Aziz Listening

Soon after that the iconic Squire upped and went. In came Aziz8212;who8217;d already established a reputation while touring with fellow Mancunians Simply Red8212;and soon after, the Roses collapsed. Then, says Aziz, began the abuse.

How did he cope? 8216;8216;It helped that I was very close to the others in the band. But most important, I feel, is to be close to yourself. And to see that you8217;re still better off than most others.8217;8217;

A very Asian way of dealing with things. In keeping with his very Asian upbringing. Aziz was born in Manchester but his parents had lived in, first, undivided India his father was in the Indian Army, Lahore and then western Punjab before migrating in the early 1960s. So he grew up with the smell of Pakistan fresh on salwars and the sound of Rafi on the stereo.

Getting into music wasn8217;t easy, given his parents8217; traditional sensibilities. 8216;8216;It8217;s an old contradiction,8217;8217; he laughs. 8216;8216;We all have so much music in our lives but we are always told, 8216;Beta, don8217;t try to make a living out of it8217;.8217;8217;

He ignored the advice, and there are today a string of people thankful he did. Roses vocalist Ian Brown once called him 8216;8216;one of the great guitarists8217;8217;. He8217;s played with almost every musician of an age and with cred: Brown, Simply Red, Noel Gallagher Oasis, Paul Weller The Jam, Mick Talbot with Weller in Style Council. Even his detractors among die-hard Roses fans appreciate his cover of Hendrix8217;s Little Wing.

So what8217;s he doing in India with a tabla player Dalbir Singh Rattan? Isn8217;t he treading the same path as Junoon, for example, or Strings? 8216;8216;Well, I8217;ve heard those groups and they are good. But what I bring with me is the experience of playing western music to western audiences and, with Dalbir, combining it with Indian instruments.8217;8217; The reverse, if you like, of what South Asian bands have done.

The music is a reflection of all his influences, from Morocco to Manchester, Southend to Syria. 8216;8216;I pick up things from wherever I play and turn them into guitar runs. Listening to Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, for example, and incorporating some of that style into my music.8217;8217;

Witness the title track of his debut Lahore To Longsight a reference to his parents8217; journey in life. It8217;s an instrumental which, he says, tries to recreate the experience of travelling on an Indian train as his father had done as a soldier. 8216;8216;Should have been on the Gandhi soundtrack.8217;8217;

If there is a mission beyond writing words and notes, it8217;s a need to make the tabla as integral, and as anonymous a part of rock as guitar and Rhodes synth. 8216;8216;I don8217;t want people to hear the tabla and think Ravi Shankar or Southall or George Harrison. I want it to blend, I know it can.8217;8217;

His week here promises to be interesting. He8217;s read up on the history and recalled things his dad told him about life here. Now he8217;s ready to experience it first-hand.

Aziz will play at Jazz Garden Pune, today; The Park Kolkata, Tuesday; The Mall Darjeeling, Wednesday