Talat Aziz to pay tribute to Mehdi Hassan

Mumbai: Ghazal singer Talat Aziz, whose guru Mehdi Hassan passed away last month, will be paying a tribute to the legend by releasing an album with some of his favourite tracks.

"I am releasing an album in August sometime which is a tribute to my guru Mehdi Hassan. I have recorded eight of his favourite tracks. We will have a concert and tribute to Mehdi Hassan and release the album. Saregama is releasing it," Aziz told reporters. Aziz learned music from ghazal legend Mehdi Hassan and on many occasions during tour in India and abroad, he shared the same stage with Hassan. India-born Hassan, the melodious voice behind evergreen hits like `Patta patta, boota boota`, `Kab ke bichhare`, died last month following multiple organ failure at the age of 84. "There are lots of memories about him...For 33 years I was with him. It is not easy to encapsulate it in one go," he said. Meanwhile, Aziz became the first contestant to get evicted from the fifth season of dance reality show `Jhalak Dikhla Jaa`, last week. "Nobody expects to get eliminated in first week. You don`t know who will go and who will not. But I must say the overall experience was enjoyable, I learnt something new. It was out of my comfort zone. I gave it my best shot. I worked very hard...I used to practise anywhere between three to five hours a day," Aziz said. "I took it up (the show) as a challenge. Initially I was a little hesitant but then...I was like whatever I do should look decent and good on screen, it should not make me feel embarrassed," he said. On if he intends to take up dancing now as a hobby, Aziz says, "I haven`t thought about it. When I get time from my singing schedule..My concert, may be let`s see...I might take it up." PTI