Chicago world and jazz guitar maestro Fareed Haque has formed a new trio hitting the road this Spring. The band is to feature legendary drummer Mike Clark who is well known from his period in Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters lineup. They will be joined by New York City’s bassist extraordinaire Peter Washington. The band is set to hit the road this spring with dates throughout the Midwest and venturing into the northeast with shows in NYC and Washington. There will be so much room for improvisation that it’s difficult to know what we will get out of this triumvirate, but expect them to access their serious roots in world music, jazz, and jam.
Born in Chicago in 1963 to a Pakistani father and Chilean mother, Fareed Haque is a guitar virtuoso proficient in both jazz and classical. Having studied at both University of North Texas and Northwestern University, along with traveling with his parents to Spain, France, Iran, Pakistan, and Chile allowed him to gain unique influences. Soon after, Haque joined Howard Leavy’s Latin group Chevere and soon began touring worldwide with Paquito D’Rivera. His time with D’Rivera led to him recording many records, and the ability to work with other Latin jazz masters like Arturo Sandoval and Giovanni Hidalgo. He also met Sting, who having just started his new record label Pangaea, invited Haque to sign where he released “Voices Rising” and “Manresa.”
Haque continued to tour and release records, one with Warner Bros. and the rest under Bluenote Records. He also appeared on albums by Herbie Mann, Bob James, and Richie Cole. His classical chops were still being exercised too, by appearing with the Vermeer Quartet, Chicago Sinfonietta, and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra. Bob Belden, producer and arranger at Bluenote led Haque to join Joe Zawinul’s Zawinul Syndicate, pushing him in more of a rock direction.
At the turn of the century, Haque found an interest in the Jam Band scene, where he helped found Garaj Mahall. The group toured extensively, and released five studio albums in addition to three live albums. He has found himself performing in Jazz festivals all over the United States and the world, and was voted the “Best World Guitarist” by Guitar Player Magazine’s Readers’ poll.
Haque and Clark have been running into each other on the road for decades. Here is some video of the two of them playing together in 2002 with Reed Mathis on bass and Brian Haas on keys from the video channel of Luis Mascanheras.
Mike Clark was born in California, and followed in his father’s footsteps playing drums. He also followed his father around the country as he worked for the railroads. Hearing different sounds as he traveled made him very versatile on the drumset, which allowed him to play comfortably in his own jazz organ trio, Herbie Hancock, The Headhunters, and even Phil Collins’ band Brand X. Like Fareed Haque, Clark found his way to the jam band world around 2000, and was part of the group Prescription Renewal. Clark is still releasing records, most recently releasing Itai Doshin; a plethora of different style jazz and funk tracks.
Peter Washington is one of the most recorded jazz bassists alive today, having worked with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Charles McPhearson, and Wynton Marsalis. Hailing from California, he started out as a classical bassist, before finding a calling in jazz during his college career at Cal Berkeley. After graduating he moved to NYC to join Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers whom he played with from 1986 to 1989. In the early 90’s Washington joined the Tommy Flanagan Trio, one of the most highly regarded trios. He is now a member of the Bill Charlap Trio.
Clark recently appeared with Haque’s seminal jamband, Garaj Mahal. That band features Kai Eckhardt on bass and Oz Ezzeldin on keys. The cut, JUNCT, was recorded in 2025 and may be a bit of a genesis of the current trio’s formation:
From the video channel of Oz Ezzeldin.
These three all-star performers come together to tour and can be seen at Caffe Vicace in Cincinnati, OH on March 19th (Tickets), Market Garden Brewery in Cleveland, OH on March 20th (Tickets), and the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis, IN on March 21st (Tickets). Come Spring the trio returns for a date at the famed room in Marlboro NY, The Falcon before heading to their premier at The Iridium in NYC on May 9th (Tickets), and at Blues Alley in DC on June 11th (Tickets).
TOUR DATES
Mar 19 Cafe Vivace, Cincinnati, OH
Mar 20 Market Garden Brewery, Cleveland, OH
Mar 21 Jazz Kitchen, Indianapolis, IN
May 08 The Falcon, Marlboro, NY
May 09 Iridium, New York, NY
Jun 11 Blues Alley Jazz, Washington, DC
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