On an uncharacteristically cool April evening, I stepped out of Banani’s blaring traffic and neon haze into a dimly lit room tucked within a commercial building and almost cinematically shifted from chaos to a melodical hush. A small audience leaned forward, captivated by the spell of an ensemble that included an esraj, a sarod, a jazz guitarist and a drummer, and a vocalist whose voice moved without language, just sound, rhythm, and improvisation. The music was neither entirely classical nor jazz nor fusion, but something looser, more exploratory, alive to the moment.
Every year, the International Jazz Day is celebrated around the world on 30 April. It was declared a special occasion by UNESCO as a means to highlight jazz music and its diplomatic role in uniting people all around the globe.
International Jazz Day happened to be on the 30th of last month and to celebrate its influence on many forms of modern music as well as to celebrate traditional jazz itself, a group of enthusiastic young musicians from the high-flying band, 42, along with the Imran Ahmed Quartet and Groove Gen, organised a jazz show at Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka on May 1, 2015.
On an uncharacteristically cool April evening, I stepped out of Banani’s blaring traffic and neon haze into a dimly lit room tucked within a commercial building and almost cinematically shifted from chaos to a melodical hush. A small audience leaned forward, captivated by the spell of an ensemble that included an esraj, a sarod, a jazz guitarist and a drummer, and a vocalist whose voice moved without language, just sound, rhythm, and improvisation. The music was neither entirely classical nor jazz nor fusion, but something looser, more exploratory, alive to the moment.
Every year, the International Jazz Day is celebrated around the world on 30 April. It was declared a special occasion by UNESCO as a means to highlight jazz music and its diplomatic role in uniting people all around the globe.
International Jazz Day happened to be on the 30th of last month and to celebrate its influence on many forms of modern music as well as to celebrate traditional jazz itself, a group of enthusiastic young musicians from the high-flying band, 42, along with the Imran Ahmed Quartet and Groove Gen, organised a jazz show at Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka on May 1, 2015.
