Jazz Night with Imran Ahmed Trio

On October 11, 2018, Dhanmondi's 3rd Space was the venue for Jazz Night, with performances by Imran Ahmed Trio, with an opening act by students of Imran Ahmed.

I reached about ten minutes early, only to find a room full of a young audience, eager to witness one of the most prominent jazz acts in the country. For those still unaware of this band, Imran Ahmed Trio consists of Imran Ahmed on guitar, Mohaimin Karim on bass guitar, and Arjo Shrestho on drums. They've been making jazz music for about three years and stand as the first jazz group from Bangladesh to have been on a world tour, earlier this year.

Once I found myself a spot, I noticed four boys getting up on the stage and setting up their instruments. These were the students of Imran Ahmed, who've been learning to play jazz music on the guitar for the last couple of months.

As the audience shuffled into place on the carpeted floor, Max Mystel, the host of the show, came up to the stage to introduced Imran Ahmed to the crowd. He came forward and welcomed his pupils, Yeameem, Ishraq, Faiyaz and Aumio and told the audience that they'd be playing a set they'd only been practicing for less than a month.

The group started off with a song called 'Billie's Bounce', while a proud teacher, Imran, stood in the corner of the room, cheering them on. The students displayed a sincere performance of three more songs, one of them being a classic jazz number, 'All Of Me', which was also sung by Faiyaz, one of the students.

After they were done, it was now time for Imran Ahmed Trio to take the stage. They started off with Rumba, an original composition by the trio. This was followed by a few more originals, including an unnamed ballad and an energetic performance of 'Ode To Brazil', a Brazilian jazz influenced song to which the entire audience was cheering to and clapping in sync with the upbeat rhythm of the drums. By the end of the show, the audience, including myself, were left with a sense of satisfaction that left me craving for more evenings like this.

I got a chance to speak with Imran's students and ask them about how they became interested in learning jazz and where they hope to see themselves musically. "All four of us have been playing the guitar for the last 4-5 years and we all found a common ground in wanting to learn more in the technical aspect of music." said Ishraq Atahar Dipro, one of Imran's pupils, who is also a medical student. While they were still on the fence about taking up music as a future career option, they all seem to find hope and inspiration in their teacher Imran.

When asked about his future plans, Imran said, "Right now I am focused on building a jazz scene in Bangladesh that'll be talked about in the international jazz community. And that's where I see my students and younger musicians, representing Bangladeshi globally."

Imran Ahmed Trio is currently working on its second studio album that is scheduled to release by the end of this year. To catch them live, keep an eye on their Facebook Page: fb.com/imranahmedmusic