Farid Ali is no doubt one of the region's finest jazz guitarists. For the past 15 years, he has performed and recorded with many well-known names including Ernie Watts, Eric Marienthal, Bobby McFerrin, Steve Thornton, Jeremy Monteiro, Lee Jeung Sik and Randy Branson.

In the last few years, this Berklee College of Music graduate, has taken to performing with the gambus, or Malay lute, developing a new sound he calls "jazz gambus".

As part of all-star jazz group, Asian Spirits, comprising musicians from Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and China, Farid has brought the gambus onto the world stage performing at the Jarasum Jazz Festival in Seoul, Korea and the Pori International Jazz Festival in Finland.

Farid first took to the guitar at the age of 11, and counts among his early influences such greats as George Benson, Jose Feliciano, Chet Atkins, Earl Klugh, Toninho Horta, Joe Pass and Pat Metheny.

At the age of 19, spurning his parents' wishes to take up law, Farid attended music training at the Guitar Institute of Technology, California, and went on to study commercial arranging and composition at Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music.

Farid honed his skills performing for nine years in Boston and at various jazz festivals around the US. A highlight of his early career was winning the best arranger award at the Curacao International Song Festival in 1988, which spurred invites from various international music events in US and Europe.

To date, Farid has participated in over 40 jazz festivals, winning awards such as the Distant Accord Award at the Wiltern Theater, Los Angeles, conferred by the World Festival Organization in 1992, and the World Peace Movement Award in Los Angeles in 1993, accorded to performers who actively spread peace and friendship through music and arts.

From 1993 to 1997, Farid was the lead guitarist with a group called "Face First" who were the resident band of the Barn Thai Jazzaurant. The band recorded their debut album in 1997 under Universal, which was sold in 13 countries.

Besides performing, Farid lectures on jazz improvisation at the University Institute Technology Mara in Malaysia, where he has taught over 200 guitarists in 12 years. He is currently toying with the idea of pursuing a doctorate on the 3000-year-old gambus.

On his website MrGambus.com, Farid says: "Music is a gift from God. Those who choose to make a living from it, should do it with love and sincerity, for it is only then that we will be able to realize the power music has in our lives."

LINKS: mrgambus.com | Asian Spirits

(Posted: Mar 16, 2005)

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