KARACHI, Dec 14: Thursday evening saw the Karachi Sailing Club alight and resounding with sophisticated music in a line-up organised by a leading international brand of apparel, shoes and accessories.

With an invite-only guest list and the card explicitly indicating a formal dress code, the guests - including a number of conspicuous glitterati from television, fashion and music - were clearly well-prepared for the evening. And so, amidst a sea of black suits and dark gowns, including the occasional shalwar kameez of course, the evening of ‘romance and blues’ commenced, albeit a whole 90 minutes over time.

The first performer, Diego, began with a solo saxophone play - a true blue tune that tested the parameters of his pulmonary endurance with its rich composition - followed by Gumby joining in on drums. What resulted was nothing less than superb, delighting one’s ears, eyes and all senses as the duo played in perfect synchrony, and Gumby lashed out in his idiosyncratic style, playing with all the elements of the drummer in him.

A ‘surprise’ musician for the evening was Aamir Zaki who offered his guitaring services on the lead. The musical synchrony that followed had everyone tapping their feet and clapping in sheer wonderment of it all. But it was the joint gig with cellist, Dia that brought out how truly gentle an instrument a saxophone can be, how drums can actually whisper at times instead of thumping away, and how a cello and guitar can truly improvise each other without skipping a beat on the metronome. The sultry, heartrendingly romantic tune that the group murmured through their instruments had everyone breathless with the awe and beauty of it all.

Aamir Zaki followed the initial few instrumental sessions by rendering his voice to a couple of songs, after which the musicians staged solo performances in turn that truly canvassed their forte.