Song of Lahore

It's sad that the conductor of The Sachal Ensemble, Najat Ali, still feels it necessary to state that ‘we will show the world that Pakistanis are artists not terrorists.’ Since the group appeared on the world stage in 2011 with a charming East-West rendition of Dave Brubeck's ‘Take Five’ they have been spreading their distinctive, always musically interesting, if occasionally kitschy, message. This time the release is the soundtrack for Andy Schocken's film Song of Lahore, about musicians forced to play under strict Shariah law in Pakistan. Probably because of that, the album is even more eclectic than ever, veering from Bob Dylan and Bob Marley covers to hip-hop and gospel, with Madeleine Peyroux on top form while singing ‘Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child’, with the Indian instruments doing their best in a combination that really works.

Some tracks, like Allen Toussaint's ‘Yes We Can Can’, have the subcontinental elements reined back, which only proves what pros these musicians are, after years of slog in the Lahore Film world. The jazzier material is musically the most interesting – notably the opening track, Duke Ellington's ‘Blue Pepper (Far East of the Blues)’ which features Wynton Marsalis (the star wattage on the album is impressive). The only real clunker is ‘Speak’, which has Meryl Streep reading a syrupy New Age version of a Pakistani poem. It's impossible, though, not to like their audacious breaking of musical barriers and the joy expressed in the groups musical adventures.