts you attend. And then there are concerts that remind you why music continues to surprise you. On Friday, 21^st August, 2026, I was at the Quorum Club in Lower Parel which was hosting Dr Joe Alvares and a host of young Indian musicians.

I walked into this one knowing that some of the musicians were remarkably young. I wasn't quite prepared for just how good they would be.

At the heart of the evening was a remarkably young rhythm section: Noah Cerejo on drums, Shashank Das on bass, and 15-year-old Mantra Upadhyay on keys. Alongside them was Jarryd Rodrigues on saxophone, grandson of the legendary saxophonist Braz Gonsalves. And then there was 17 year old Mantra's sister, Swara Upadhyay, on violin. At the other end of the age spectrum was Dr Joe Alvarez, 73, the curator and leader of the show and also the oldest performer of the evening.

And somehow, the ages became irrelevant.

That is perhaps the greatest compliment one can pay a jazz musician.

The evening moved through standards and contemporary interpretations, beginning with songs such as But Not for Me and Take the A Train. Tea brought her interpretation to But Not for Me, while Jarryd Rodrigues produced some excellent saxophone solos. When he did, his tone and improvisation immediately caught my attention. It wasn't just technically accomplished; it had a unique character.

Then came At Last and I Am Walking, with 17 year old Swara's violin providing another reminder that age and musical maturity are not necessarily connected.

One of the most delightful moments was Cole Porter's I've Got You Under My Skin, sung by the oldest member of the band, Dr Joe Alvarez. A 73-year-old singer performing a classic Porter composition with a young ensemble that gave it a distinctly up-tempo, modern jazz treatment was a wonderful collision of generations.

And that, increasingly, seemed to be the story of the evening.

Zidaan Mulchandani, on piano and vocals and currently studying at Berklee, brought another dimension to the performance. Samshika Ganesan, also a Berklee student, sang two numbers, with echoes of powerhouse vocalists such as Whitney Houston in her approach. Sampriti, performing as SIMII, brought yet another musical personality to the stage, including her rendition of Nature Boy.

Then there was I'll Be Seeing You, a song that seemed almost prophetic by the end of the evening.

What struck me most was that this wasn't a children's concert, nor was it a showcase designed simply to demonstrate how talented young people can be.

It was jazz.

And jazz has a wonderful habit of levelling the playing field. It doesn't ask how old you are. It asks whether you can listen, respond, improvise, hold a groove, find your voice and communicate something to an audience.

A teenager can therefore share a stage with a 73-year-old singer. A 15-year-old keyboard player can anchor a rhythm section alongside musicians twice his age. A Berklee student can bring influences from another musical world. And a young saxophonist carrying the musical lineage of Braz Gonsalves can step forward, improvise and make you sit up and listen.

For an evening, none of the ages mattered.

Only the music did.

And perhaps there is something larger happening here.

Jazz may finally be coming of age in Mumbai.

Not merely because there are more musicians playing it, but because a new generation seems to be embracing the music with seriousness, curiosity and confidence. They aren't simply reproducing the standards handed down to them. They are finding their own voices within them.

Watching musicians this young play alongside performers from very different generations, I found myself wondering whether we were witnessing something more than a good concert.

Perhaps we were witnessing the next chapter of Mumbai's jazz story.

And if I'll Be Seeing You was the message of the evening, I certainly hope we will

By Prabhakar Mundkur

Mumbai based Prabhakar Mundkur played keyboards with rock band The Savages during the late 60s and early 70s. He is also a lifelong listener to jazz, with a particular interest in its great artists, recordings and the stories that surround them. He brings to his writing the perspective of an informed and passionate musician and listener, rather than that of a professional music critic – combining personal memory, curiosity and a lifelong love of the music.