Song of the Day: Amancio D’Silva “Ganges”

Indian guitarist Amancio D’Silva fearlessly leads a progressive combo that digs deep in both the jazz and Indian music traditions. “Ganges” kicks off D’Silva‘s 1969 debut as a leader, entitled Integration. The track is a stylish “East meets West” melding of styles that allows each of the players ample space to really musically stretch out. While this is D’Silva‘s recording date and he kicks in some slinky solos, proceedings are really dominated by saxophonist Don Rendell who attacks the song like a man possessed. Also providing support are bassist Dave Green, drummer Trevor Tomkins and trumpeter Ian Carr. This combo were some of the leading lights of British jazz of the era and they collectively put in an able and often thrilling performance.

Amancio D’Silva was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India in 1936. He took an early interest in jazz music which he heard through imports to India, with American guitarists Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery of particular influence. By his early 20s he had formed his own jazz groups and was gigging throughout the Bombay’s jazz clubs. He married an Irish woman and eventually moved to England in 1967. In England he worked as a cleaner by day and gigged at nights, frequently working with Jamaican/ English saxophonist, Joe Harriott. D’Silva proved to be a skilled composer, writing many of the songs that would become the repertoire for Harriott‘s band. D’Silva recorded frequently as a sideman and (beginning with Integration in 1969) lead a number of his own dates throughout the late ’60s and early ’70s. He remained a fixture on the British jazz scene until a debilitating stroke ended his career in 1992. A subsequent stroke in 1996 sadly proved fatal.