‘Have your cake and eat it too’
Umar Zakaria is a bass player, band leader and composer whose works combine jazz and influences from the musical traditions of his Malay heritage. His album Fearless Music was NZ Jazz Album of the year in 2018. He is completing his PHD in Malay music at Victoria University. What does it mean to be a Wellingtonian?
For me, Wellington is a place where you can have your cake and eat it too. It’s a peaceful lifestyle during the daytime, but there’s no shortage of places to go hard in the city at night.
I live here because . . .
The amazingly lively and dynamic music scene. You definitely have to spend some time here if you want to make music in New Zealand, and there is a simply unbelievable amount of talent residing in this city.
Where is the best place to swim?
I love the idea of swimming on Oriental Bay. When I take a long walk, I often end up around that area and sometimes make ‘plans’ to swim there. The kinds of plans that never end up happening.
Where’s your favourite place to take in some art?
The City Gallery is pretty fantastic, and they sometimes have music there which is a bonus. I love that they have these huge spaces with high ceilings so they can put on these exhibitions of massive, gigantic pieces at full-size and you can really take in the full impact of what art can be.
I haven’t been there in a while but we used to check out these really nice paintings at the Basin Noodle House. It was a fun place to check out some paintings while enjoying some delicious food at very student-friendly prices.
What’s the best festival in town?
I have to say the Wellington Jazz Festival, I have to! It’s the highlight of each year for me. For one week only, the entire city lights up all day and night and goes crazy for my favourite kind of music. When international travel is open, they bring our jazz heroes from other ends of the earth, to shake up the earth in our little city. The team running it is very supportive of the musicians and does their best to listen to what we need to make it a great festival.
I also think that Cubadupa is pretty impressive. I never imagined seeing so many people out and about in Wellington, or the incredible variety of shows to check out. It really opens my eyes to how much is actually going on here if you take the time to look for it.
What is your ideal night out in Wellington?
Dinner at Little Penang followed by a jazz gig at The Rogue and Vagabond. My favourite food, my favourite people, my favourite music. Hands down.
The perfect Saturday morning in the city is . . .
Walking aimlessly on the waterfront, unexpectedly, but not too surprisingly, running into a friend and stopping for a coffee together to cap it all off.
My guilty pleasure in the city is to go to ...
Americano’s, Mama Brown’s, or The Little Waffle Shop for waffles. I love waffles so much. Those are my favourite places for waffles in Wellington.
What part of the city are you most at home in?
The Cuba St area where many of the venues are but I’m also pretty familiar with Newtown since so many musos and artists live there.
Not many people know this about Wellington but . . .
It probably has the most Malaysian restaurants in any one place in New Zealand. It’s not normal to have this many options for Malaysian food available at your doorstep in New Zealand but I’m definitely not complaining.
What is Wellington’s best feature?
That it’s so well-connected. If there are two gigs you were hoping to see in one night, you can watch the first half of one, walk usually just 15 minutes, and watch the last half of the other without missing too much.
What is your greatest hope for this city?
That it could be a place where any artist could make a just living doing the work that they truly believed in. Just think of how that could change the city as well. We are certainly continuing to make progress year after year, but the professional life of a musician is a jungle at the best of times, in the best of places. Could Wellington be one of those best places? With the insane amount of talent that lives here, I believe it is possible.