Fusion Music
London Film and Music School's jam session
Karim Waheed
The visiting team of London Film and Music School (LFMS) held a jam session titled East meets West at British Council Auditorium on August 30. The programme featured performances by local musicians along with members of the LFMS team. As Sharmin Murshid, CEO of Brotee (Communications) put it: "Musicians who joined the workshop held earlier, worked on some tunes with the artistes from the LFMS team and this evening they're going to perform those numbers. Keep this in mind, they had very little time to practice. All the numbers to be performed this evening are basically a fusion of Eastern and Western music." Brotee is the representative of LFMS in Dhaka.In the first part of the programme, Zubaer Malik was on the flute. On the keyboards were Martin Keating, principal and director of London Music School (LMS) and Gabriella, a talented student of LMS. Joanne Kemp, general manager of LMS and a singer/songwriter lent her vocals. As the first composition began, the melancholy tune of bansi (flute), accompanied by the keyboards created a serene ambiance. Joanne and Gabriella's vocals added to the captivating composition. The tune eventually changed its tempo as it became fast paced. The bass guitar, the beats of tabla and drums helped. The climax of the number left everyone awed as if all the instruments and the vocals conjured a storm. Kudos to the flutist. If he maintains his standard, he'll go places. The next composition Desert nights was another delight. Martin and Gabriella performed the duet. Following that was a rendition of a George Gershwin classic Summertime. The sultry jazz number recreated a hype when American Idol '04 Fantasia Barrino performed this song, which was considered by many to be the best performance in the history of American Idol. Gabriella and Joanne's version, accompanied by tabla and flute, certainly sounded different. However, the passion that added soul to the Fantasia version was absent. The next number was a classic as well. Killing me softly, a song popularised by a number of talented artistes including 'soul diva' Roberta Flack, 'country crooner' Anne Murray and in the recent times, a soul/hip hop phenomenon Lauryn Hill. Gabriella's version was a bit timid but it was easy on the ears. Bangla, a popular band, performed in the latter part of the programme. Vocalist of the band Anushey started with a rendition of Amar lagi keu kandey na. Anushey's earthy, spirited performance rarely fails to make one feel the essence of a song and this time it was no different. "This song is special to me. It's written by Uttam Ghosh and composed by Lokman, an 11-year-old," shared Anushey. Traditional dhol added authenticity to the folk song. Bangla ended their performance with a Lalan geeti, Eshob dekhi kanar haat-bajar. The programme wrapped up with a performance focusing on the dhol. The skill and zeal demonstrated by the dhuli (dhol player) received several rounds of applause from a cheering crowd. The informal jam session with a moderate crowd was a commendable effort. The programme was organised by Brotee, along with media partners The Daily Star and Channel i.
|
(L-R) Joanne Kemp, Gabriella, Ustad Wajahat Ali Khan and Zubaer Malik at the event. PHOTO: STAR |
