Photo: Hira Abro
Ustad Noor Bakhsh, from near Pasni in Balochistan, has played the Balochi benju, a keyed zither, since childhood. A legend on the Makran coast, he became known more widely through recent recordings. He plays an electric benju through an old pickup and a small amplifier.
With jazzhane
- 04.07.2024 jazzhane Festival 2024, Rote Fabrik Zurich
About
With Ustad Noor Bakhsh, from near Pasni, Balochistan, we are honored to host a master of the Balochi Benju (a keyed Zither), an instrument he has played since his early childhood. Noor Bakhsh is a legendary instrumentalist throughout the Makran Coast, however, he only garnered wider attention after his most recent recordings and videos.
The Benu, once a Japanese toy for kids called the taishōkoto, was adopted by Balochi musicians and made into the refined folk instrument it is today. Noor Bakhsh plays an electric Benju, producing an idiosyncratic sound on an old pickup and a small Phillips amp he bought from Karachi two decades ago. Carrying forward the legacy of his teachers and inspirations, such as Bilawal Belgium and Misri Khan Jamali, his music elicits influences from rich traditions far beyond Balochistan.
Careful listeners will be taken on a journey with Noor Bakhsh’s experimental style, a repertoire that includes Persian and Kurdish tunes, Arabic Ghazals, and the many languages spoken in Pakistan: music that traveled in his lands before the modern borders of Iran and Pakistan were drawn; before Balochistan was divided.