“My Favorite Things” is a famous show tune from the 1959 musical “The Sound of Music.”
It was introduced by Mary Martin in the original Broadway production. When John Coltrane, a free jazz-pioneering saxophonist, made a 14-minute arrangement of this previously composed tune, it became a jazz classic and one of Coltrane’s signature concert songs.
Though some people think it can’t get any better, this video tries to disprove that.
We bring you a video of the song performed by the Sachal Jazz Ensemble with the addition of flute that brought the popular tune to a whole new level of a masterpiece.
If this is what it means when East meets West, we want every part of it!
The performance is a tribute to Coltrane’s jazz interpretation that brought the song toward the East.
Pakistan’s movie-soundtrack band the Sachal Jazz Ensemble joined forces with Wynton Marsalis at Lincoln Center Orchestra during a UK tour. Together they created an incredible sound to represents a mixture between Eastern and Western cultures. The whole concept was brought to us through a fusion music project, and the results are quite amazing. To put it simply, it was an experiment that went perfectly!
We’re guessing that Coltrane would have loved this fantastic fusion.
This is one of the best live jazz performances we’ve seen, and it’s sure to take you on a journey where music meets magic.
The band is excellent, everyone is on point and the players seem to be from another dimension. With everyone precisely controlling the sound they create, the atmosphere is one of pure joy. Everyone involved did a phenomenal job and it turns into one of those performances that blows everyone away.
The beautiful part is the introduction, where Wynton paid respects to both Coltrane and the original songwriter.
Although all the playing is great, what really sets it apart is the playing towards the end.
The real magic and the reason why this arrangement is different from any version we’ve heard before is the flute.
Baqir Abbas gives a powerful, mystical and soul-stirring vibe to an already great song. The flute he plays is made of bamboo wood and is called a bansuri. Its warm and sublime sound creates a perfect balance with a traditional piano and drum set. It’s beautiful how the flute opposes the familiar Western music while still blending with them at the same time. You have to admire the combination—it gives us the best of both worlds!
This video makes you sit quietly and think about all the good things in life.
It makes you feel optimistic, calm and happy—and if any video is capable of doing all that, we’ve got to call it a triumph!
Since it was posted in 2015, this mesmerizing performance has gotten nearly a million views on YouTube.
The Sachal Jazz Ensemble was founded by Izzat Majeed, who was born and brought up in Lahore, Pakistan.
The Ensemble wants to portray Lahore as a vibrant city full of music and culture. Still, Baqir Abbas, the flutist of Sachal Ensemble, put it simplest: “We find God in music.” In our estimation, the outcome of this project was perfect—and we want to see a lot more opportunities where these different musical cultures can come together! It’s perfect when people recognize music as a way to channel cultural differences in a positive sense. Maybe the next project could be a Western version of an Eastern classic!
Check out the full performance in the link below:
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