Big Band!

Well, those Panjir boys just keep ringing the changes.   Last week, it was a guitar trio jam session.  This week, they've morphed into a full five-piece ensemble - a new lineup they're hoping to use for some big concerts and festivals upcoming.   They've added a bass player, a dutar player, and a pyrotechnic finger-drummer.   Alas, it looks as though they may have dispensed with their upright fiddle player. (Is it called a ghijak?  I'm never sure which term this guy prefers; the instrument has so many different names across Central Asia.)  That instrument is the soul of this music for me; it has such a marvellously melancholic tone to it.  And the chap who plays it is so cool.  I hope they bring him back before long.