Pakistani musicians among the best: American jazz virtuoso

The double bass player of a New York based Jazz group, The Ari Roland Jazz Quartet, said on Thursday his band toured and played with musicians of thirty-five countries around the globe and they rank Pakistani musicians among the best in the world.

The Ari Roland Jazz Quartet arrived in Karachi on a five-day tour here on Thursday.

The group visited Pakistan in 2009 and played with maestros of classical music like Nafees Ahmed and Ustad Bashir Khan.

Talking nostalgically about their last visit, Ari Roland said: “We didn’t talk much, because of language barrier but the language of music created an instant bond between us and we played and played.”

During their stay in Karachi, the Quartet will conduct workshops with music and art students, and perform at various venues, including two major concerts in fusion with Pakistani bands.

The band also plans to perform a ‘friendship song’ with the leading local band Fuzon. Speaking about the song Roland said, “It is a beautiful composition, which Fuzon wrote and created and we are looking forward to the launch.”

The alto saxophone player of The Ari Roland Jazz Quartet is Zaid Naseer, an African-American Muslim who is the son of Jameel Nasser ñ a critically acclaimed jazz musician who played with the likes of BB king and Al- Haig.  Source