By Elita Karim
Jahangir Kabir, popularly known as Jon Kabir, has always had a special place in my heart. Not only does he have one of the best vocals in the scene, but he was also the first person I recorded my first ever song with — Mithya, Amaar Prithibi, Black, 2002.
I think many are aware of the fact that Jon is a very talented musician. Right from when he started off with Black, one of the most famous bands in the 2000, to the fun experiments he has been doing with his current band Indalo, Jon has been shining thanks to consistency and the courage to try something new industry.
Many don’t know this, but Jon Bhai had tried a career in feature writing as well! Way back in the early 2000s, when the prints and newspapers were still popular, a young newspaper called The New Nation had built a team of fresh freelancers to write for one of their supplements. Jon Bhai was one of them and had written one article. I forgot exactly about what. It was quite good, actually!
However, Jon chose not to be of a multitasker, and he still is not, which, in this case, is a good thing, believe it or not! His focus has always been making good music or the music that he liked or made him happy. He simply did not go about building two or more professions, including being a musician, the way some of us did. Even today, his focus lies in creating heartfelt melodies, looking for the perfect lyric, and playing the guitar. (But yes, he does act in TV fictions from time to time, and he is actually not bad!)
In a nutshell, Jon Kabir is an icon, a representative of the generation, a sign of positive change and, of course, the urge to do it for yourself, by yourself merely. That is how he probably would define music, I am sure!