MILES DAVIS BONANZA, AND A DANISH SURPRISE
The second evening of the Jazz & Blues Festival Dhaka on Monday evening saw a big crowd, as the rooftop of Le Meridien hotel buzzed with music lovers of all ages. Although the night's main attraction was an all-star celebration of the music of Miles Davis, Jakob Dinesen's tenor saxophone act pulled the biggest surprise of the night.
The evening, however, began with the performance of Bangladesh's S.A.D trio, led by guitarist Shafkat Ahmed Dipto. The trio featured another seasoned blues musician, Imran Rabbani on the harmonica, and stayed true to the festival's flavor, covering blues classics like “Blues Man” and “The Thrill is Gone”, before finishing with Dipto's original composition (for his band Aronno) “Taar Chire Geche”.
Jakob Dinesen is considered one of the best musicians to have come out of Denmark in recent years, and on his debut on the Dhaka stage, he took the audience on an emotional journey with his tenor saxophone, from excitement to melancholia to the sincerest forms of love. There is a certain smoothness to the timbre of a saxophone's sound, and in the hands of a skilled musician like Dinesen, it felt strangely comforting, despite being a rather unfamiliar sound. In particular, two pieces – one which he had written when his wife was expecting a baby, and another written for his wife, Yasmin – drew a big applause. But then came the surprise: the Danish ambassador to Dhaka, Mikael Hemniti Winther took the stage rather innocuously, thanking the organisers for inviting Jakob to the festival, before strapping on a vintage Gibson sunburst guitar and launching into the Eric Clapton/Robert Cray hit “Old Love”. His immaculate skills on the guitar immediately showed that he's no amateur, and as his baritone vocals was a treat to the ears. He played along to a few other numbers, the last of which was a blues song from Thailand, sung by the Thai drummer.
The Miles Davis tribute followed next, bringing together on stage some of the biggest performers of the festival, led by Gary Husband (on keys). Oz Noy (guitars), Kevin Scott (bass), Sean Freeman (tenor sax), Ranjit Barot (drums) and Osam Ezzeldin (keys) joined him on stage to play from various times of the jazz virtuoso's catalogue. Beginning with the up-tempo, almost-manic “Spanish Key”, they built it up with “Directions” and mixed up the tempo and moods, sometimes with slow numbers like “Little Church” (a lesser-known number from the early '70s) to high-octane pieces like “Katia” (from the “You're Under Arrest” album). Gary took control of the arrangements, channeling the other musicians play with full freedom. Ranjit Barot's combination of energy and technical dexterity on the kit was exhilarating, while Osam, Oz Noy and Sean Freeman put in their improvisational instincts to the fore, as Kevin Scott firmly held the bassline. All in all, it was a testament of what skilled musicians can do when they join forces, and take inspiration from a genius of Miles Davis' stature.
The three-day event organised by Blues Communications came to a close last night, with performances by Ranjit Barot and Slang, Soulmate and the Lurrie Bell Chicago Blues Band.
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