Jazz and Indian classical music—two of the great musical idioms of the world—have a longstanding history of graceful collaboration. The beauty and unique melodic phrasing of Indian music have given percussionists, instrumentalists, and even vocalists new resources upon which they have drawn since Ravi Shankar singlehandedly popularised Indian music in the West.

The fourth edition of the Sharjah World Music Festival (SWMF), organised by Furat Qaddouri Music Centre and sponsored by Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), will dedicate an evening to a mesmerising dialogue between sitar and Jazz. At 9:00pm on Monday, 9 January, Masrah Al Qasba Theatre in Sharjah will be taken over by the Dutch Jazz trio – Mike del Ferro, Jeroen Vierdag and Bruno Castelluci – who will intertwine Jazz and Indian classical in highly expressive melodies and extended improvisations. Jazz vocalist, Deborah J. Carter, will join in to perform her most popular songs.

Niladri Kumar, renowned Indian classical and fusion musician, who has toured the world alongside stalwarts like Zakir Hussain and John Mclaughlin will also be performing at the show. Kumar has to his credit the creation of the ‘zitar’, a fusion instrument combining the sitar and guitar.

Mike del Ferro is a renowned Dutch pianist and composer who is famous for combining elements of Western music with Jazz.

Deborah J. Carter has featured in numerous international Jazz festivals, and is currently a professor of Jazz music at the Music Conservatory in Spain.

By organising this first of its kind music festival, Furat Qaddouri Music Centre seeks to boost the global cultural and art presence of Sharjah and the UAE. It also seeks to  introduce various musical cultures around the world to the UAE community, and add a new dimension to the emirate’s repertoire of touristic, artistic and cultural attractions.