The Jazz and Blues Festival Dhaka 2015 has been a landmark event for Bangladesh’s music scene. The three day long festival took place at the Army Museum in Dhaka from November 5-7. Organised by Blues Communication, the title sponsor for the event was Grameenphone, alongside a host of other sponsors.
The anticipation
The promoters showed true diligence when it came to selecting the artists. The line up made sense and if there was any doubt that was quickly dissolved as the show started. It became clear that the line up did not consist of random international acts tossed in together. The artists were chosen carefully to fit together and the end result has been an outstanding show that people will remember for a long time.
The ambiance
The venue and the arrangement at the show were exceptionally well done. The cool November weather made the experience even more pleasant. There were food and drinks stalls at the venue. And the amazing lighting and ambience was very welcoming and festive.
The music
The anticipation of seeing one of the most iconic and monumental jazz musicians of all time was really high, both among those who weren’t regular jazz listeners and the fans of this music.
“When I first heard about “Jazz and Blues Festival in Bangladesh”, I immediately decided to go there regardless of who was going to play,” said Akeeb Mohammad Islam, a jazz music aficionado and a guitar player from Dhaka.
“I thought it would be cool to come here and hang out with friends. I don’t really know much about jazz music to be honest,” said Nishita Alam, a masters Student who came with friends at the show.
“I had to be there because of John McLaughlin,” said Nabil Hossain, a long time McLaughlin fan and a musician.
The expectations
When the performance started it probably took everyone by surprise. The sound and the overall production were breathtaking.
Iqbal Asif Jewel, guitar player for the legendary Bangladeshi band Miles, said, “The whole production was just great.” Jewel, who is also an accomplished producer and recording engineer, thinks that the organisers did a fantastic job.
Swingin’ the Dhaka crowd
Imran Ahmed Quintet started off the first performance of the day with their neat performance. The crowd cheered and enjoyed throughout, despite a late start. Imran’s lead guitar was tasteful and sleek. “He played beautifully,” said Samir Hafiz, guitarist in the legendary band Warfaze and also in his original band Powersurge, a heavy metal band from Dhaka.
The soulful and virtuoso singing of Vasundhara Vidalur left the audience mesmerised. Vasundhara set the atmosphere for the jazzy excursion that was about to follow.
Vasundhara moved people with the melody of her masterful singing and beautiful tonality with the accompanying band being just as amazing.
However, the Shai Maestro Trio’s performance probably the one that exceeded all expectations. “I don’t have any words to describe Shai Maestro Trio. All I can say that they took me somewhere indescribable,” said Akeeb Mohammad Islam.
Worth the wait
John McLaughlin came on much later that originally scheduled. But it was worth the wait. The crowd erupted and the jazz legend received a huge standing ovation as soon as he walked on stage.
“It was such a wonderful experience to see John McLaughlin who has been a huge inspiration to me. Not just as a guitarist, but also as a human being. It was really emotional when he dedicated one of his songs to the late Paco De Lucia,” said Akeeb.
“As a guitar player and more importantly as a musician, John McLaughlin was a treat to watch,” said Iqbal Asif Jewel.
Other than playing guitar for the iconic band Miles, Jewel is also the first Bangladeshi guitarist to release a guitar instrumental album.
“Such adventurous compositions and fluent performance was just astonishing and amazing! The odd time signatures, the furious synchronised pattern playing, killer solos and rhythm variations were just brilliant,” said Jewel.
The historicity
Samir Hafiz of Warfaze and Powersurge felt that he “was going through the history of music itself after seeing John play. I felt like a listener rather than a guitar player. I couldn't understand or predict anything and I loved him for it.”
The vibe
The wonderful atmosphere at the show made the event a great opportunity to meet friends and socialise.
“It was a very exciting atmosphere and I made lots of friends,” Samir said. There was coffee and burger and pizza among other food and drinks. The sitting arrangement was very neat and there were seats outside of the main seating area for eating.
Three rocking days of jazz
The first day’s performance set the bar so high it was difficult to imagine that anyone could quite manage to actually reach that standard. But they astoundingly did.
Razef Khan and Florian Antier, the cellist duo rocked the crowd with classics like “Smooth Criminal” and “Smells like teen spirit”.
“The Blues Brothers were elegant and full of attitude just like a bluesman supposed to be. A great band from BD,” Akeeb said.
Louis Banks, often called the father of Indian Jazz music, shook up the crowd with his mighty swing. No less was expected by people who follow the great musician.
King Baby got the crowd moving with funky groove. “It’s hard to describe this band, they had elements of Blues, funk, jazz fusion all blend in together, simply outstanding,” Akeeb said.
There was surprise performance by Arnob and Friends on the second days as well.
The final day
Soulmate, widely considered one of the most authoritative blues bands coming out of India, opened the show on the third day and impressed everyone with their performance.
Esdras Nogueira Quartet followed up with a serene and unique saxophone set up that was led by jazz. Representing Bangladesh, the pop and rock guitar legend Aiyub Bacchu took the stage with his blues band. The venerable rocker had the crowd sing along with a blues rendition of his classics like Ami Toh Prem Eh Porini.
China Moses ended the final performance with the kind of fervour yo would expect from a reputed artist like her. She connected with the crowd and the audience connected with her.
The afterthought
When asked if he would want to see more shows like this Samir replied, “Promoters should bring more international acts at least once every three or four months. We need more events like these.”
Jewel said that the promoters “should try to promote and showcase our local talents in the international platform as well.”
When asked what was the most favourite moment of the fest Nishita Alam said she enjoyed hanging out with her friends the most.
“There is no question about which was the best part - it was seeing John McLaughlin live,” said the venerable rocker Iqbal Asif Jewel.
The end of the show left a melancholic effect on the audience but the vibe was jubilant and exhilarating.
