Taj Mahal Foxtrot

In 1935, A Violinist From Minnesota Named Leon Abbey Brought The First All Negro Jazz Band To Bombay, Leaving Behind A Legacy That Would Last Three Decades. In A Decade, Swing Found Its Way Onto The Streets Of India. It Influenced Hindi Film Music: The Very Soundtrack Of Indian Life. The Optimism Of Jazz Became An Important Element In The Tunes That Echoed The Hopes Of Newly Independent India. This Book Tells A Story Of India, Especially Of The City Of Bombay, Through The Lives Of A Menagerie Of Geniuses, Strivers, And Eccentrics, Both Indian And American, Who Helped Jazz Find A Home In The Sweaty Subcontinent. They Include The Burly African-American Pianist Teddy Weatherford; The Goan Trumpet Player Frank Fernand, Whose Epiphanic Encounter With Mahatma Gandhi Drove Him To Try To Give Jazz An Indian Voice; Chic Chocolate, Who Was Known As The Louis Armstrong Of India; Anthony Gonsalves, Who Lent His Name To One Of The Most Popular Bollywood Tunes Ever; And Many More. Taj Mahal Foxtrot, At Its Heart, Is A History Of Bombay In Swing Time.