The Sachar Jazz Band or Lahore Band was a group of Pakistani musicians who were made unemployed by a Pakistani law in the 1950s. The band creates music by combining folk music with American jazz.
The formation of the band
In 1958, when the American jazz artist Brubeck performed in Lahore, Pakistan, there was a Pakistani boy named Izzat Majeed in the audience. He loved performing and became interested in jazz. By the 1960s, the film and music industries became popular with the people of Pakistan, but with the introduction of the Islamic regime and Sharia law in Pakistan, non-religious music began to attract the attention of audiences and the Pakistani government. Many famous Pakistani singers and musicians became unemployed and had to work in coffee shops and drive rickshaws. In an interview, Majeed said when talking about the situation of Pakistani singers at that time,
We are losing our instruments, we are losing our musicians, we are losing our culture. Something has to be done about this. “
A few years later, Majeed (a businessman and philanthropist) started a music studio called Sachal Studio with the aim of working for musicians (who lost their jobs after the introduction of the Islamic regime and Sharia law in Pakistan).
Izzat Majeed
Group established
In the late 1990s, Majeed, together with Pakistani music producer Mushtaq Soofi, formed a group of musicians from Lahore (who had lost their jobs due to the Islamic regime in Pakistan and the introduction of Sharia law). He named the band “Sachar Orchestra” or “Lahore Jazz Orchestra”. Musicians used to rehearse and record Pakistani folk songs in his studio. Since the local audience in Pakistan was very small, the band started producing music for an international audience.
member
Some members of the Sahar Ensemble include:
- Baqar Abbas – bansuri (flute)
- Nadeem Abbas – Bass
- Rafiq Ahmad – daff (frame drum)
- Asad Ali – guitar
- Danish Ali – Piano
- Najaf Ali – dholak (tambourine);
- Zohaib Hassan – sarangi (bowed string instrument)
- Ijaz Hussain – tabla (tambourine);
- Ali Shaiba – drums
- Nijat Ali – conductor
Majeed spoke about some members of the group in interviews. He said,
Papp works at a roadside tea stall, and his cello is so worn that its strings have been replaced by plastic strings. When I showed him a brand new instrument, he started crying. “Can you give it to me to take home and play with?” he asked longingly, not realizing that this was my intention.
He continued,
Others, like Sabir Ali, are not so strapped but crave a steady stream of income. Middle-aged Ali, whose henna-dyed hair contrasts with the emerald droplets on his ears, recalls an impressive career creating for the likes of Attaullah Essa Helvi and Hadiqa Kiani career. But such opportunities are drying up as record labels quickly stop releasing new albums. “Since Sachal was born, this means we will never lose our jobs.”
The rise of music groups
Inspired by a jazz concert he attended as a teenager, Majeed decided to fuse folk songs with American jazz. Later, the Sachal Ensemble Group uploaded a video on YouTube titled “Take Five” (a super hit song by American jazz artist Dave Brubeck), which included folk and Americana. Jazz, the video went viral. In an interview, Dave Brubaker said of Take Five,
This is the most interesting and unique Take Five recording I’ve ever heard. “
Soon, the musical group began to gain huge popularity among international audiences. In 2014, the band collaborated with jazz artist Wynton Marsalis for a concert in New York City with the Orchestra of Lincoln Center.
Sachar Jazz Orchestra and Orchestra of Lincoln Center perform in New York City
On April 23, 2016, the band performed for the first time at a concert in Lahore, Pakistan. On May 20, 2016, Universal Music Classics released “Song of Lahore”, an American documentary based on the struggle story of “Sachar Band”. The documentary was produced by Shameen Obaid-Chinoy (Pakistani-Canadian journalist) and Andy Schocken (American documentary filmmaker). In 2019, the orchestra was invited to perform at a reception for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
Documentary “Song of Lahore”
“Sachar Orchestra” or “Lahore Jazz Orchestra” has performed in various stage shows and concerts.
Sachar Jazz Band at event
They also perform for various fundraising events organized in Pakistan and other countries.
Sachar Jazz Band Fundraiser
In 2022, the band performed on the 14th season of the Pakistani music program “Coke Studio” (Pakistan).
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education