CCM Jazz Brings its Concert Series to a Close with 'In Search of Garaj Mahal,' Featuring Legendary Guitarist Fareed Haque

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) Jazz Ensembles presents the last jazz concert of the season, “In Search of Garaj Mahal,” with Scott Belck and Dominic Marino as music directors and conductors on

Sunday, April 6 at 4 p.m.

in

Corbett Auditorium

.

Jazz lovers don’t want to miss this one-night-only concert as CCM Jazz students, faculty and alumni perform new big band arrangements of Fareed Haque’s original music, with Haque himself joining CCM Jazz Ensembles on stage.

Haque’s unique style has led to collaborations with Arturo Sandoval, Sting, Keller Williams and Medeski, Martin, and Wood, just to name a few!

About Fareed Haque

Fareed Haque is a modern guitar virtuoso. Steeped in classical and jazz traditions, his unique command of the guitar and different musical styles inspire his musical ventures with tradition and fearless innovation.

Born in 1963 to a Pakistani father and Chilean mother, Fareed’s extensive travels, with especially long stays in Spain, France, Iran, Pakistan, and Chile exposed Haque to different music styles from a very early age. This natural eclecticism has become the hallmark of Haque’s music, but it was repeated visits to Von Freeman’s Chicago jam sessions that gave Haque the grounding in the Chicago blues and jazz tradition.

The 1981 recipient of North Texas State University’s Jazz Guitar Scholarship, Haque spent a year studying with renowned jazz guitarist and pedagogue Jack Peterson. Haque's growing interest in the classical guitar led him to transfer to Northwestern University, where he completed his studies in classical guitar under David Buch, John Holmquist and Anne Waller.

Soon after his transfer to NU, Haque came to the attention of multi-instrumentalist Howard Levy and joined his Latin-fusion group, Chevere. Through Levy, Haque was introduced to Paquito D’Rivera and began a long and fruitful relationship with the Cuban NEA Jazz Master. Numerous world tours and recordings including Manhattan Burn, Celebration, Havana Cafe, Tico Tico, Live at the MCG were to follow. Especially notable is the classic and award winning Reunion featuring Haque along with Arturo Sandoval, Danilo Perez, Giovanni Hidalgo, Mark Walker, and David Fink.

Through D’Rivera, Haque was brought to the attention of Sting, who had just begun his record label, Pangaea. Sting invited Haque to join the label and he released two critically acclaimed recordings, “Voices Rising” and “Manresa.” Haque toured briefly with Sting, including notable appearances at The Montreux Jazz Festival as well as NBC’s

Michelob Presents Sunday Night with David Sanborn

, but his own career demands led Haque in other directions.

Haque has been featured on WTTW’s ArtBeat and Chicago Tonight, Ben Sidran’s

New Visions

,

Michelob Presents Sunday Night with David Sanborn

, his own Lonesome Pines special for PBS, and on BET cable jazz channel. Fareed has twice been selected as Talent Deserving Wider Recognition in

Downbeat Magazine

.

In 1988 Haque also joined the faculty at Northern Illinois University as professor of jazz and classical Guitar. He presently teaches at NIU.

In 2001 Haque’s interest in jam bands and the jam scene led him to co-found the jam super-group, Garaj Mahal, featuring Kai Eckhardt, Eric Levy and Alan Hertz. This began 10 years of extensive touring across the US, performing in excess of 200 shows per year.

Haque was voted ‘Most Valuable Player’ at the 2002 High Sierra Music Festival. Haque and Garaj Mahal released three live CDs as well as five studio CDs: "Mondo Garaj," "Blueberry Cave," "w00t," "More Mr. Nice Guy" and "Discovery," which featured Haque’s debut of the Moog Guitar. In 2007 Garaj Mahal won an Independent Music Award.

Voted ‘Best World Guitarist’ by

Guitar Player Magazine

in 2009, his acclaimed 2009 release “Flat Planet” was twice #1 on the World Jazz Radio charts.

Haque’s interest in electronic music and the Moog Guitar spurred him to leave Garaj Mahal and form his latest group, Fareed Haque’s MathGames, featuring bassist Alex Austin, drummer Greg Fundis, keyboardist Jesse Clayton and other guests. Recent notable performances include Haque performing and assistant directing the first Jazz Festival en la Patagonia; Frutillar, Chile under his old mentor and friend Paquito D’Rivera, and appearances with his own groups at JavaJazz, The Chicago Jazz Festival, The Twents Guitar Festival, The Indy Jazz Fest, Coleman Hawkins Jazz Fest, Jazz in June, The Lafayette and South Bend Jazz Festivals, Sophia Jazz Fest, Bulgaria and many others around the world.

In one of the greatest honors – and challenges – in a lifetime dedicated to music, Haque recently performed BOTH the Aranjuez and Villa-lobos guitar concertos (in one concert!) with The Chicago Philharmonic, under the baton of Lucia Matos at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall.

Haque continues to tour and record extensively along with documenting his unique and often unorthodox teaching methods in a series of interactive video courses through

TrueFire

.

Performance Time

4 p.m. Sunday, April 6

Location

Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village

University of Cincinnati

Tickets

Tickets to "In Search of Garaj Mahal" are $12 for general admission, $6 for non-UC students and FREE for UC students with a valid ID.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at

513-556-4183

or online at

ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice

.

Parking and Directions

Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit

uc.edu/parking

for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit

uc.edu/visitors

. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit

ccm.uc.edu/about/directions

.

_____

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor & Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Partner: ArtsWave