AN UNLIKELY CENTERPIECE AT JAZZ & BLUES FEST

The second edition of the Jazz & Blues Fest Dhaka opened in Dhaka on Sunday night, with an enthralling set of performances to a moderate crowd at the rooftop of La Meridien Hotel. After Armeen Musa, Gary Husband and Oz Noy Group set the festival in fluid motion, Indian composer-violinist Deepek Pandit brought an unlikely instrument to the festival's genre and proved that genres are not limited to instruments, nor are instruments constrained by genre. 

Armeen, the Berklee-graduate Bangladeshi singer-songwriter opened the festival with her jazzy repertoire – original tracks like “Simultaneously” and “Frost” and the Bangla number “Jokhon Chole Jao”, and covering Simply Red's '80s hit “Holding Back the Years” and the Hoagy Carmichael jazz standard “Nearness of You”.

Gary Husband, the masterful keyboardist-pianist from UK, had performed in the first edition of the Jazz & Blues Fest in November 2015, but he was somewhat in the background, playing a more supporting role to the legendary John McLaughlin. This year, he played a solo set on the keys, demonstrating both technical dexterity and immense feel.

The three-piece Oz Noy Group was the third act on stage, with their performance exploring the diversity of the genre. Oz Noy, the Israeal-born guitarist known for breaking the mold of instrumental guitar music, has played with artistes ranging from Harry Bellafonte to Jordin Sparks, and his range was on full display. He seamlessly blended funk, blues, jazz and rock, controlling the energy of the space, with superb backing from organ-style keys and drums – and made a strong first impression, be it with the grooving slide-styled solos or slow, ballad-like compositions.

Mumbai-based violinist and composer Deepak Pandit, the final act of the evening, took the audience by a bit of a surprise as he took stage in a white Punjabi, but he brought along two other musicians who have played to this crowd before – drummer Gino Banks and bassist Sheldon D'Silva – both part of the 2015 festival. Deepak explored the entire dramatic range of the violin, intertwining Eastern and Western playing styles, and created whirlpools of melodies that sucked the audience in. He also gave ample space to his accompanying musicians to showcase their skills with big solos on the bass, drums and keys, and ended with a magnificent, introspective piece titled “Antaratma”.

Blues Communications, the organisers of the festival, did an expectedly fantastic job with the overall arrangement, although they admitted it was not the ideal setting they would have wanted for the festival. After various permission-related complications restricted them from organising it at an open space like the last edition, it's commendable how they made the best of what was available.

Last night's performances at the three-day festival included the S.A.D Trio led by Bangladeshi guitarist Shafkat Ahmed Dipto, Danish tenor saxophonist Jakob Dinesen and an all-star tribute to the music od Miles Davis. Tonight on the closing eve of the festival will include Indian drummer-composer Ranjit Barot and Slang, Indian blues band Soulmate and the festival's headliner, Lurrie Bell and the Chicago Blues Band.