Kolachi Quartet
The first time I met Gumby was at Faisal Rafi’s studio, we decided to meet for a jam. The meeting was fruitful. We realized a common love for jazz, and also for spontaneous improvisation. After going through an initial lineup which consisted of Manu on Bass and John Saville on keys, we approached Emu from the band Fuzon to join us on keys and Khalid Khan veteran bassist, presently working with the band Aaroh, to join us on Bass. The quartet was thus born. Our goal was defined. We wanted to create a jazz experience that was unique to this part of the world. The way to create this experience would be by incorporating elements from our culture and tradition. Since all the music from the subcontinent is primarily raag based, raags were to play an important part of our music. We had various genres of music to borrow from, including folk, qawwali and classical. For this reason, we decide that we would frequently invite guests to perform with us as featured artists. The Kolachi Quartet gave its first public performance at the PACC auditorium on the 18th of October 2008. The response was overwhelming. The Kolachi Quartet intends to make these shows a regular feature. Below are excerpts of some of the reviews

“…. Each musician brought his own flair, passion and sound, and when they came together their music gelled perfectly.”   DAWN – Images, November 2, 2008

“The chemistry between the four was undeniable and one hopes more live performances are encouraged by the maturity and musicianship demonstrated on Saturday evening.”  SUNDAY magazine, October 26 – Nov 1 2008

“When the mood is right and musicians align – and in this case star musicians – it is incredible…  Abbas, Gumby, Emu and Khalid were tremendously in sync and they were obviously having a ball.”  THE NEWS – Instep – October 21 2008.