Sandeep Chowta brings Brett Garsed, Virgil Donati to Mumbai

MUMBAI: Musicians and music enthusiasts across Mumbai came to watch Australian guitarist Brett Garsed and ace drummer Virgil Donati perform on Friday evening. The performance-cum-workshop featuring Garsed and Donati was organized by Brijesh Bhargava of Bhargava Musik and composer Sandeep Chowta.

"One of the main reasons for conducting this performance-cum-workshop session is to encourage and introduce amateur musicians to a new level of musicianship" says Sandeep Chowta, who also heads Columbia Records, India.

Brijesh Bhargava, who is also a musician, says, "Our family has been a part of the music industry for 54 years, and after being around for such a long time, we thought its pay back time."

Bhargava added, "Though the event has helped promote our brand, we are not looking at this as a business." A major chunk of the audience at the event comprised musicians which included both professionals and amateurs. Also present at the event was singer and guitarist Bhupinder Singh.

The event lasted an hour, during which the duo played songs from their album 'Planet Quantum X'. After the first session, both Brett and Virgil gave tips and answered queries from curious drummers and guitarists in the audience. The duo shared tips and techniques which would help aspiring musicians improve their playing abilities.

Besides this, both Brett and Virgil tickled the audience by taking some friendly pot-shots at each other.A self taught guitarist, Brett Garsed is known for his unique ability to play legatos and the use of hybrid picking technique, whereas Virgil is known for his fast and highly technical drumming skills. Donati is currently playing in the band Planet X and in the past has performed with musicians like Steve Vai.

Chowta said that organising such event was often marred by hitches. "We had to postpone the Bangalore gig as we were not granted permissions for live performances, the sponsors backed out, and I hired the venue at my own cost - to ensure that everything goes smoothly, I have kept my film assignments on hold for some time," said Chowta.

Last time, it was Frank Gambale and Maurizio Colonna and now, with Brett Garsed and Virgil Donati, Chowta has taken it a step further, getting concerts and workshops to Indian cities, to expose talented musicians of India to their favorite musicians and encourage them.

After Mumbai, the Brett and Virgil duo will be performing in Delhi.

Text by - Chirag Sutar
Photos by - Mitesh Bhuvad