The Jam Jar & Music at the World Junction Present: Ustad Noor Bakhsh
Schedule
Wed Jul 03 2024 at 07:30 pm to 10:30 pm
UTC+01:00Location
The Jam Jar Bristol | Bristol, EN
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๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐
๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐: ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ท๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ.๐ต๐ฐ The legendary 79-year-old who has recently taken the world by storm with his electrifying, ecstatic and indefinable sound. ๐ต๐ฐ
Inspired by birdsong and told through the twisting tones of the benju, Ustad Noor Bakhsh's music straddles the space between modern-day Pakistan and Iran, evoking a vivid tapestry of emotion. Music that ignites the soul.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐
๐จ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ก๐ผ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ต๐๐ต
+ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐
๐ช๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐๐น๐
๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ข๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ณ.๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ฝ๐บ
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ, ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐น
Ustad Noor Bakhsh, from near Pasni, Balochistan, is a maestro of the Balochi Benju (a keyed Zither), which he has played since he was a child. Noor Bakhsh is well known as a legendary instrumentalist throughout the Makran Coast, but only garnered wider attention after his most recent recordings and videos.
The Benju, was once a Japanese childrenโs toy called the taishลkoto before it was adopted by Balochi musicians and made into the refined folk instrument that it is today. Noor Bakhsh plays an electric Benju, getting his sound through an old pickup and small Phillips amp he bought from Karachi 2 decades ago.
He carries forward the legacy of his teachers and inspirations such as Bilawal Belgium and Misri Khan Jamali but his own music elicits influences from various traditions and musical forms far beyond Balochistan. His virtuosic playing is deeply rooted in Balochi musical forms and enriched by his knowledge of South Asian Raags, which he also renders in his own, experimental style.
His repertoire includes Persian and Kurdish tunes that have probably floated in his land since before the modern borders of Iran and Pakistan were set up and Balochistan, divided as it were. In one of his recent recording sessions, he even played an Arabic Ghazal on his Benju. Needless to say, he also renders popular and folk tunes in all the major languages spoken across Pakistan.
His Sindhi repertoire is particularly novel in that it reflects a beautiful conversation between the neighbouring musical cultures of Sindh and Balochistan. No surprises, that Noor Baksh plays several Bollywood songs too, after all, he has soaked the sounds around him like a sponge, including those of all birds in the mountains and the jungle near his village. Other than his diverse repertoire, he has several original compositions too, including one inspired by bird songs. His debut album, 'Jingulโ, was released digitally in September 2022, and came out on vinyl via the UKโs Hive Mind Records on September 15, 2023.
For listeners unfamiliar with Balochi music, Noor Bakshโs electric Benju tone and his melodic ornamentations will be reminiscent of Ali Farka Toureโs style, and polyrhythmic sixes and eights with so much groovy innovation and improvisation will make the body move in ways very similar to the music of West as well as East Africa. This is unsurprising, given the well documented migrations and seafaring, historical, intimacies between Balochistan and Africa, via the greater Indian Ocean world. It is this world that his music brings back to life.
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Where is it happening?
The Jam Jar Bristol, 12 Eugene Street, Bristol, BS5 0, United Kingdom,Bristol, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays: