Sachal Jazz Ensemble or Lahore Ensemble Group is a group of Pakistani musicians who lost their jobs due to a law imposed in Pakistan in the 1950s. The group creates music by fusing folk music with American jazz music.
beginning of the band
In 1958, when American jazz artist Brubeck was performing in Lahore (Pakistan), a teenage Pakistani boy named Izzat Majeed was in the audience, who liked the performance and developed an interest in jazz music. By the 1960s, the film and music industry began to gain popularity among the people of Pakistan, but with the introduction of Islamic rule and Sharia law in Pakistan, non-religious music began to receive less attention by audiences and the Pakistani government. Done. Many famous Pakistani singers and musicians were out of work and had to take up jobs in coffee shops and pull rickshaws. While talking about the situation of singers in Pakistan at that time in an interview, Majid said,
We were just losing our instruments, we were losing our musicians, we were losing our culture. Something has to be done about it.”
After a few years, Majid (a businessman and philanthropist) started a music studio called Sachal Studio with the aim of providing work for musicians (who lost their jobs after the implementation of Islamic rule and Sharia law in Pakistan).
Izzat Majeed
group formation
In the late 1990s, Majid teamed up with Pakistani music producer Mushtaq Sufi to form a group of musicians from Lahore (who had lost their jobs due to the introduction of Islamic rule and Sharia law in Pakistan). He named the group ‘The Sachal Ensemble’ or ‘The Lahore Jazz Ensemble’. Musicians used to rehearse in his studio and record Pakistani folk songs. The group began making music for international audiences as the proportion of local listeners in Pakistan was very low.
members
Some of the members of the Mobile Ensemble group are:
- Bakar Abbas – Flute (Flute)
- Nadeem Abbas – Bass
- Rafiq Ahmed – Daff (frame drum)
- Asad Ali – Guitar
- Danish Ali – Piano
- Najaf Ali – Dholak (hand drum);
- Zohaib Hasan – Sarangi (bowed instrument)
- Ijaz Hussain – tabla (hand drum);
- Ali Shaiba – drums
- Nijat Ali – Conductor
In an interview, Majid talked about some members of the group. He said,
Pappu was working at a roadside tea stall and the cello he had had become so damaged that its strings were replaced by plastic strings. When I presented him with a brand new device he started crying. ‘Can you give it to me to take home so I can play?’ she asked longingly, not understanding that that was my intention to begin with.”
He continued,
Others, like Sabir Ali, were not so stringent, but desired a constant source of income. The middle-aged Ali, whose henna-dyed hair provides a striking contrast to the emerald drop studded in his ear, recalls an impressive career playing for musicians such as Attaullah Isa Khelavi and Hadiqa Kiyani. But with record labels increasingly restricting the release of new albums, such opportunities were becoming fewer. “Ever since Chachal came into existence, it means we will never be out of work.”
rise of music group
In his teenage years, Majeed attended a jazz music concert and, inspired by this, he decided to mix folk songs with American jazz music. The mobile ensemble group then uploaded a video to YouTube titled “Take Five” (a super hit song by American jazz artist Dave Brubeck), which incorporated folk and American jazz music, which went viral. In an interview, talking about ‘Take Five’, Dave Brubeck said,
This is one of the most interesting and different recordings of ‘Take Five’ I have ever heard.
Soon, the music group started gaining immense popularity among the international audience. In 2014, the group collaborated with jazz artist Wynton Marsalis for a concert with the Lincoln Center Orchestra in New York City.
The Mobile Jazz Ensemble performing with the Lincoln Center Orchestra in New York City
On 23 April 2016, the group performed for the first time in a concert in Lahore, Pakistan. On 20 May 2016, an American documentary film ‘Song of Lahore’ based on the struggle story of the group ‘The Sachal Ensemble’ was released by Universal Music Classics. The documentary was produced by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Pakistani-Canadian journalist) and Andy Schocken (American documentary filmmaker). In 2019, the group was invited to perform at the reception for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, UK.
lahore documentary song
‘The Sachal Ensemble’ or ‘The Lahore Jazz Ensemble’ has performed in various stage shows and concerts.
Mobile Jazz Ensemble group in a program
He has also performed for various fundraising events organized in Pakistan and other countries.
Mobile Jazz Ensemble Fundraising Event
In 2022, the group performed in the 14th season of the Pakistani music show ‘Coke Studio’ (Pakistan).
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn