Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Guitarist Fareed Haque's typical itinerary makes it hard to fathom how one man can cram so much onto his plate. Within 48 hours, it's not that uncommon for Haque to fly to a major city, perform and hop a late flight home and hours later, teach guitar courses at Northern Illinois University, then dash to another show or recording session.
Haque is a seasoned session man in the most versatile sense--switching between classical, jazz, new age and occasionally incorporating ethnic influences from his Pakistani/Chilean upbringing. "It's a very marketable balance," Haque says, laughing. He adds that having hands in several pots can be quite lucrative: "Most artists specialize in one type of music but there aren't many guitarists that can read music and switch up so much. I'm a master of none, but a jack of all trades, a gun always for hire."
That availability has paid off; Sting, Cassandra Wilson, Ramsey Lewis and Medeski, Martin, and Wood are among those who have called on Haque's services. Such stints, and the countless others along the way, have culminated in Haque's recurring appearances with Summit (George Brooks' experimental ensemble), his co-founding of jazzy instrumental jammers Garaj Mahal in 2001, and the new solo CD "Singh Song."
"In the past five years I've realized some of my own convictions about music and wanted to become my own composing musician," he says. "It's a natural progression since I've seen how so many other groups operate."
Haque's branching out "is always exciting because you never know what he's going to come up with next," says frequent collaborator Kai Eckhardt, Garaj Mahal's bassist. "It's rare that a guitarist can cross so many boundaries. He's one of the most well-rounded and flexible you'll ever meet."
Haque doesn't let accolades inflate his ego. "I may have covered a lot of spectrums, but there's so much more to discover," he notes. "I don't even like students to call me `professor' because being called `all knowledgeable' means you can't learn anything else.
"Every project, every band I play with--every day actually--provides a chance to learn something new." - Andy Argyrakis - Chicago Tribune
Haque's approach to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's 1969 breakthrough is both lyrical and groove intensive. He shakes up "Carry On" into a chugging bitches' brew laced with auto-wah soloing, lends "Teach Your Children" al Latin feel graced by gentle nylon-string punctuation and cool counter-rhythms, and, against David Onderdonk's warm-toned acoustic rhythm guitar, adds fleshy Zippo lighter slide to a poignant "Helpless". Haque's flamencofied, rocked-out "Deja Vu" is a stunning translation. - Guitar Player
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Guitar virtuoso Fareed Haque enjoys a career that spans the spectrum of musical styles. Moving easily between jazz and classical guitar, Fareed's versatility has created a demand for him with prominent jazz and classical artists including Paquito D'Rivera, Dave Holland, Sting, Joe Henderson, Joe Zawinul, Javon Jackson, Cassandra Wilson, Kurt Elling, Lester Bowie, Arturo Sandoval, Robert Walter, Carl Denson, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Kahil el Zabar, Defunckt, Ramsey Lewis, Nigel Kennedy, Edgar Meyer, Robert Conant, , Stephen Stubbs, Frank Bungarten, members of the Vermeer Quartet and many symphony orchestras in the U.S. and abroad.
He has performed all of the major guitar concertos, is an active transcriber of baroque as well as South American music and has had numerous modern works dedicated to him.
Fareed has also released five recordings as a leader: "Voices Rising" and "Manresa" on Sting's Pangaea label, and "Sacred Addiction," "Opaque," and "Deja Vu," on the prestigious Bluenote label. His most recent, "Singh Song" is available on Haven Records.
Haque has been featured on WTTW's ArtBeat, Ben Sidran's New Visions, Michelob Presents Sunday Night with David Sanborn on NBC, his own Lonesome Pines Special for PBS, and on BET cable jazz channel. Fareed has twice been selected Talent Deserving Wider Recognition in Downbeat magazine. In 1989, Fareed joined the faculty of Northern Illinois University, where he currently holds an associate professorship in jazz and classical guitar studies.
Born in 1963 to Pakistani father and Chilean mother, extensive travels, especially long stays in Spain, France, Iran, Pakistan and Chile, exposed Haque to different musics from a very early age. This natural eclecticism has become the hallmark of Fareed's music. 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. Fareed'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.
In 2001 Fareed co-founded the jam super-group Garaj Mahal, joined George Brooks' group Summit, featuring Zakir Hussein and Steve Smith and continues to record and tour with the Fareed Haque Group. Most recently Fareed has become a staple of the 'Jamband' scene and was voted 'Most Valuable Player' at the 2002 High Sierra Music Festival.
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