Guitar gently weeps as Carlton Kitto falls silent

KOLKATA: Guitar guru Carlton Kitto, one of the finest practitioners of bebop this side of the Atlantic, passed away at his Alimuddin Street residence on Monday, aged 76. Not only was he an icon of Kolkata's once thriving Western music scene, responsible for making Park Street what it is, he was also an eminent teacher, counting several guitar greats as his students.
Born in Bangalore, he started his music career in Chennai in the1960s, before settling down in Kolkata in 1973.
In those heady days, he became a part of the band Jazz Ensemble, and played in Moulin Rouge which, in those days, was an “upscale“ restaurant. He also used to play at Mocambo.
During the latter part of his career -which coincided with a renaissance in the city's live music scene -he used to perform at restaurants and pubs like Chowringhee Bar, Trincas, Blue Fox and Someplace Else.
Ever the purist, Kitto never sought greener pastures. He never craved the glitter of tinsel town, or the money of the advertising world. He was happy performing in Kolkata and teaching at Calcutta School of Music. “I took up the guitar not as a profession, it was because of my love for jazz,“ he told an interviewer years ago.
He was among the most reclusive musicians of the count ry, said pianist and jazz maestro Louiz Banks. “He almost lived in a cocoon. I was forming a band in Mumbai in the1970s and invited him. But he turned it down saying he didn't want to leave Kolkata,“ he said.
In a career spanning more than 50 years, Kitto has performed with many greats, including Sonny Rollins, Clark Terry , David Leibman, Larry Coryell, Chico Freeman and Charlie Byrd. And, as a young musician in the late1960s, he jammed with Duke Ellington's band when the maestro had come to tour Chennai.The Duke was so impressed that he sent Kitto instruction materials and sheet music from Berkeley after he went back to the US.
Despite failing health, Kitto remained reasonably active till the end. “Of late, he's been in and out of hospitals and was confined to home for the last se veral months,“ said eldest daughter Treasure. “But he gave guitar lessons even on Sunday . This morning, he collapsed following respiratory failure.“
Singer Usha Uthup remembered him as a great teacher. “Almost every guitarist in the city has been his student at one point,“ she said. Guitarist Sumith Ramachandran said the same thing. Musician Amyt Datta, also one of Kitto's students, said: “He was a strict teacher, but we later became friends.“
Kitto is survived by wife Margaret and daughters Treasure, Blossom and Sapphire.There will be a memorial service at St Mary's Church, Ripon Street, at 2.30pm on Tuesday .CSM will screen the documentary `Finding Carlton' and organize a memorial concert.
“He was the last of his kind, a maestro,“ Ramachandran signed off.