Paris Jazz Trio Extraordinaire

“Goodnight guys!” and just like that, I walked away from the musician’s room at La Oasis hotel in Anjuna, Goa, feeling like the juvenile reporter, William Miller, in the movie ‘Almost Famous’. I had just been witness to the virtuosity of a dynamic trio, headed by Sharik (piano/keyboards), supported by Gael Petrina on the upright, double bass and of course, the wonderfully playful Thibault Perriard on the drums. Thibault hails from Paris, Gael from Equador (speaks French fluently) and Sharik, in fact, comes from Bangalore, although he did study in Paris as well, which is where he met the other two.

Make no mistake, there’s just three of them, and they’re only in their 20s… but they’ll put most rock/jazz musicians to shame! And if you’re a true music lover at heart, you’ll be struck by them just as I was, in the ONLY way that a plucked E string on a double bass hits you straight in the chest, leaving you gasping for breath and yet wanting more! In the three-hour span of experiencing this trio’s BRILLIANT performance, I was moved to the point that I just HAD to write all this down. The trio has just recently concluded an 8-city India tour, sponsored by Alliance Francaise and organized/coordinated by Armando (who is well known throughout Goa) and from what I’ve heard; they’ve had a blast at every gig here. Now, about the members…

Gael Petrina: Watching this dude play the double bass is an experience in itself, especially if you’re a bass guitarist yourself! He previously used to play the electric bass for a rock band but by the time he turned 17, his dad, who also happens to be a jazz musician, turned him onto Jazz. From that point, Gael took off on his own and there’s been no turning back. In his own words, “The way Jazz is different from playing Rock is that you have to not only know what you’re doing but you gotta also LISTEN to the others in the band.” I nod in agreement while silently ruminating on a lesson that most rock musicians don’t learn easily: anticipating what your band members are gonna play next and when needed, improvising your own notes and patterns along with them. He also stated (and I quote), “The thing about Jazz is that you get to feed off the energy of the others as well”. Holding his ground with a splendid wooden double bass, his repertoire on the instrument is amazing! Combining various playing styles, ranging from smooth walking bass lines to furious plucking and strumming, Gael would also resort to intermittent chords and wild octave jumps like I’ve never seen before. I can still see his mop of hair bobbing to the bass notes he thumps out, and then, suddenly jerking from side to side in unison to his own staccato notes… and at times, even seamlessly switching from plucking to bowing and then back again. Need I say more?

Now, about the drummer… besides the fact that Thibault offers some seriously delicious eye candy to the fairer sex in the audience, he also rolls out a whole lotta offbeat ear candy too, for those who care to listen. His style is so energizing and that he truly enjoys playing is very evident. For all the drummers reading this, believe me, this guy is a treat to watch… rich one-by-eighths and sixteenths on the high hat and cymbals accompanied by almost unpredictable offbeats. One thing i learned by observing Thibault is the way he interacts with the drum set. This guy treats it like a living instrument and he doesn’t just consider the drums to be fixed in their setup. He’d also tease out sounds, which most other drummers wouldn’t even have the creativity to try out. And with just one tom and snare, he beats out more drum notes than most rock drummers do. My favourite bit was when he’d emulate the sound of an echoing side snare tap. Awesome!

Sharik is a master on the piano and keyboards, and quite frankly, I don’t really consider myself to be qualified enough to comment on his playing style. As another reviewer put it, he’s quite proficient at “tickling the ivories”, so to speak. The only thing I can say is this: you have to watch him to believe it!

When I think about it now, coming across this trio in the midst of all the mayhem in Goa after Christmas was like discovering a mother lode of gold! And if you’re philosophically inclined, your eyes will open to the existence of the Ying-Yang within Jazz while you watch them jam together… the interplay of light and dark, or in this case, sound & silence, the soft vs. aggressive… and switching between them beautifully like instrumental poetry. You don’t have to be a jazz aficionado to appreciate what they have to offer… just listen with open ears. Overall, I consider myself lucky that I was invited to watch these guys play. It was like having a ringside view to Jazz heaven!

Photo credits: Stuart McLeod