Wistful and melancholic synthesisers and the Pakistani-North Indian string instrument Sarangi open the song »Tomorrow«. Bass guitar and tabla anchor the interplay in elegiac jazz. A plaintive call-and-response unfolds between Moog, saxophone and piano. EABS and Jaubi behold what is about to come with tears in their eyes. Reason enough for the octet made up of five Poles (EABS) and three Pakistanis (Jaubi). For 85 per cent of the world’s population, freedom of the press has worsened in the last five years. Poland is one of the countries with the greatest »democratic backslide«. More than 8 million Pakistanis are still homeless after the disastrous floods in 2022.
But malaise does not mean resignation. EABS and Jaubi set out in search of a better future. At the same time, their synthesis of different musical traditions anticipates new forms of coexistence. Jazz, always an intercultural genre, sets standards for planetary coexistence. Pakistani influences remind us that the universal cannot exist without the local. Hip-hop vibes bring an urban flair to the global village. Synths in the style of The Comet Is Coming celebrate its futuristic direction. EABS and Jaubi illuminate fragments of utopian perspectives through the prism of diasporic music. Their search is not over yet. But they already have a shining example in their hands.
