Reviving the guru-shishya tradition, Rolex style

Swiss luxury watch maker’s Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative for 2018-19 brings together Ustad Zakir Hussain and young American jazz drummer Marcus Gilmore.

- Sunil Sampat

Musicians, particularly those playing jazz, are said to tell stories through the music they play. Their improvised solos and interpretation of existing music (as in standards) give them this scope. It is natural that they constantly seek a greater musical vocabulary to express themselves even better. A mentoring programme with more experienced musicians, even from other genres, would logically have the effect of widening their musical horizons and vocabulary. Luxury watch maker Rolex has been attempting to bring about this with their Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, an international philanthropic programme that seeks talented young artists around the world and pairs them with recognised masters for a period of creative collaboration in a one-on-one mentoring relationship, with the aim of perpetuating the world’s artistic heritage.