November 30, 2007	Friday	Ziqa’ad 19, 1428

KARACHI, Nov 29: Jazz is the ideal soundtrack for a city like Karachi. Though aficionados of classical, pop and other genres may hardly agree, whenever a foreign jazz troupe performs here, it always seems that the notes being pounded out are in complete harmony with the dynamics of this metropolis. And German quartet Café Du Sport’s performance here on Thursday night at the Art’s Council Auditorium was no exception.

Comprising Mainz born bassist Christian von Kaphengst, drummer Guido May, guitarist Bruno Mueller and saxophone player Franc Lauber, the foursome kicked out the jams in an impressive set that clocked in at about an hour and 15 minutes. The group, invited to the city by the Goethe-Institut, has two albums under their belt, Jazzquartet and 2nd Service.

The first tune, a seven-year-old number called Waves, started with Lauber blowing into his sax in a fashion that was eerily reminiscent of Branford Marsalis’s performance in Sting’s brilliant Englishman in New York. The saxophone remained a constant feature until it was enveloped by the guitar, played in a warm, clean tone. Down Hill, a tune written by ax-man Mueller, had a far funkier feel to it with a definite big band flavour, growing to be quite boisterous towards its climax with a noisy bass solo.

The next two tunes were tributes to two legendary jazzmen, San Francisco born alto sax player Paul Desmond and Chicago born tenor saxophonist Eddie Harris. Though the first of the two songs – the name of which escaped this writer, also written by Bruno Mueller – was a tribute to the cool jazz era, the temperature started fluctuating wildly as the quartet unabashedly entered pure funk territory.

Like Eddie began with a primal drum intro, played by May sitting behind a Pearl kit that, aided by a few of Mueller’s mellow, effects-laden guitar strokes, effortlessly melted into the main tune. The suave piece was one of the highlights of the night, as the band members inflected into it an essence of jazz-rock fusion and Latin jazz, with plenty of moments reminiscent of James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic.

Then came a lull in the show as three quarters of the band took five while the guitarist was left on stage to perform a guitar solo called Slow Motion, which was aptly named as it sounded more like a lullaby than a souped-up jazz piece.

But the second-to-last piece, Speak Bold, if the German-accented English was heard correctly, took the cake as the foursome charged forward with gusto to lift the audience with their deft musicianship. An ultra fast-paced, rapid fire affair, the piece de resistance came during the middle, with a percussive, explosive bit that was reminiscent of Woodstock-era Santana.

During the last song a member of the audience jumped on stage and attempted to give a vocal accompaniment to the otherwise instrumental set. Though the band members were kind enough to oblige (Pete Townshend, guitarist of legendary rock band the Who, had whacked Abbie Hoffman over the head at Woodstock for attempting a similar adventure), as soon as the intruder opened his mouth, it was clear he was pulling a prank. Luckily, one of the organizers escorted the character off stage before things got ugly and ruined an otherwise enjoyable night of music. —QAM