Sharik Hasan’s proficiency in jazz has taken him to many corners across the world. But he is totally appreciative of Hyderabad. “A lot of my friends and grandparents are here. I’ve been visiting the city often, thanks to my affiliation with HWMF. They’re doing everything to popularise western music here. I always have a nostalgic feeling in Hyderabad. I identify with its history and it’s hard to find a place that offers a better blend of culture, architecture and food,” he observes.
“As jazz is not elitist or exclusive and encompasses many musical forms, it helps everyone find a common ground,” the jazz pianist remarks. Speaking to us hours ahead of his concert in Hyderabad, commemorating a decade of the Hyderabad Western Music Foundation (HWMF), US-based Sharik sees this as an opportunity to reconnect with his roots in the city.
Regional flavours
Every place comes with its own musical flavour, though Sharik feels he could do with more time to explore them during his trips and make them a part of his compositions. “It’s tough to grasp culture in a short time but I’m trying. Jazz history is full of figures who’ve picked up unique influences. Like a Duke Ellington who was influenced by sounds from the Middle East, Dizzy Gillespie owned the Afro-Cuban twist in his numbers, so has John McLaughlin through the Mahavishnu Orchestra as an ode to the Indian sound scape.” Sharik has studied jazz for long, but his childhood in India has subconsciously helped him make classical music an integral element of his compositions.
The format of a lec-dem followed by a concert interests him, as he feels it brings a certain context to music. “Jazz goes back to the 1800s. Several migrations to the US, European classical music influences helped generate many unique expressions in its journey towards the current form.”
Change of the form
Its evolution has varied from a popular entertainment option to dance and being a listening form. “I would like to play them to the audiences. That’s more visceral, yes, but it doesn’t harm to have an educational component. It’s important to know of origins and why the format has evolved the way it did.” He loves the genre as it enables him to express with certain vitality and sincerity.
Music doesn’t always beget music, he insists. “It’s necessary for musicians to nourish themselves in many ways. I was recently touring the UK where we had performances almost everyday. It was refreshing to have a break, go out, experience local sights, food, art and nature. Inspiration for music needn’t come from music alone.”
One doesn’t have to be a connoisseur to appreciate music, he adds, “All you need is a certain openness to accept. I have to put my heart into it, be honest, and be rest assured that I’ll take people onto a musical ride.”
