An evening of jazz with Wolfgang Haffner & Band
The evening began with a piece called Faithless, well orchestrated by the band of four: Haffner (drums) Sebastian Studnitzky (trumpet and keyboard), Christian Diener (bass) and Frank Kuruc (guitar). A fairly lengthy piece, Faithless gave an indication of what was to come.
Next came Shapes, interspersed with some excellent trumpet playing. This was followed by others such as Blue bar, 24 hours, Tomorrow never knows, Desire and the hit of the evening, Space Calzone.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The programme could be called a tribute to techno jazz. As Haffner pointed out, "Our band has used the synthesiser and special effects such as echo and reverb or amplification." Haffner was also pleased to perform to the "good listeners in an amazing atmosphere."
Among the avid listeners was Mohim Sarkar, account director of MTV India. "The group was energetic and enthusiastic. In some of the jazz pieces was a fusion of East and West along with the typically German use of technology," said Sarkar.
Haffner has a firm niche in the jazz scene. He has played on about 350 albums (with artistes such as Pat Metheny and Chaka Khan), including 11 albums in his own name. Not just that, he has toured more than 50 countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Jordan, Thailand, England, US and India. His latest CD with his band is called Shapes. After the band's first sojourn in Bangladesh, they went on to perform in Kolkata.