Louis Banks

Trivia

• He’s got two projects in the running for Grammys, but that doesn’t mean that Louiz Banks is resting on his laurels. The musical journeyman still has miles to go, and still loves every note
• His name is synonymous with jazz. In fact, a poster on a softboard near his studio or “den”, as he calls it, at his Santacruz home, has written on it — The Godfather of Jazz. That’s indisputable.
• From leading the hottest jazz band in the Calcutta of the 70s, and through a life in which he played music for Bollywood, composed ad jingles, wrote his own music and embraced fusion, Louiz Banks never lost touch with jazz.
• His career is an extraordinary musical journey that originated in Calcutta, and moved seamlessly to Darjeeling — where he was a class teacher, as well as music master — and then on to Nepal where he headed jazz bands, and Bollywood. These were all “turning points” that Banks is sure were “pre-ordained”.
• But how did Louiz Banks, whose school certificate features his original Nepalese name - Damber Bahadur Budhapriti - play such a prodigious amount of music?
• That’s perhaps because Louiz followed his heart. And early on, he was never a follower. His musical genes helped — like his father, he played trumpet and piano (his great-grandfather composed Nepal’s national anthem). His fertile home environment nurtured what was clearly to be an extraordinary talent.
• Banks began to learn music at four. By 10, he’d entertain his mother’s friends: “Come, come, come, play the piano for us,” they’d say. In his teens, the Banks pere et fils played in a Darjeeling band, largely dance music for the swish tea garden set.
• Then one day, his father gave him a record of Oscar Peterson, the jazz pianist. It was to have a lasting effect on young Louiz. From that day, he now recalls telling his father, “I want to play jazz”.
• From there to Nepal, and back to Calcutta, Banks fashioned a career in jazz music, wisely taking all the chances that came his way.
• The most momentous of those, Banks now says, is when music director, RD Burman, heard him play at the Blue Fox nightclub in Calcutta. That night, he had an offer to play for Bollywood, but didn’t feel like taking it up. After all, film music was totally alien to him. Moreover, his life revolved around the city — his family, and his beloved band, the Louiz Banks Brotherhood.