Ari Roland Jazz Quartet of the US and folk musicians of Bengal create magic through music
Kolkata, Dec 12 (IBNS): As the Ari Roland Jazz Quartet’s music fused with the soulful Baul songs of Bengal, the audience was practically ready to do a 'Dumbledore' (headmaster of Hogwarts in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series), ready to repeat his famous comment, “Ah, music, ... A magic beyond all we do here!”
As part of US Consulate Kolkata's initiative to promote better bilateral relations through cultural exchanges, the renowned Jazz Quartet Ari Roland from New York City performed in Kolkata along with folk musicians, including Bauls, of West Bengal at a concert recently organized by the American Center.
The concert “New York Meets Kolkata” was an American jazz and Bengali Baul music fusion performance.
US Consul General Craig Hall delivered the welcome address before the collaborative performance by the Ari Roland Jazz Quartet and Baul folk music ensemble.
The Ari Roland Jazz Quartet’s music is inspired by the great masters of Jazz - Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie - and the Quartet members learned to play under the guidance of the living legends of Jazz in New York.
The Quartet performs songs from the Golden Age of Jazz (1930s - 1950s), and their own original compositions.
In addition to their performances in New York and a busy touring schedule, they have also directed international Jazz programs bringing musicians from around the world together to play Jazz.
As a jazz ambassador for the US Department of State, Ari Roland has traveled on over 130 cultural diplomacy tours throughout Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
His band performed at the closing reception of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad in November.
Kolkata was the last stop for the Ari Roland Jazz Quartet's three city tour of India. Prior to Kolkata, they perfomed in Mumbai and Hyderabad.
The Jazz Quartet Ari Roland consisted of Ari Roland on double bass, Zaid Nasser on the alto saxophone, Pasquale Grasso on guitar, and Keith Balla on drums.
Among the folk artists of Bengal were vocalists Debalina Bhowmick and Tiyas Sen, musician Arpan Thakur Chakraborty, and Girish Khyapa on instruments and vocals.
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