Bija Concert : A Moment of Enlightenment

I am not a spiritual or a religious man by any means. Most of the time my mind and beliefs tend to stay on Earth; realism has always been the way I do things. I prefer to see things as they are.

However, yesterday, at Nawaf Al-Gheraibah's Bija Concert, it clicked.

I was invited to play the electric bass on 3 of the 7 songs performed. As most of you know I am a bluesman at heart; during my music path I've done blues, rock, covers, folk, jazz, but never world music.

Stepping out of your comfort zone is always a challenge; however through the rehearsals in the last month I felt like all the musicians became one big family and it made things much easier.

But the main center of this event is the music itself. Fusing world, blues, Arabic folk and Indian music into one performance is no easy task. However Nawaf, who IS a spiritual man with a brilliant mind, made it all come true by directing his vision into the hearts and souls of the musicians.

I have confirmed that through music you CAN achieve spiritual guidance. The feeling I got playing that music yesterday was something I cannot explain... I truly did ascend into heaven, just by listening and playing the music.

John Coltrane was canonized as a Saint for his spiritual and best selling album " A Love Supreme"; and I believe that Nawaf is a sage, a seer, and a mystic who stands as one of the finest composers and musicians I have worked with, who deserves such recognition. He is also a great friend.

I want to thank all the talented musicians who performed with passion and also went through a grueling rehearsal... it was well worth it.

Even though it is not goodbye, I still feel sad that I am not with the team right now.

So enough with the emotional crap...

Here's a video taken by Kuwait Music (check out my bass solo, shameless plug) who also have a review [here.]