Saturday, November 23, 2002
Z E R O I N G  I N  O N . . .


The king of bhangra pop
Dharam Pal

Jazzy BAFTER the super duper success of Oh Kehri, Jazzy B (Jaswinder Singh Bains), the king of bhangra pop, is back with yet another winner Tera Roop, an album of nine scintillating tracks, which have captured the magic and music of Punjab as well as used western beats, to send everyone’s hearts throbbing and feet dancing.

Born in Punjab and raised in Canada, Jazzy B has introduced fresh elements into the traditional bhangra music. Now based in London, this pop star is as popular with the Indian community in Canada, Great Britain, and North America as he is with Punjabi pop crazy in India. Jazzy B burst into the music scene with his innovative presentation at a time when bhangra got no more adventurous than sequins on a turban. Since his debut album Ghugian Da Jora in 1994, Jazzy has become one of the most important names in the Punjabi music world today. Since he has been giving performances around the world, he has set up base in Canada, the UK and India to appease his ever-growing number of fans. Besides music, Jazzy is passionate about gold jewellery, which he likes to wear.

 


The last two years have seen Jazzy B release powerful and thought- provoking music, even as he continues to bring out breezy dance numbers. Along with music director Sukhshinder Shinda, he has experimented with the music of Tera Roop, which was released shortly. This new album has been formulated in the UK with Indian aroma wafting through it. The lyrics have been penned by Satinder Kala, Pinda Dhaliwal, Sukh Thandi and Jandu Litranwala.

Jazzy B says, "My motto in life is to give people their money’s worth. Initially, my appearance made people wary of me, but slowly I had the same people buying my albums. Today the scenario has totally changed and my fans will not think twice before placing me in the same league as my major influences — Sukhshinder Shinda and Kuldip Manak, the big names in music industry. Explains Jazzy with a smile, Tera Roop is yet another album of mine with Sukhshinder Shinda. The video of the title track Tera Roop, which has already become popular, has been shot by Kookie Gulati in India and South Africa.

Jazzy B believes that Indians are large-hearted and generous enough to accept anything that is genuine. He has toiled hard on Tera Roop, and he now awaits the verdict of his fans.