Tanveer Alam Shawjeeb: On the verge of a break through
At an informal shindig, he slowly walked up to the stage and started jamming. Accompanied by Nazrul’s dhol, the singer started Takdum takdum bajey Bangladesh dhol and the nonchalant audience seemed to get “it”. From hip youngsters to the reluctant elderly, most seemed to sway and sing along. The evening had picked up.
Tanveer Alam Shawjeeb may not be hogging the limelight just yet but his creativity is definitely getting noticed.
With a Bachelor’s degree in Sound Engineering from Toronto Film School in Canada, Shawjeeb is busy with several projects. He has worked with directors including Nurul Alam Atique, Golam Sohrab Dodul and many others, composing title songs and background scores for their TV plays and tele-films. Among these Mon-e Mon-e, Chokkor and Aha ki Filmi are worth mentioning.
Shawjeeb is anything but a ‘newcomer’ in the music scene. With a diploma in Nazrul Sangeet from BAFA, Shawjeeb has been a Notun Kuri contestant and won first prize in Nazrul songs at the Jatiyo Shishu Shilpi Puroshkar, Dhaka Division. He also performed on BTV regularly until he moved to New York in ‘94.
Though his passion for classical and semi-classic subcontinental music remains diminished, Shawjeeb’s style has gone through gradual metamorphosis.
His growth as a musician and vocalist becomes apparent as one listens to the album Bari Kothaye Bolo (released by Bengal Music Company Ltd in April 2007). The guitar riff in the opening number Chaka ghurchhe cholchhe mayar khela reminds one of an Eric Claption in form. The preluding alaap and the effortless gliding in the third song Raat-ero akash sounds inspired by Pandit Ajay Chakrabarty. If that was not diverse enough, Shawjeeb’s solo Kobey jabo pahaar-e in the mixed album Jhalmuri-1 (also by Bengal Music Company Ltd), can be considered an urban interpretation of the jhumur genre.
According to the artiste, he has been “experimenting” with lyrics and tunes since the ’90s. He worked as a singer, songwriter and composer of two tracks in the album Urban Turban by a fusion group called Tasa in Toronto in 2005. As a musician he has accompanied renowned artistes like Feroza Begum, Sohrab Hossain, Manna De, Anup Ghoshal, Shipra Basu, Rezwana Chowdhury Bonna, Rathindranath Roy, Farida Parveen and others at concerts in North America.
His yet to be aired projects include music for audio-visual clippings for UNHCR and Shandhani. In the latter, Shawjeeb has presented popular folk artiste Momtaz in a new avatar; certain to strike a chord with the audience.
Source: The Daily Star, Jan 04, 2008
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