Born in Calcutta, Louiz Banks has been at the forefront of India's jazz scene since the 1970s. Coming from a long line of musicians, Louiz was named after Louis Armstrong by his father, a trumpeter. At 13, young Banks was playing trumpet in his father's band, but switched to piano after hearing Oscar Peterson. In 1971, the pianist formed the Louiz Banks Brotherhood, featuring jazz singer Pam Crain and saxophonist Braz Gonsalves. Inspired by Herbie Hancock, the versatile pianist switched to electronic keyboards in 1984 and became a prolific jingle composer for Indian commercials. With a wealth of Bollywood soundtracks, jingles and compositions behind him, Bank's latest project is 2008's Miles from India, an album of Indian-inspired covers of Miles Davis pieces.