For the past 3 or 4 years, one of the best bands in town has been Panjir - playing Central Asian folk music with sometimes just a little bit of a free jazz twist. A couple of years or so back, they did a long Sunday evening residency in my cosy local music bar, Jiangjinjiu, where I enjoyed seeing them many times. After a bit of a hiatus, they returned there this summer, and have been playing every Thursday for the past few months.
Now, alas, British guitarist David Mitchell, who founded the group with his Uyghur friend Ekber Ebliz, is quitting China in a couple of weeks, probably for good. (Well, he's planning to return early next year for another extended spell of music study and research in the western province of Xinjiang, and he's hoping to take the group touring in Europe at some point - but it seems we'll only see him in Beijing again for the most fleeting of visits, if at all.)
It looks as though Panjir's final gig of all will be on Boxing Day at Gingko (the former Room 101, on Andingmennei); but tonight will be their last performance at Jiangjinjiu, and that, I think, is the best place to see them - their 'spiritual home'.
It could be an emotional farewell.
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