The name Jaggat—derived from Sanskrit for “world”—reflects the ensemble’s mission: uniting the rich sounds of diverse cultures into a captivating musical journey rooted in openness and respect for diversity. Their new album demonstrates how tolerance and cultural exchange can give rise to something truly new and beautiful—in music as in society. By weaving together global rhythms, melodies, and traditions, Jaggat creates a sound that is unmistakably their own.
At the heart of this musical dialogue are original compositions by guitarist Markus Conrad and double bassist Caspar van Meel, seamlessly intertwined yet unmistakably marked by their individual voices. Percussionist Afra Mussawisade enriches the music with his unique instrumentation, laying down both a vibrant groove and a refined sonic foundation.
Whether performing as a trio or expanding into a quartet with guest violinist Christoph König, Jaggat unfolds a colorful and wide-ranging spectrum of sound. Their music reveals that diversity not only enriches but also inspires.
Jaggat ist ein Band, der virtuose Klangbrücken zwischen kammermusikalischem Jazz und Musik unterschiedlichster Kulturen schlägt. Spanische, indische, arabische, afrikanische und lateinamerikanische Einflüsse verbinden sich zu einer ausdrucksstarken, homogenen musikalischen Melange jenseits kulturspezifischer Kategorien.
Jaggat – aus dem Sanskrit für „Welt“ – vereint die reichen Klänge unterschiedlichster Kulturen zu einer fesselnden musikalischen Reise, in der Offenheit und Wertschätzung für Vielfalt im Mittelpunkt stehen. Das neue Album zeigt, wie Toleranz und kultureller Austausch zu etwas Neuem und Schönem führen können – in der Musik ebenso wie in der Gesellschaft. Durch die Verbindung globaler Rhythmen, Melodien und Traditionen entsteht ein unverwechselbarer Sound. Jaggat macht erlebbar, dass Vielfalt nicht nur bereichert, sondern inspiriert.
Die Eigenkompositionen von Gitarrist Markus Conrad und Kontrabassist Caspar van Meel greifen nahtlos ineinander, lassen jedoch die individuelle Handschrift der beiden erkennen. Der Perkussionist Afra Mussawisade legt mit seinem einzigartigen Instrumentarium einen perfekten klanglichen Teppich und treibenden Groove unter diese Stücke. Ob als Trio oder als Quartett mit Christoph König oder Jeffrey Bruinsma (Violine) als Gast – es eröffnet sich ein farbenreiches Klangspektrum.
'Caspar van Meel has a personal voice that is very rare among bassists.' (John Goldsby, 2014)
Caspar van Meel is a Dutch bassist, arranger and composer living and working in Germany. In addition to an enormous stylistic variety, he moves just as elegantly on his instrument in an accompanying bass-typical function as he does as a soloist. When Caspar plays, he is in constant dialogue with his musical environment. Whilst his playing, both virtuosic and solid, is firmly rooted in the jazz tradition, it also always shows a creativity that is directed towards the future. John Goldsby, bassist of the WDR Big Band, attests him "an open ear for the future". He is always interested in researching different, creative connections of ideas, cultures and people in music - creating new works in the process.
Born in Amersfoort in 1979, van Meel first earned a degree in Arts & Culture Studies with a focus on philosophy at the University of Masstricht (NL). At that time he also studied double bass at the Conservatorium Maastricht with Jan van de Boomen and Carol Hart (Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam). He then fully dedicated himself to music, obtaining a masters degree at the Folkwang University in Essen with John Goldsby (WDR Big Band). In 2014, he participated in the prestigious Jazz and Creative Music Workshop at the Banff Center in Canada, where he worked with Steve Coleman, Vijay Iyer, Jeff Tain Waits, Reggie Workman and Marcus Gilmore, among others.
Van Meel has won several awards: With his quintet he prevailed in the Future Sounds Competition and he received the Jazzpreis Ruhr. As co-leader of the band Trigonon he was awarded the Jazzwerkpreis Ruhr, and as bassist of the Mike Roelofs Band he reached the finals of the Dutch Jazz Competition. In 2020, van Meel released the CD "On the Edge" with the Caspar van Meel Quintet.His second album "Satie - A Time Remembered" was released on the 8th of December, 2023 on O-Tone Music and received with critical acclaim by a.o. leading European magazines Jazz Thing and Concerto, followed by radio features and interviews on WDR, HR, BR-Klassik and NDR Radio and a radio-concert broadcast by leading German radio station Deutschlandfunk. SWR 2 and Jazz-fun.de featured the album as Jazz Album of the Week In recent years he has continued to record with among others the Ellington Trio feat. Frederik Köster and TREY feat. Stefan Karl Schmidt. With the Ellington Trio he was nominated for the German Record Critics Award for their Album 'Thing's Ain't What They Used To Be'. Van Meel can also be heard on countless CDs as a sideman.
He has played with the WDR Big Band, Philip Catherine, Götz Alsman, Gerd Dudek, Martin Sasse, Peter Herborn, Stephan-Karl Schmidt, Christoph König Pablo Held, Jonas Burgwinkel and Denis Gäbel, among others; he has also performed at well-known international festivals, such as the North Sea Jazz Festival, WDR Jazz Night, Internationale Niederrhein Musikfestival and Leverkusener Jazztage. He is regularly engaged for theater and studio productions, arranged and composed music for the Tonhalle Düsseldorf as well as the Bochumer Symphoniker and works passionately as a music educator.
Afra Mussawisade is one of todays most skillful and creative percussion professionals. Rhythm is Afra´s language, his mother tongue. Musical communication with other musicians is both to him, “a fascination” and “a great source of joy”.
Afra was born in Teheran in 1973 as son of famed artist Shahab Mussawisade. During his childhood in Iran, Afra was constantly surrounded by musicians and artists for whom his family kept an open house. He was first educated in Persian classical percussion by Arjang Kamkar and Tonbak-Master Farhangfar.
Afra immigrated to Germany in 1983 where he learned to play piano and cello. This is when Afra also started to study various drumming styles from different cultures.
Next to studying Latin American Percussion at the Rotterdam Conservatory for Music and Dance (NL) he attended classes with masters Martin Verdonk, Luis Conte, Nickey Marrero, Glen Velez and Alex Acuña.
Afra continued with his studies, travelling to different parts of the world. He learned from percussion masters at the conservatories of Santiago de Cuba and Havana, Cuba. Afra has traveled to India several times to deepen his knowledge in South Indian Percussion, among others he studied at the Karnataka College of Percussion.
By incorporating all these influences Afra has developed a very unique style and technique, played on an equally original setup. As he keeps exploring and evolving his music, he continues to refine his setup, adapting it to the musical needs.
Afra´s fluent skills are much in demand. He has performed, recorded and toured with artists including WDR Big Band, Till Brönner, Jeffrey Bruinsma, Oene van Geel, Mezzoforte, Drums United, Scapino Ballet, Praful, Manfred Leuchter, Jeroen van Vliet and Zapp String Quartet.
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