Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu:

Chic, classy and comfortable. The three C’s that describe the Jazz Bar at Hotel Shangri-la, Lazimpat. Unlike other hep spots in Kathmandu, here you can unwind and just be yourself. The best part is that the music does not intrude into your thoughts or conversation. The Jazz Bar is an idea that materialised with the beginning of Jazzmandu. Though initially, jazz was the main focus of the music here, the Bar has decided to branch out to include music from various genres. Every evening, the bar makes a point of having live music but on Fridays, the Bar has brought in a new team.

The duo playing on Fridays now at the Jazz Bar is called ‘Deo’. Made up of Upendra Lal Shrestha and Shristi Sunuwar, they play soft commercial numbers and requests. Upendra has been playing professionally as a musician for the last 22 years now and is a founding member of the band ‘Blind Faith’. He accompanies Shristi on the synthesiser and piano and sings while she takes a breather. Shristi on the other hand is just 20 years old. “The music band ‘Green Chilli’ gave me my first break,” shares the young girl. “I have been singing professionally for only a year and a half.”

Shristi has a strong voice that is soothing and soulful. And Upendra makes up for all the necessary instruments on his synthesiser. Together, they make quite a team. “We do play jazz sometimes but we play everything else too. Some are improvised to fit in with the ambience of the place,” say the duo. On their first night at the Bar, the duo were quite a hit playing numbers such as “Every shalala”, “Love will keep us alive”, “Imagine”, “Everything I do” and even “Kal Ho Na Ho”!

“What we want to do is target a larger audience,” stated Arun Pradhan, Food and Beverage manager. “We want to give our client a change. Every day we have a live band and one Friday every month, we are trying to organise a jam with all our musicians.” The Jazz Bar is definitely a place to check out. And while you are listening to the music try some of the delicious food on the menu!