Sachal Jazz: A meeting with melody

The orchestra is the only organised one in the country

LAHORE:

There is no audience or standing ovation when the Sachal Studio orchestra gathers in their Lahore studio. It’s merely a congregation of some of Pakistan’s unrecognised yet most talented musicians, who are pursuing their passion for music in obscurity.

The orchestra, which may be one of the best and, possibly, the only organised orchestra in the country, recently released Sachal Jazz: Interpretations of Jazz standards and Bossa Nova — a 50th anniversary tribute to Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Take Five, Time Out album 1959 -2009 in May. The album had a no-fuss release, but it was the release of the single rendition of the Brubeck’s classic hit “Take-5” that received global attention.

It all happened in the span of a week, with the help of a BBC report that started circulating the news of Sachal’s arrival and the single suddenly found itself at the top of the jazz album charts on iTunes in Britain and the US. With the outstanding response the focus was shifted back to Pakistan’s unique tradition of classical and folk music. “The idea was that we should be part of world music because in this day and age, no one can live in isolation,” says Mushtaq Soofi, who is the director of the studio, pointing to a framed note in his office from Brubeck himself which reads, “This is the most interesting and different recording of Take-Five that I have ever heard”. “We all love jazz but we wanted to produce something that was accessible and something that no one had attempted before,” added Soofi.

Soofi, is a poet and long-time PTV executive, who, with the driving force of Oxford-educated businessman, Izzat Majeed, made music his hobby in 2003. It was only much later that the duo realised that studios in Pakistan did not have the ability to compete internationally and so they thought to bring global quality studios to the country. The two visionaries decided to take their passion a step further by setting up a state-of-the-art studio in Lahore, designed by Christoph Bracher, a renowned sound engineer.

Soofi was made in charge of bringing together many forgotten artists, who used to make music before the advent of the Zia era. “When we started, many of the violinists and cello players were scattered and had changed careers,” recalls Soofi.

Till now, the studio has produced 25 to 30 albums in a variety of genres including rare folk-Punjabi artists as well as some high-quality jazz music. The recent success has brought attention and recognition for the musicians, to the extent of offers being made to tour the US and other countries.  Also, American film-maker Sam Pollard offered to make a feature film on the studio and revival of Pakistan’s classical music scene.

However, the orchestra’s goal remains to maintain a non-commercial attitude and not sell music for money. “It’s very good to have recognition and have sales, but our business has always been to make our own music,” explained Majeed. “We are not crusaders; our aim is to simply create a level of patronage and highlight Pakistan’s artistic traditions.”

Majeed claims that the studio is not running on any pre-determined path. “The ideas are a collective endeavour after a trial and error session in an effort to create a unique blend of symphonic harmony. Sachal Studio is simply about finding Pakistan through the melodies of music.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2011.