All that JAZZ
After returning to New Zealand, he has completed a PhD at Victoria University about Malay composers from Singapore.
Zakaria, who is of Singaporean Malay heritage, believes it is important to know where he came from, just like African American jazz musicians did by going back to Africa to learn about the music that shaped them.
‘‘I heard about that while I was in high school and it has always been in the back of my head that I could study it. I’ve been slowly working up to it and now I’m able to do that.’’
In Malay music, jazz and double bass possibly have a role in decorating the rhythm, but he is still learning about the links.
‘‘What I’ve found when I play with Malay musicians is that they don’t necessarily play jazz, but they are very comfortable improvising from nothing, on the spot, in the moment.’’
In 2018, his innovative bass playing was featured on Gelombunk by Malay percussion virtuoso Riduan Zalani.
Zakaria has also performed his own Malayjazz hybrid compositions in Singapore, with Zalani and traditional accordionist Syafiqah Adha Sallehin.
He has also represented New Zealand as one of three bassists selected from around the world to participate in the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead programme for jazz performercomposers at the Kennedy Center in Washington and attended the Banff International Workshop for Jazz and Creative Music in 2019.
Zakaria also composes, but describes himself as a ‘‘very slow composer’’ normally. However, this year was different.
‘‘I don’t write many things in a year, but now that I think about it I’ve actually written five pieces and four original arrangements.’’
Those pieces have been for the Arthur St Loft Orchestra as part of the Third Eye Artists Group. It is a programme in which the music of different composers is performed by a variety of ensembles.
His orchestral scores have also been recorded by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for the NZSO/Todd
Corporation Young Composer Awards in 2008 and 2010, and have been performed by the NZSO and Royal New Zealand Ballet in a collaborative concert in 2012. His jazz orchestra arrangement of
Miles Davis’ E.S.P. has been recorded by the New Zealand School of Music Big Band.
He credits the lockdown being good for him as it meant he stayed in one place, although he missed performing during that time.
However, it may have been good practice as he plans to slow down the performing to concentrate on his studies.
‘‘It’s a bit of balance. Maybe keeping the performance going at a steady frequency, but less than it was before.’’
Then, in the next breath, Zakaria says he is pulling together a collective to take the concept of his Tui Awardwinning work Fearless to another level.
‘‘The concept is about facing your personal challenges and try to get over your musical inhibitions and evolve each time you play. Hopefully, it can encourage people in the audience to see that musicians are doing something and maybe we can to.’’
The Tui award made a lot of difference to the business of his music as it has opened doors that were previously closed to him.
‘‘I’m still Umar, the bassist who’ll play with everybody, but I find people trust me to make great music a lot quicker now.’’
He has also noticed that jazz in New Zealand was gaining more prominence and interest, something that can be seen in the musicians at the New Zealand School of Music.
‘‘They are getting stronger and stronger at earlier stages. It’s very healthy, I hope it keeps going.’’