Culture

Young jazz musicians revive a golden chapter of jazz history at Cardiff restaurant

29 Sep 2026 3 minute read

Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama jazz musicians

Amelia Jones

A Cardiff restaurant has partnered with young jazz musicians as it puts them on a stage in the heart of city centre every week.

Chai St Indian Bistro, at 15 High Street beside Cardiff Castle, will launch Bombay Jazz on Thursday 8 October: a weekly residency in which jazz students from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama play two sets every Thursday evening from 7pm.

This arrangement is unusual as Chai St will pay the musicians a guaranteed fee for every performance, and diners are invited, via a QR code on each table, to contribute on top. Every penny collected goes directly to the players, and there is no ticket and no cover charge.

Talking about the project, Mel D’Souza, Director of Chai St, said: “We wanted to do two things at once. Give the city a reason to go out on a Thursday, and give young musicians what they actually need, which is a real audience, a regular slot and a proper fee.

“The College has been generous with its time and we’re delighted to be working with them.”

Dr Andrew Bain, Head of Jazz at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, said: “RWCMD Jazz are very happy to be providing musicians for this residency at Chai St. Live performance opportunities are what we are here for.

“An excellent room, superb music, and fantastic food – we very much look forward to seeing this relationship develop!”

The residency takes its name from Bombay’s jazz age of the 1930s to 1950s, when Goan musicians filled the ballrooms of the Taj Mahal Hotel and went on to shape the sound of Hindi cinema.

During this era, the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Bombay (now Mumbai) served as the epicenter for a unique musical subculture.

Goan musicians became the backbone of this movement. Goa, which was a Portuguese colony at the time, had a unique cultural landscape where musicians were trained in Western classical notation and church music from an early age.

When these young artists migrated to Bombay, they eagerly learned the art of improvisation and swing from the visiting American jazz masters.

Repertoire is left to the musicians, as they say the history will be the story the restaurant tells about the evening rather than the chosen set list.

Bombay Jazz will run every Thursday from 8 October, with the first two nights falling within Cardiff Music City Festival and the second, on 15 October, coinciding with Sŵn Festival three minutes away. Entry is free with a table.

The first block runs to 12 November, with a busy Christmas season to follow. You can find out more on the restaurant’ social media page here.

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