Jazz fusion group to appear in Nehalem

Published 9:00 am Tuesday, September 26, 2023

The band has produced a handful of live and recorded albums, including “Blueberry Cave.”

The North Coast Music Project will bring jazz fusion band Garaj Mahal to the White Clover Grange Hall on Oregon Highway 53 at 4 p.m. Sunday.

Garaj Mahal was formed in 2000 and has played hundreds of shows. The group recorded nine albums over a decade before amicably disbanding. In 2007, they won accolades from the Independent Music Awards for the album “Blueberry Cave.”

The band was formed around fire-fingered jazz and classical guitarist Fareed Haque and bassist Kai Eckhardt. It also included drummer Sean Rickman and keyboardist Eric Levy.

In 2018, Haque and Eckhardt rekindled the band with a series of supporting players and continued to tour major jazz venues in the U.S., Canada and Europe. This year, the band is heading out on a fall tour of the West Coast with perhaps its most diverse lineup yet.

The band is still built around Haque and Eckhardt. Haque, a veteran of bands led by Paquito D’Rivera and jazz-rock pioneer Josef Zawinul, started as a guitarist for Sting. Eckhardt, the band’s vocalist, is known for his extensive touring work with guitarist John McLaughlin, drummer Billy Cobham and the Brecker Bros.

Haque has visited the North Coast several times as a soloist and with his Funk Bros. Band.

Added to the lineup on this tour is pianist Oz Ezzeldin, a reliable player with the chops to dazzle night after night. Hassan Hurd, who will join on drums, is a product of the Oakland hip-hop-funk scene. Hurd has performed with The Coup and is a veteran of multiple touring bands.

Combine the guitar wizardry of Haque with the influence of Eckhardt, add jazz influences from pianist Ezzeldin, then place that framework over the funky, incessant beats of drummer Hurd, and the result is modern jazz that takes inspiration from regions around the world.

Garaj Mahal’s music — a combination of jazz, rock, Indian music and funk — floats between hard-driving, irresistible tunes and through sweet, soulful melodies into ethereal, flying-finger solos.

Often, the group’s arrangements are mathematically structured, serving to channel the randomness of the extensive soloing.

The country ambiance of the White Clover Grange is the perfect place to view the band’s work. The casual atmosphere and crowd mix add a lot to the occasion — and, since many of their tunes are highly danceable, the dance floor beckons even the timid.

Garaj Mahal Concert

4 p.m. Sunday, White Clover Grange No. 784, 36585 Oregon Highway 53, Nehalem

Doors open at 3:30 p.m., tickets are $25

www.whiteclovergrange.org

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