Andrew Morris and Saad Chowdhury, on first impressions doesn’t look anything like a musical duo. More like a father-son pair, that first impression is certainly deceiving. When I met them on a cloudy April afternoon, I would’ve been fooled, had I not known about BlueNote beforehand. Andrew, with his soprano sax in hand ushered me into the musical realm of Blue Note, where Saad voiced the pieces with his skilful fingers on the piano and his soft vocals on “the great American songbook”. The soul-searching words from ‘Summertime’ unfolded beautifully with the soothing notes from the sax and keys, complementing Saad’s voice and I listened, spellbound.
“So, how did BlueNote start out? Did you face any difficulties while introducing such a new genre here?” I posed the first question of the afternoon.
“I met Saad only last December, when we got together to provide backing music for a Dutch singer in town called Danielle. Realizing he was good, I asked him if he'd be interested in doing something, replied Andrew. “I was home throughout December and January, and had vague plans for a classy sort of duo - perhaps attack the embassy circuit, the clubs and so on. We bought loads of sheet music, worked out a set, and began practicing seriously in February. We wanted to market this in a new way, hence the name BlueNote, which is an old jazz club in NYC. We’ve been lucky to get a number of bookings at various clubs and places, thanks to some amount of marketing with a logo, photo shoot and website; even before we started playing in public.”
“We've been rehearsing for the last 5 weeks, and as we are both fairly musical, a good chemistry has developed; anticipating each other and communicating through playing, The reactions were a bit bemused, but in Gulshan, there are many people who've spent time in the States and know this music, or perhaps know what it represents and want a piece of it. Even if they can’t recognize the songs, they like the idea.” Saad added.
The music had now changed its pace, with the sax playing on a slightly lifted mood.
“The great American songbook, which is essentially the kind of music we play is basically comprised of tuneful melodies and witty lyrics.” Andrew guided me through the beats. “Many songs are from Broadway shows, mostly written between the ‘30s to ‘50s. The genre is familiarized with name like Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and Duke Ellington. Many songs are originally written by Jews, performed by Blacks to a White audience. Currently, a Welsh-Brit/Bangla duo is bringing it to the Bangladeshis!”
Our laughter was drowned with the performance taking a more upbeat turn. Andrew’s sax and Saad’s piano were now humming playfully alongside soft drumbeats, which gave the musical a new different dimension.
“BlueNote supports the BNWLA Hostel Appeal (www.bnwlahostel.org) with proceeds from its performances,” Andrew continued. “I, personally collaborated with Ornob, who has a strong social conscience and we will be playing for the kids soon. This has been a better start to the campaign than I expected and we’re fully supportive of the cause.”
“On a more personal note, how long have you been here? What do you do?” I asked.
“Ever since 1998; first in Rajshahi and then in Chittagong. I responded to a job offer and worked here, on and off as an education consultant ever since. As of now, I’m leading a team rewriting the textbooks that teachers here study on the B.Ed under the Bangladesh Ministry of Education. I feel at home here and I don’t want to leave!” replied Andrew.
“I’m 23 and my dad is Bangladeshi while Mum is British. I teach piano and play for a couple of choirs,” answered Saad.
These very talented musicians curtained the session with Pink Panther. Their music was exciting and soothing at the same time. For me, BlueNote has been a wonderful, refreshing experience. I love their energy and passion towards what they were playing, and am looking forward to more of their sensuous performances.
For more on BlueNote, visit: http://www.bluenotesound.blogspot.com/
Published in April 2007 in Rising Stars
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