Sampooran by Mekaal Hassan Band

No band has embraced the grass-roots of jazz and fused it with the classical sound and introduced it 'full throttle' to a legion of new fans as much as The Mekaal Hasan Band has. As many of you know, once the Mekaal Hasan Band (MHB) bug has sunk its fangs deep into your musical soul there is little turning back. Given Mekaal's lifetime passion for jazz and music in general, it was probably inevitable that he would seek an outlet to become just like his jazz-minded heroes.

Jazz is one of America's only home grown art forms. It's also largely neglected by American audiences and virtually no current musicians have widespread recognition. Jazz, in popular imagination, is still defined by the horn giants of yesteryear, icons like Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. Our very own Mekaal Hasan and Co may soon change all that for us at least. They are at once aggressively adventurous and easily accessible, working within jazz while borrowing classical ingredients from our own culture and helping to make jazz vibrant and cool again. It's high time for the boundaries between 'our own music' and progressive jazz to break down. And Mekaal Hasan Band, located at the nexus of harmony, melody and rhythm, have jumped into the void.

There's no magic answer to what makes a Mekaal Hasan Band song special to the listeners. It could be the majestic power of their songs, or maybe you were turned on in their early days enslaved by their cult status. As often happens in bands with such celebrated lead guitarist, egos do not battle in the case of Mekaal Hasan Band. "Onstage the struggle is not to overplay, but to compliment each other and to create an environment where the band is presented as a union of 7 people rather than a shouting match between 7 individuals. It's unlikely you will find anyone grandstanding in the band's live shows or on the records. The idea is to achieve balance, not disharmony," explains Mekaal. The band has quickly established them as the band of the moment. Nobody but nobody is making music as soul wrenching or as classic as Mekaal's crew.

In their debut as well as the finest studio outing that totals the playing time at 54:28 minutes, one thing has remained constant and that is the intensity of Mekaal Hasan. Mekaal's contribution to Mekaal Hasan Band go way beyond his duties as a guitarist and front-man of the best 'classical jazz' band Pakistan has ever seen. If all that weren't enough, as the only composer and the producer in the band Mekaal has also taken on the mantle of Mekaal Hasan Band 's keeper of the flame, for it is he alone who puts his compositions (along with his second half – Javed Akhtar) and music arrangements for thousands to hear and judge.

The debut album has been titled "Sampooran" for all the right reasons. Mekaal was in London rehearsing for the 'Square One' tour when Pete Lockett found out that Billy Cobham (In Mekaal's words, "he is the pioneer of Jazz and Jimi Hendrix of drums!") will also be playing with Mekaal Hasan Band. Being a huge fan of Billy, Pete got in touch with Mekaal. And it was only later that Mekaal found out about Pete's interest in eastern classical. What transpired was anything but fanaticism for Billy as Pete and Mekaal ended up collaborating in a series of concerts countrywide in March of 2001. It was during this tour that the title song - initially called 'Seven' - was written. As mentioned in the enhanced CD the term Sampooran is used to describe any seven note scale in eastern classical music and was suggested by the 'ShoMan' - Shoaib Mansoor. What's ironic is that the initial tour that started off this album had seven musicians, the song itself was written the same number of times, and even now there are 7 members on stage when Mekaal Hasan Band is performing live! With "Sampooran" we can punch the air in time to Gumby's and Pete Lockett's beats and rake the air alongside Mekaal's vicious riffs amalgamated with Javed Bashir's soothing vocals making it all seem surreal.

It isn't only the local audience who has taken the record so positively. Michael Mondesir who has provided the bass on the album is proud of the record too and believes that everyone should have a copy. He has toured Pakistan that happens to be one of his favourite places and feels that the work he has recorded for "Sampooran" isn't really different from the other albums he has worked on. "I treat every recording as a separate and new experience that I endeavour to put as much positive energy into the music as possible," Mike told via email. On being asked if has anything to say about Mekaal Hasan Band one felt proud of our very own musician as he had great things to say about Mekaal; "Mekaal is a world class guitarist and composer. He is the best recording engineer I've ever worked with, bar none and I've been recording for over twenty years. He has a great musical sense but also the technical skills to produce the best result. I believe he will be recognised on a global level as well as in Pakistan," concluded Mike with a passion.

And for Mekaal it's the greatest feeling to play music their way and have people react in such a positive manner, "I particularly feel happy because the reaction we get from people proves something I had long believed which was that honest music and integrity cuts through and there is always appreciation for music which comes from the heart and is made without selling out and catering to the lowest common denominator. This record and band should prove that there is a huge base of people who love music for its own sake and that not everyone accepts the trash, which many sponsors have had us believe, was the best music around."

Sajan

Sajan is an acoustic based song and happens to be one of the two Kaafis written by Shah Hussain. It set the scene nicely, allowing the subtleness of the flute and the soothing feeling to come slicing in and tear the listener's skin from their ears in a calm manner. The result: jazz meets folk that's true to the spirit of the music as an ever evolving art form, never in stasis, drawing on both its own traditions and the currents of popular culture.

Waris Shah

When fans sing the words to "Waris Shah" all but the real hardcore will be unaware that it is a song written about partition. It is based on an extract from the writings of the 'great poetess' - Amrita Pretum - who has been paid a loving tribute by a unique rendition of Waris Shah as Mekaal thinks very highly of her. This was really a way of saying thank you to her for her contributions to the cultural heritage of the subcontinent. This is the freshest-sounding song of the year, with breathtaking group improvisations. It may not have been a conscious attempt, but the sounds unleashed on this song have surely changed the face of great music for generations to come.

Raba

Raba is the other Kaafi written by Shah Hussain but unlike Sajan this one was given more of a wall of sound treatment. Both songs are very intimate, yet in differing ways in terms of the aural sensations they evoke. If you listen to the soul-fuelled music on Raba, or gaze at the awesome visuals complementing this song, you are suddenly at ease - almost in a hypnotic trance. The music and the vocals complement each other making you forget about the world without making you thumb your nose at it.

Sanwal

As one critic dubbed Sanwal to be the 'weakest link' my jaw dropped wide open. The sheer fury of the guitars as they stabbed and chopped their way through Javed's singing sounded unlike anything that has made its way out of Pakistan.

Sampooran

Sampooran that has been written in Raag Aiman gives each band member the perfect opportunity to launch into a solo of their instrument one by one. This one is an exultant title song that vaingloriously announces MHB to be remarkably purposeful in their defiance of the hook - a particularly neat trick considering the current clamour for Pedi-pop and alternative-rock that has been done to death in the past.

Darbari

Raag Darbari is most closely associated with Ustad Amir Ali Khan Sahib of Indore. Javed Bshir is blessed not only with a wonderful voice, but also the rare ability to use it with style and intelligence. The band concentrates hard on their strengths, and the outcome: a performance of superb timing and improvisational flair. Darbari is immediately likeable and sneakily addictive. Compositionally, the influences are very much from classic Weather Report (if anyone cares to, please do buy these 2 amazing classics from Weather Report, "Black Market" and "Heavy Weather"), in terms of the way the tunes are arranged so that the players get to be heard at their best without sacrificing the strength of the melodies and the tunes.

Ya Ali

Ya Ali is a classical Raag associated with Ustad Salamat Ali Khan and has been composed for the most part in Raag Verag Todi. If the goal of 'true-fusion' movement was to create the most extreme yet still listenable record, then its game over - Mekaal Hasan Band has won. It becomes obvious that for Mekaal Hasan Band speed is a means to an end - an easy way to give an adrenaline shot to catchy, but hardly original, riffs and sounds. Thanks to this track as now Mekaal Hasan Band's lyrics and arrangements have clearly eclipsed those of any band in the current music scene.

Late Moon

Late Moon is a re-vamped version of Sanwal and delivers a quasi-industrial mood to the instrumental and it features Raag Charokashi on it. The sheer balls on display in Mekaal's camp, where time changes and brazen riffs are casually thrown the listener's way as if there was an inexhaustible well of such hooks upon which they could draw.

The enhanced CD also offers the live version of 'Dreamscape' and 'Ya Ali' and the footage of the band jamming to a Steve Vai song namely the 'Attitude Song.' This video itself gives enough reason for us to get up and blow out our hips to keep up with the funky jam.

The idea behind this whole record was to work with traditional classical elements and introduce the beauty of both classical melody and jazz harmony to people in a manner which allows them to absorb both without feeling overly suppressed by the complexities of both these great art forms. There is so much we all need to be aware of and hopefully after listening to this record, people and particularly young people will walk away feeling connected to a tradition that too often is forgotten and looked over as something that is archaic. "There is a ton in the tunes which I am sure musicians will get off on, but none of it is at the expense of the song or the accessibility of the tunes," feels Mekaal.

I certainly didn't expect "Sampooran" to be as successful as it is. Timing has something to do with everything that goes on. Mekaal Hasan and his crew put out their debut album and suddenly they are surrounded by the mainstream. Bands such as Dusk, Mizraab and Mekaal Hasan Band are certainly not the last to be judged harshly under the heavily politicised eye of the modern media as more shall take up the path and become the part of the booming music industry. As Mekaal Hasan Band saw it, if success was heading their way then it was heading their way on their own terms.

Review By: Insiya Syed

First published: www.pakistanirock.com