The Jazz Ghazal Project

The Jazz Ghazal Project performs at Barzakh Cafe in Brooklyn, blending jazz with the South Asian ghazal tradition. In original, one-of-a-kind arrangements, vocalist Kaushik and pianist Sharik Hasan place selections from the Great American Songbook alongside Urdu ghazals from India and Pakistan, revealing how these traditions echo and challenge one another. Songs made famous by voices such as Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra meet the poetic intensity of ghazals interpreted by legends like Mehdi Hasan, Farida Khanum, and Begum Akhtar. The result is not fusion for its own sake, but a deliberate exchange—where melody, lyric, and improvisation illuminate shared histories of heartbreak and hope. Kaushik (rhymes with “caustic”) brings a commanding baritone shaped by the lineage of great jazz voices like Johnny Hartman and Mel Tormé. Based in Harlem, he blends deep roots in Indian music with the intensity of his earlier rock fusion work.