Written by: Rehan Botejue
March 2nd: 10PM-1AM
In a by-gone era decades from its present, Karachi was an exceptionally vibrant city and a true hub of musical culture. The legendary 50’s seems to exist now as a distant, unreachable microcosm – the city’s parallel universe, where eminent jazz musicians and travelling bands contributed to amazing nightlife with large crowds and a constant barrage of tourists.
The downtown location surrounding Metropole Hotel used to be the core of this golden era that lasted a relatively short-lived 20 or so years, before the broader society went through traumatic, drastic changes.
This Saturday night, in a bid to relive another time, the Karachi Jazz Band will be performing a live set on Karachi Community Radio (KCR) in the famous Palace Cinema Building. It is now a co-working space named Work Hall, and has been converted into an audio visual theatre capable of delivering the required ambience for this particular project.
The Karachi Jazz Band is a trio that connected due to their collective desire to bring back jazz culture. Trained in the Eastern Classical tradition, Saxophone maestro Danial Riaz, Keyboard player Jamal Yousuf and Guitarist Arsalan Pareyal form a unique group striving to revive the sounds of a long lost generation.
Performing on a stage with an ornamental sculptural installation added by furniture consultants Carpenter Designs, the band will be playing from 10:00 PM onwards to audiences at the venue and tuning in on radio. There will be a diverse range of snacks and beverages provided by comfort food specialists SÒL.
Karachi Community Radio aspires to be an inclusive online space for local artists to live-stream to audiences tuning in, and they are experts in the future of live streaming technology. You can catch the live stream of ‘Jazz in the Metropole Area’ here.
