Bangla and american band Jazmin at Amazon Club
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Featuring moving renditions of Baul songs along with a blend of Jazz and Blues, the concert at Amazon Club (Gulshan) on February 19 evening was a treat for contemporary music lovers. Popular band Bangla, along with the American group Jazmin, performed at the event.
Bangla took the stage first. The band started with “Allah Bolo Monrey Pakhi, Mawla Bolo” — a devotional Lalon song. “Nodi Jaye Sagorer Kho(n)jey”, a Bangla original, was next. The song highlighted the band’s forte and devotion towards folk music.
Bangla is one of the pioneering contemporary bands that have generated a mass interest in Lalon’s songs among the young music enthusiasts. So far the band has released two albums featuring several Lalon numbers.
At Amazon Club, Bangla’s performance was predictably dominated by Lalon songs. Songs like “Guru Prem Korbi Jodi” and “Torey Na Dekhiley Mori” that the group performed at the concert are little known to young music fans. Bangla’s effort to introduce a wide range of Lalon songs to youngsters should be appreciated, expressed some in the audience.
Another noticeable aspect was that the members of the band frequently changed their instruments. During Anusheh’s rendition of “Nodir Kul-er Lagi Ami Kandi”, Kartik, who was playing lead guitar so far, took a break. Buno, who mainly plays bass, took the lead guitar, while Arnob (usually on acoustic guitar) played bass. Anusheh was on mandira.
Bodhi and Ratul — both members of the Indian band Taaltantra — joined Bangla during their performance. Kangalini Sufia also took the stage and sang a couple of songs, including her classic, “Buri Hoilam Tor Karoney”.
Seth Blumberg, lead guitarist and vocalist of Jazmin, joined Bangla towards the end of their performance. After Bangla’s performance, other three members of the American band — Armando Cepeda (bass guitar and vocals), Jesse Charnow (drums) and Leo Dombecki (keyboard and saxophone) — jointed Seth. Their first performance was an instrumental that was dominated by Leo’s saxophone.
The troupe rendered some of their original numbers and also covered popular songs like Bob Marley’s “Stir It Up”.
Using their roots and training, Jazmin fuses Blues, Soul, Jazz, and Indian Classical elements to craft their sound. The troupe of multi-talented musicians has performed at some major festivals such as Montreux Jazz Festival, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Chicago Blues Festival.
Shadhona — a centre for advancement of South Asian music and dance– along with the event management group Carnival arranged the programme.
Jamil Mahmud
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