Fauzia Maria Beg an accomplished singer of Indian origin who is based in Germany, has been singing Brazilian songs with her ten piece German band for the last fifteen years. Brazilians who have seen her perform find it hard to believe that she is of Indian origin. Fauzia has captured the essence of Brazilian music and made it her own simply because it was a form of music she enjoyed performing the most. Her articulate pronunciation, rhythmic scatting and exuberant stage presence has won her accolades from Latin jazz connoisseurs around the world. Goa could not have had a more appropriate act to open the first day of carnival celebrations in this music loving state.
Jazz Junction formed by bass player Colin DCruz in the year 2004 has featured some of the worlds most accomplished singers and soloists over the years and Fauzia will definitely rate among the best that the band has showcased so far. She fitted in naturally with a tightly knit local rhythm section that included Xavier Peres on keyboards and Lester Godinho on drums. Russian saxophone virtuoso Iliya Matveev has language constraints when communicating with the musicians he works with in Goa but once he blows into horn all language barriers fall apart to make room for some brilliantly soulful sounds of a universal language. German bass player Andreas Renz who took over from Colin in the second set once again settled the fact that music is indeed a universal language and it's nothing unusual for a German to be found playing Brazilian music with Russian and Indian musicians in far away Goa.
Goa is known for it's Latin roots and the audience that night were entertained with the real thing that could easily have been a local live performance in Rio de Janeiro. Fauzia's stage presence has to be seen to be believed her body language kept saying 'come on people let's party' and that's exactly what happened towards the end of the show when almost everyone in the audience were up on their feet and swaying along with an artist who knew exactly what show business is all about.'