Mohammed Nazam

Mohammed Nazam (born in Pakistan) is a London based guitarist, composer and writer. He is known for having played with a variety of pop artists as well as being a prominent guitarist during the jazz boom of the 1990s in the UK. Since the early 1990s he has also been a permanent member of the various bands led by Pete Brown.^[1] He took part in the Blue Note Records showcase of London jazz music “Pyrotechnics”, which also featured leading UK jazz artists such as Orphy Robinson, Tony Remy and The Mondesir Brothers. He was a member of the ground breaking collective The Jazz Warriors, founded by Courtney Pine.

Biography

Inspired by artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Brian May, Bill Nelson and Todd Rundgren, Nazam starting playing the guitar at age 15, and is self-taught.

Nazam is also a music educator. As a result of his work with The Prince's Trust, in February 2005 he was invited to participate in two events for Prince Charles. One was a project that saw the Prince attending a recording session led by Trevor Horn. In March 2005 Nazam was invited to a Celebration of British Music at Buckingham Palace, hosted by Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, which was attended by over 500 guests.

In 2005, he founded the multi-faith ensemble Berakah Project featuring musicians from Jewish, Christian and Muslim backgrounds. In March 2009 they played a concert at London's Purcell Rooms and The Times described them as “music to make you close your eyes and dance in your head”.^[2] Their debut album Music for the Heart was described in Metro as “instantly hummable”.

Nazam has been a regular contributor to the Guitarist UK magazine,^[3] and has contributed to Guitar Techniques. Pieces include articles on playing the guitar, equipment reviews and interviews with well-known musicians (including George Benson, Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, Steve Lukather and Paul Gilbert) to these magazines, as well as periodicalS such as Melody Maker and Guitar magazine.

He has written two songs for the Rockschool curriculum, and has presented video lessons on Rockschool grade pieces for Total Guitar. His video lessons with Mike Stern and Al Di Meola can be found on YouTube.

Mohammed has also toured the UK leading his own band as part of an Arts Council Funded project, and was commissioned by the Soho Jazz Festival to compose music for the events 1997 programme. Numerous TV appearances include Top of the Pops, SMTV live, The Chart Show and Club Mix.

In 1992 at the Musicians Institute in London, Mohammed taught individual lessons in theory, playing techniques, scales and harmony. He also led the weekly live performance workshops. The Musicians Institute was the first modern music school in the UK to offer instrumental tuition in contemporary styles.

In 2008 he was featured in the book 50 Guitarists by Konig ISBN 0-9545744-1-9^[4]

References

External links

• Berakah website