World Music Day celebrations: The agony and the ecstasy

French gypsy jazz performance at the National Library.

ISLAMABAD:

In a bittersweet symphony, the Caravan Quartet enthralled audiences with their unique sound at the National Library on Tuesday. The gypsy jazz band had been especially invited from France to commemorate the Fête de la Musique, or World Music Day, that is observed globally on June 21.

The quartet comprising Robin Ensina and Samuel Strouk (guitar), Olivier Lorang (upright brass) and Mathias Levy (violin) struck a chord with listeners of both jazz and blues music. Strouk explained the ambivalent vibes, saying the harmony was melancholic but the chords ecstatic. Pulsating through the air, the uplifting rhythms had some drumming their fingers in rhythm, others tapping their feet with the beat.



Recreating some of the work of the virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer Django Reinhardt, the musicians offered a number of their own renditions. While most of the performances were instrumental, Ensina and Lorang each sang a song supported by the four-piece orchestra.

Kazim, an audience member, said that it was encouraging to see that an appeal for gypsy jazz music was picking up well within the local audience. “People seem to enjoy such music as it sounds pleasantly different from the indigenous tunes in the country,” he said.

This was the quartet’s fourth concert in the country since 2006. They have also performed at the Rafi Peer Cultural Centre, Lahore. “The crowd in Islamabad is somewhat quieter than that in Lahore. Those guys really seem to enjoy our music more,” said a smiling Strouk.



Elaborating on the festive spirit, he said the occasion is celebrated with much fervour in France. In every street, people are seen singing, dancing or playing music, a culture that had inspired each young band member to take up music professionally. The event was organised by the French embassy in collaboration with Alliance Francaise d’Islamabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2013.