A new orchestra in Lahore is causing some excitement in the world of jazz – and turning around their own fortunes at the same time. For years, classical musicians in Pakistan have faced tough times. As well as the issues everyone else in the country is facing, their profession all but died.
Most had been making music for the Pakistani film industry but the increasing influence of religion in society, and the easy availability of Indian movies, meant the industry collapsed. But the Sachal Orchestra is sparking something of a revival. Their first jazz album Sachal Jazz was released recently. The veteran American jazz musician, Dave Brubeck, described their interpretation of one of his tracks as “the most interesting recording of it he has ever heard”.
The project, subtitled “Interpretations of Jazz Standards & Bossa Nova,” may be the most unusual and exotic recording of jazz classics that you will ever hear. Here are Paul Desmond’s “Take Five,” Tom Jobim’s “Desafinado” and “The Girl from Ipanema” (plus a raga alternate take), Erroll Garner’s “Misty,” Dave Grusin’s “Mountain Dance” and two other tunes performed by the Pakistan-based Sachal Studios Orchestra – sitar, tabla, other Indo-Pakistan percussion, Spanish guitars, accordion and a full string section. There’s even a U.K.-added choir, which sounds superfluous and even distracting when it appears. A take on Burt Bacharach’s “This Guy’s In Love With You” is a bit more straightforward.
