(Left-right) Executive director of JALC, Adrian Ellis; president of the Resorts Development Company, Omar Alfardan; artistic director of JALC, Wynton Marsalis and general manager of the St Regis Doha, Tareq Derbas.

By Peter Townson/Staff Reporter

Jazz enthusiasts will be able to enjoy high quality music at a new venue in Qatar when the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Doha opens at the St Regis Doha next year.
Officials announced the new global partnership between the centre and St Regis Hotels and Resorts last week at an event attended by the artistic director of the Jazz at Lincoln Centre (JALC) and world renowned trumpet player, Wynton Marsalis, as well as the president of Resorts Development Company, owners of the St Regis Doha and Al Gassar Resort, Omar Alfardan, general manager of the hotel, Tareq Derbas and executive director of JALC, Adrian Ellis.
General manager of the St Regis Doha, Tareq Derbas said: “Jazz is integral to the St Regis legacy and we look forward to bringing the authentic jazz experience to life for our guests and for music enthusiasts in the region.”
“We are encouraged by the positive response from the people of Qatar and believe that Jazz at Lincoln Centre Doha will reinforce the city’s position as an emerging cultural centre in the Middle East, thanks to the vision of Omar al-Fardan,” he said, adding “today’s event is the first step in a continued, wide-ranging educational programme, through which we aim to engage the local community.”
The new jazz club will feature performances six nights a week, welcoming a large selection of different musicians on a monthly basis who will also participate in an educational programme aimed at introducing a range of cultural and educational opportunities to musicians in Qatar.
Marsalis hosted a session with a number of students at the Qatar Music Academy as part of his visit to Doha, and the nine-time Grammy winner and the recipient of the first Pulitzer Prize for music helped the youngsters understand the challenges associated with working in music, and took the opportunity to lead an improvisational session featuring traditional Arabic instruments and jazz music.
The trumpeter said: “Thank you to the Qatari people for such a warm welcome. Throughout the history of jazz, musicians from Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie and Dave Brubeck have brought people from all cultures together through this music. It is an honour for JALC to continue this tradition in Doha with St Regis.”
Al-Fardan spoke about his love for jazz music, explaining that he learnt about the genre from his father, a huge fan of Louis Armstrong. He said that audiences in Doha will gain a lot from listening to the music, and expressed his excitement about the future of the JALC in Doha.
“Welcoming these artists and educators is part of a long-cherished dream to bring some of the best in world culture to Qatar,” he said, adding “it is my wish that we will also be able to fuel and inspire people in Qatar to understand jazz, and that one day, a young person from this nation will share the stage with our guest of honour.”
JALC is a non-profit organisation aimed at developing audiences for jazz music, and organises some 1,000 concerts a year in New York and around the world.  The new partnership with St Regis will see the centre aiming to open five new centres in the next five years.

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