KARACHI: German jazz band Melt Trio collaborated with the students and faculty of the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) on Saturday evening at an event meant to bridge cultures of the two countries through the art of music.

The Melt Trio –– Peter Meyer (guitar), Bernhard Meyer (bass) and Mauritz Baumgartner (drums) –– appeared on stage with Napa students. The concert kicked off with the customary students’ performance where they sing an eastern scale and the guest musicians play with them.

The real fun began when the trio started playing their material. It was nothing less than a delight listening to their extraordinary musicianship. The first track was enough to tell the audience what they were in for. It was not a typical jazz tune and was rather more in the experimental realm, but as the composition moved along, the brilliant bass riffs and guitar runs, not to mention top-notch drum playing, brought the composition into familiar territory in no time.

The next track was on the groovier side. The three musicians by now had warmed up to the environment and played with great facility and style. An interesting thing happened during their second presentation: a cat ran across the stage and disappeared behind the curtains. This may mean that the cat too was enjoying the music.

The highlight of the evening was the composition called ‘Congo Square’. It started off as a rhythm-heavy piece and did not take long to sound like a dream-like sequence. The ambient sound was largely due to the effects created by pedals (could be a reverb pedal) masterfully used by Peter Meyer. When the composition ended, Baumgartner told the audience that the tune was inspired by Congo Square in New Orleans, where the ‘blues jazz structure was invented’.

This was followed by ‘Mountains’. As can be guessed from the title of the track, it was a musical interpretation of a series of visuals, and the three artists did a fine job of it.

Earlier, director of Goethe Institut Stefen Winkler addressed the audience. He said The Melt Trio, after the Karachi gig, would perform in eight other cities in South Asia. He said Saturday’s event was part of the ongoing German Cultural Weeks. He also informed them on the forthcoming programmes, including the Karachi Files concert that’s going to take place on Nov 23 at the Arts Council.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2016