Fareed Haque 

Guitar virtuoso Fareed Haque is a master of fusion, often integrating jazz, rock and world music seamlessly. Haque was influenced by a variety of music from a very early age both due to heritage (born of a Pakistani father and Chilean mother) as well as extensive travels to Spain, France, Iran, Pakistan and Chile. Haque’s diverse approach to combining musical styles has become his trademark with releases on Sting’s Pangaea label, on the Blue Note Label, the composition and performance of his Lahara Double Concerto for Sitar/Guitar and Tabla at Orchestra Hall in Chicago, performances with his own progressive-jazz/jam group Garaj Mahal and George Brook’s Group Summit featuring tabla virtuoso Ustad Zakir Hussain. His new group the Flat Earth Ensemble, set to release an album on the Owl Studios record label, continues to blend Eastern and Western music, but digs much deeper into the roots of Middle Eastern folk music.

Haque says, “Both bands (Garaj Mahal and Flat Earth) are funky - from a groove perspective. Garaj Mahal is more a modern jazz group while Flat Earth is more ethnically Indian based in groove. It’s less about mathematical complexities and more on the folklorical side.” A lot of this new project is based on Punjabi music, which he describes as “fun, crazy, dance club music. The dance element in jazz is undervalued and under-implemented. The connection between dance and jazz is not a sideline it’s the central current.”

The Flat Earth Ensemble started a few years ago when Haque had written a concerto featuring tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussein. Hussein had introduced him to some great young musicians who came over from India. Included in that group is Ganesh Kumar, who plays Kanjira and tabla player Subbratta Bhattacharya. Another addition to this group is drummer Jason Smart from the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. Haque said, “It’s easier for drummers to do their thing and percussionists to do theirs. Percussionists have a hard time taking it somewhere. Jason will take a beat and hang on to it for a 2 hour jam session and try things from there. He’s the first drummer we’ve played with to do that. It was not difficult for us to gel once everyone was on the same page. When you commit to all the pieces of the puzzle, people will start to move. When it’s not right you can tell in a molecular way.”

Fareed Haque and the Flat Earth Ensemble will be performing two shows at the Jazz Kitchen Wednesday April 9th at 7:00 and 9:00 PM. The lineup is Fareed Haque-guitar, Ganesh Kumar-Kanjira, Subratta Bhattacharya-Table, Jim Feist-Table, Willerm Delisfort-keys, Alex Austin-bass and Jason Smart-drums. For more information visit www.thejazzkitchen.com or www.fareed.com.

 

–Mina Keohane 

Share This

Tags: Fareed Haque, Flat Earth Ensemble, Jazz Kitchen, Owl Studios
No comments

Eddie Spaghetti

EPISODE 136: The Indianapolismusic.net Podcast

There’s not a lot of time to talk, so let’s get to it. 11 freakin’ tracks in this episode means a lot of music and a lot for you to devour. Tuck in the napkin and dig into some Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s, Glen Phillips, Eddie Spaghetti, Fareed Haque, Broadzilla, Bitch and the Exciting Conclusion, Action Strasse, BJ Rogers Murder Inc., Mardelay, Hey Hey Melodica, and thesociety. Enjoy.

By the way, we’re listed now on iTunes and Podcast Alley, Odeo, and Podcast Pickle, so tell your friends. It’s easier than ever to subscribe to our little slice of audio heaven. 

A) Subscribe using this link and a podcast aggregator ..OR..

B) Download directly by right-clicking and saving ..OR…

C) Listen to the PODcast in the IMN mediaplayer (Located in the upper-right corner of the page)!

Once again, all music on this podcast came from authorized downloads from artist or record company sites or from the Indy MP3 Collection.Theme provided by Background Trash. For all of your background trash needs, go to Background Trash.– Steve Hayes and Ryan Williams -

Share This

Tags: Action Strasse, Bitch and the Exciting Conclusion, BJ Rogers Murder Inc., Broadzilla, Eddie Spaghetti, Fareed Haque, Glen Phillips, Hey Hey Melodica, IMN PODcast, Mardelay, Margot and the Nuclear So and So's, thesociety
No comments