Hamza Jafri: NAPA music dept head and a visionary artist

usic teacher, director, guitarist and singer-songwriter, Hamza Jafri, is a man of many talents. Between teaching music and playing director of musicals or being the driving force behind long-standing group, co-VEN, and creating original music, he is often playing exciting cover shows that include some of the most terrific musicians from Pakistan.

Jafri, who delivered an excellent cover of ‘All Night Thing’ by Temple of the Dog as a late-night acoustic version in 2022, has played a significant role in music education, first with The Guitar School and later with The MAD School. He was appointed the head of music department at National Academy of Performing Arts in 2023.

It was also in 2023 that Hamza Jafri pulled off a majestic Frank Sinatra tribute show where the jazz icon’s timeless songs were presented to a dedicated audience. But like previous cover shows, Jafri didn’t do it as a random tribute show. A great deal of thought went into this effort.

Hosted by National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) in Karachi, the show took place in the last quarter of 2023, with an intimate setting where the audience consisted of 250 people. Jafri curated and designed the live music event.

To that end, Shehzad Noor, a singer-songwriter and music educationist, who is based in Lahore, was flown down to Karachi, because his deep and enchanting voice was the perfect choice for this jazz-friendly set.

During the first half of the show, Shehzad Noor, performed a duo set with pianist Usman Anees. Together, they performed heartfelt renditions of ‘Moon River’, ‘My Funny Valentine’ and ‘My Way’ as well as several others. After a few songs, Shehzad was joined by Seeret Jafri Peerzadi for a special duet performance of the classic, ‘Strangers in the Night’.

Seerat also went solo to perform Nancy Sinatra’s iconic song, ‘My Baby Shot Me Down Bang Bang’. She was then joined by Hamza Jafri as they performed Sinatra’s crossover classic, ‘Under My Skin’.

Hamza Jafri then called The Karachi Jazz Band to the stage. Consisting of Arsalan Pareyal on guitar, Sharoon Joseph on piano, Jermeas Naeem on saxaphone, Salman Yusuf on bass and Shams-ul-Arifeen on drums, they performed the Latin pop classic ‘Sway’ with Seeret singing and galvanizing the audience to dance and move to the rhythm of the song.

Shehzad Noor returned to the stage to perform upbeat Sinatra songs (with the band) with the audience singing along. All of the songs, selected for the intimate tribute performance, show how well-versed Jafri is in his knowledge of music across genres. It is not something that can be said about every musician in the country.

Post-haste, Shehzad Noor described his experience and noted how it was “one of the best experiences” he has had “on stage”. “It was absolutely wonderful rehearsing with these amazing musicians. I can’t wait to perform this set again.”

Over the years, Hamza Jafri’s contribution to music has left a permanent imprint, not just on the music scene, but artists who are the future of music. He played a significant role in the folk-driven Braadri Broadcast and has been instrumental in the growth of young musicians who have been a part of shows like Coke Studio and Nescafe Basement.

Perhaps the most well-known name is that of Kaifi Khalil, who has been a pupil of Jafri and is currently one of the most exciting new names in music.

From jazz to rock to pop to folk to musicals to music education and tribute shows, it seems there is nothing Hamza Jafri cannot handle. His appointment as head of music department at NAPA, therefore, makes complete sense and we cannot wait to see what he does next. In the meantime, please head to Spotify and listen to some of co-VEN’s original songs. Life, as you know it, will never be the same for these are eternal songs, drenched in originality and combine several genres of music including grunge, punk and rock in lasting fashion.