JOHN MCLAUGHLIN to headline Dhaka Jazz & Blues Fest

Music has been a big part of the Bangalee way of life for centuries, and along with the music of our own roots, various genres of world music have also seeped in to our musical taste and influences, particularly in recent decades. However, except for sporadic events, live music from across the world was not a common sight in our country until a few years back.

Since the groundbreaking first edition of the Bengal Classical Music Festival in 2012, the idea of music festivals has taken shape in Dhaka, and Blues Communications is following up this January's Sufi Music Festival with another large stride: to give  music lovers of Dhaka a memorable experience  of jazz and blues. Considered the two earliest forms of world music, jazz and blues have a burgeoning following in Bangladesh, and fans are already excited about the three-day event next month.

The three-day Jazz & Blues Festival Dhaka 2015 will be held at the Army Museum grounds from November 5-7, and will be headlined by stalwart British guitarist-composer John McLaughlin & the 4th Dimension. A pioneer of musical fusion and Ranked 49th in Rolling Stones' list of top 100 guitarists of all time, McLaughlin is cited by many prominent musicians as their influence. His music fuses many genres of jazz with blues, rock, Eastern and Western Classical Music, with his most famous collaborations being the electric supergroup Mahavishnu Orchestra and Indian classical music-based group Shakti.

He will be joined by King Baby (USA), Soulmate (India), Esdras Nogueira Quartet (Brazil), China Moses (France), Louis Banks (India), Vasundhara Vidalur (India), along with local artistes including Ayub Bachchu's AB Blues, cellist Razef Khan, The Blues Brothers and the young group Imran Ahmed Quintet. The performances will begin every day at 6pm and will continue till midnight.

Grameenphone is the title sponsor of the event, with Bengal Digital, Etihad Airways, Coca Cola, The Westin hotel and GP Music as other partners.

Tickets for the event are available at select Grameenphone Centres, and online. More details and updates can be seen on the Facebook page of Jazz & Blues Festival Dhaka.