Kolkata’s love for jazz music goes back almost a century. The city has also been hosting an annual jazz festival since 2002 that’s witnessed artists from India and abroad perform. And now, we have more reason to rejoice as the city has finally got a dedicated jazz club that pays tribute to our long-standing love affair with the genre.
Skinny Mo’s Jazz Club is located in an old, now restored, Art Deco building on Manohar Pukur Road. Designed by owner and jazz enthusiast Munir Mohanty, Skinny Mo's is done up with brick walls, a velvet bar and short chairs. There’s also a stage in front for performances as well as a huge skylight in the ceiling that lets in natural light during the day. Head to the indoor balcony for a clear view of the stage.
The club is just a concert venue for now because their alcohol license still hasn’t come through. Until that doesn’t happen, Skinny Mo’s will have concerts every fortnight. So, expect kickass artists and bands like Bodhisattwa Trio, Amyt Dutta and Maarten Visser to name a few. Kendraka, a city-based jazz band, already performed on the opening night. They also want to provide a platform to local artistes to showcase their music while bringing in talents from outside the city (Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru) and eventually abroad (South-East Asia) to perform at Skinny Mo’s. Like the name suggests, the club will play only jazz music but they plan to host Jamsteady nights (featuring hip-hop, electronic, rock, pop, blues or any genre except jazz) every Wednesday once the license comes through. The space is open for musicians to come and express themselves, says Nishit Arora, the curator of the space.