The enduring spirit of jazz

The Ari Roland Jazz Quartet recount their experience in Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD:

A cursory glance at Milan Fashion Week 2012’s catwalks and it’s clear that the jazz age is still alive and kicking. Even beyond fashion, the genre remains relevant and is a cornerstone of American, as well as global music industries. Maestros the likes of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong still leave musicians spellbound. This is not to say that jazz has remained static since its inception at the beginning of the 20^th century; the genre has certainly evolved a range of sub-genres and new wave interpretations: Dixieland, swing, bebop (40s), free jazz (50s and 60s), jazz fusion (70s), acid jazz (80s) and nu jazz (90s).

“There’s room for everything,” explains Ari Roland (double bass) of the Ari Roland Jazz Quartet which also includes Chris Byars (tenor saxophone), Zaid Nasser (alto saxophone) and Keith Balla (drums). The Express Tribune met with the band members in the capital, for a session following a crowd-pleasing performance at Planet X.

“The world could be full of acid jazz (modern jazz synthesised with hip hop) and people would still love and listen to Louis Armstrong,” Roland does well to point out jazz’s enduring and inclusive spirit — it’s the sort of thing that overrides notions of race, class, culture and nationality, evident in the way the Quartet seamlessly jammed with Pakistani alt-rock group Fuzon.

“As a jazz musician you learn how to say Assalamualaikum very early,” adds Roland in a reference to the older, cross-cultural founding jazz generation of African American musicians with Muslim backgrounds.

Musical influences

Roland: Lots of classic jazz; Charlie Parker, Armstrong and Billie Holiday, to name a few.

Byars: Duke Ellington. He actually came to Pakistan in 1958 and played in Lahore.

Balla: Also, Dizzy Gillespie.

Nasser: Beyonce [laughs]

On jazz’s relevance and ‘Bieber-fever’

Balla: Well, at the Grammy’s, Esperanza Spalding won the category for ‘Best New Artist’ over Justin Bieber.

Roland: Jazz may not have the mainstream/mass appeal that Bieber has, but people will always appreciate good jazz and the greats like Thelonious Monk, Armstrong and Ellington. I think it’s important for jazz musicians to play unique interpretations of older tracks we all love and know. You have to find and develop your own individual voice. We don’t want to be a ‘museum band’. Look at the great Sufi poets — they followed a basic structure, yes, but had so many stylistic differences.

Touring Pakistan

Roland: We first came to Pakistan in 2009 and loved it; we did a rendition of “Dil, Dil Pakistan” that went over very well. Hence, we were very eager to come again this year. This time around we met so many different kinds of people and inspiring local musicians like Fuzon. We actually recorded an original track with them that’s going to premier at the Rock Musicarium.

Byars: We’ve always been curious about Pakistan. Keith actually lives in a Pakistani neighbourhood.

Balla: I eat a lot of Pakistani food.

Roland: As a New Yorker, I feel completely at home here, especially in Karachi.

On music in Pakistan

Roland: The bilateral relationship with Pakistan has provided us with so much access to the country’s people that we feel that we’re with old friends. What I love about Pakistan is that people really open up to you here; you can have very deep and profound conversations right away. Also, there’s a strong sense of culture — it’s pervasive here. The traditions are very rich and dense. This trickles into the music, which works on a very high level; the feeling is intensely emotional, rhythmic, and narrative, and as jazz musicians, rhythm is very important to us so we can relate.

Future plans

Roland: Our dream is to conduct workshops and play with more Pakistanis, especially up north. Another dream is to bring Pakistani musicians to the US and have them tour in smaller localities to show Americans that they have so much in common with international musicians and vice versa.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2011.