The 16th edition of Nepal’s first and only jazz festival Surya Nepal Jazzmandu 2018 began on 1 November with a free concert for school children at Alliance Française, Jhamsikhel. The rhythm and instruments may have been unfamiliar, but the students enjoyed the lively music, dancing to the beat – proving jazz is indeed universal.
They sang along and whistled to international music, from Brazilian beats to European melodies, as musicians interacted with them. The day ended with a performance by Cadenza, the group which first brought Jazzmandu to Nepal, at their home base Jazz Upstairs.