A bit of jazz and soul

As part of the founder’s day celebrations of ‘International Music & Arts Society’, the young and talented pianist Sharik Hasan performed a solo recital at Jayamahal Hotel recently. An awe-inspiring concert, it saw him perform popular numbers while including a few of his own compositions.

It was an intimate concert and having suffered a personal loss on the same day, Sharik dedicated the evening to his grandfather. 

“I really enjoyed the concert even though it came at a challenging time for me. I wasn’t going to perform but I realised that my grandfather would have liked me to play,” confesses the pianist, adding, “it was overwhelming to see the response from the audience. And it was a delight to see familiar faces in the packed banquet hall.”

A lot of the jazz standards were played – from Richard Rodgers’, ‘My Funny Valentine’ to Dave Brubeck’s ‘Take Five’. There were also originals like ‘Hymn’, a Brazilian song called Chega de Saudade by Antônio Carlos Jobim and a medley that went from one piece to another and included ‘Harlem Blues’, ‘Danny Boy’ and Ray Charles’ ‘Georgia on my Mind’. 

Sharik spanned a lot of genres, smoothly making transitions from classic jazz to the blues. Going solo instead of having the rest of his quarter for accompaniment, his own understanding of music was also made prominent. 

“The songs sounded familiar but  they were new because I gave them my own interpretation,” he explains.

Leena Chaudhuri, who attended the concert, describes the experience as ‘soulful’. “I’ve seen a lot of Sharik’s performances and this one in particular was different because he seemed extremely inspired. It moved me as a listener,” she shares.

Bettina, another audience member, expresses the same sentiment. “I enjoyed myself thoroughly because he is a profound young musician. He was slightly uneasy initially but gained confidence after the first two songs. I was equally impressed by his renditions and originals,” says Bettina. “For my own taste, a few modern compositions in the set would have been more interesting. But his choice was conservative, which worked well with the crowd that was there. Having said that, I really look forward to his next concert,” she adds.