Fareed Haque

Haque wrote the "Lahara Double Concerto" for guitar, sitar, and tabla. He performed it in 2004 with the Chicago Sinfonietta and tabla musician Ustad Zakir Hussain. He composed the "Gamelan Concerto" as a commissioned classical guitar piece for the Fulcrum Point Ensemble. With the Chicago Philharmonic he gave a concert in which he performed both the Villa Lobos and Aranjuez guitar concertos.

Haque recorded with Goran Ivanovic, whose music is sometimes called Balkan jazz. Ivanovic was born in the former Yugoslavia to a Serbian father and Croatian mother, though, like Haque, he is based in Chicago. Haque and Ivanovic played classical guitar on their duets, Macedonian Blues (2003) and Seven Boats (2004).

In 2001 Haque founded Garaj Mahal, a jam band that played a combination of jazz, rock, and funk that evolved from the members' diverse musical backgrounds. The band included German bassist Kai Eckhardt. Garaj Mahal toured the U.S. for ten years, releasing several albums. In 2007 it won an Independent Music Award. Two years later Haque was named best world guitarist by Guitar Player.

In 1988, he was hired by Northern Illinois University to teach jazz and classical guitar. He also gives interactive guitar lessons over the internet.

In the late 1980s, Rivera introduced Haque to Sting, who had recently founded the record label Pangaea. Haque recorded two albums for Pangaea, Voices Rising and Manresa, and toured with Sting. He recorded Majestad, an unreleased album for Warner Bros. Records which included John Patitucci, Lenny Castro, Russell Ferrante, Michael Landau, and Carlos Vega. Then he signed with Blue Note Records, made the solo albums Sacred Addiction, Opaque, and Deja Vu, and recorded three albums with Javon Jackson. He also played with Joey Calderazzo, Joe Henderson, Bob James, Herbie Mann, and Cassandra Wilson.

While recording for Garaj Mahal, Haque discovered the Moog Guitar and electronic music and formed the band MathGames. He started The Flat Earth Ensemble as an exploration of his Indian roots. Because of his parents' heritage, he grew up hearing music from India and Pakistan. He also cites as an influence the band Shakti, led by John McLaughlin, and their album Natural Elements (1977).

Haque was born in Chicago in 1963. His father was from Pakistan, his mother from Chile. When he was a child, Haque traveled with his parents all over the world, spending time in Spain, France, and Iran, in addition to Pakistan and Chile. In 1981 he was given a guitar scholarship from North Texas State University, where he studied jazz guitar. He left after a year and studied classical guitar at Northwestern University. At Northwestern, he joined Howard Levy's jazz fusion group. Levy introduced him to Cuban saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera, who became a lifelong friend and mentor.