By WILLIAM HARVEY

(Left to right) Trombonists Marshall Gilkes and Chris Crenshaw, trumpeter Brandon Lee, and saxophonists Will and Pete Reardon-Anderson played a tthe American School of Doha after their workshops there on March 5. (Photo by William Harvey)

Looking at a map of the Middle East, it would be easy to miss Qatar. The tiny peninsula juts out into the Persian Gulf as though the cartographer's hand shook while drawing Saudi Arabia. Violence in the Middle East dominates the news so much that you may not remember reading of this peaceful country of 150,000 citizens and 650,000 expatriates, where a minor burglary is front-page news. Thanks to its location on top of the world's second-largest natural gas reserves, Qatar has abolished the income tax, given its citizens loans to buy homes, provided free utilities for all, and begun building a luxury development on a miniature man-made island called the Pearl.

In March, the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra enjoyed the opportunity to visit this Shangri-la, thanks to Dr. James Reardon-Anderson, father of Juilliard jazz students William and Peter Reardon-Anderson and dean of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Qatar. One can understand why Georgetown would have an overseas campus, but why in Doha, the capital of Qatar?

The credit belongs to Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser, wife of the ruling emir. As chair of the Qatar Foundation, she instigated Education City, a project that will build campuses of the world's premier universities in Doha, turning it into the Middle East's answer to Boston. The Qatar Foundation's largesse enabled Georgetown to invite the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra to provide a vibrant finale for its American Arts Festival.

We eagerly anticipated the dinner with a sheikh that was planned for the first evening, since it was our first opportunity to meet Qataris. Like their Saudi neighbors, they follow the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam. The men wear a white thoub, a long, flowing robe set off with a headdress and a stylized camel whip. Women wear the black abaya, which covers the entire body and face except for the eyes.

Over a plate of delicacies, I chatted with a gentleman named Mohammed. We discussed the competition among Gulf nations, and Mohammed agreed that Doha is wise to focus on education and culture. "With an education, you can build a beautiful dream for your generation," he opined.

A small ensemble from Juilliard did just that the following day at the American School. I interviewed Omar, a Syrian trombonist in eighth grade. What drew him to jazz, and to the trombone? "Jazz is the best, and trombone is made for jazz," was his answer. Would he ever incorporate Syrian influences into his jazz, the way previous artists have incorporated Cuban or African influences? "No. I want to keep jazz the way it is."

Juilliard saxophonist Pete Reardon-Anderson shakes hands with Sheikh Ali Al-Thani before the dinner at the sheikh's home on March 3. (Photo by William Harvey)

The American School Jazz Band played Victor Goines's arrangement of Second Line while the Juilliard students stood behind them watchfully. Afterwards, Mr. Goines, the artistic director of jazz studies at Juilliard, asked the Juilliard students to scat-sing the "shout chorus" at the end, which they did without hesitation. When he asked the same thing of the American School students, they were shy at first but soon gained confidence, particularly Omar, who became the loudest of the bunch. After the workshop, the Juilliard students offered a lunchtime set, a highlight of which was the geographically appropriate Night in Tunisia, memorable for trombonist Chris Crenshaw's blisteringly fast break.

The big band hit its stride the following night, during the second concert at the Qatar National Theater. A magical tenderness suffused In Loving Memory, a ballad in which pianist Aaron Diehl's mesmerizing solo alternated linear ruminations with ethereal chords reminiscent of Ravel. Jerome Jennings' gentle support with the brushes made the drum kit sound more like poetry than percussion.

Perhaps the band was inspired by the presence of Juilliard faculty trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, whose coruscating solo took the trombone so high, you expected oxygen masks to drop down from the ceiling. A blizzard of intervallic riffing whizzed by before Gordon sat down and coaxed his horn to emit chthonic rumblings so low you couldn't help laughing in amazement. He closed Michael Dease's Blue Dease, and his magisterial stylings, by humorously releasing air through the horn.

From then on out, the ferocious energy of great jazz animated the tour's performances. A small ensemble presented a dynamic set at the ambassador's residence. The guest list for this concert included Qataris who had studied in the U.S. I chatted with one, a young man named Abdullah who recently graduated from California State University. He said he misses the independent spirit that characterizes life in the U.S.: the ability to "call the shots." "Here in Qatar, if you are not married yet, you live with your family. Everything is about the family," he told me, a bit ruefully. He likes all kinds of music, he said happily.

We all enjoyed meeting the ambassador, the Hon. Chase Untermeyer, whose decency and respect for Qatar make him an excellent man to handle America's relationship with one of its most crucial allies. We saw firsthand why Qatar is such an important ally when we visited the Al-Udeid Air Force Base, from which the U.S. launches military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa.

After the thunderous ovation the soldiers gave our set there, I talked to a soldier from Virginia who used to play in a jazz band. He's raising his four children to play brass instruments so that they can carol at Christmastime with him. I hope that this December 24, a church in Virginia reverberates with the sounds of their music, and that six stockings hang from his mantelpiece.

Our trip closed with a concert at Education City, opened by a Qatari drum ensemble that beat a fierce tattoo on their drums while singing and waving swords. Between their numbers, you could see them conferring and running off stage to pick up drums they'd forgotten to bring on, proving that musicians are the same everywhere. Victor Goines arranged a groovy jazz version of a song from the United Arab Emirates. Inviting the drum ensemble and an oud player on stage for some cross-cultural jamming was a masterstroke.

Over breakfast, I confessed to Mr. Goines that I didn't know how to improvise. "You just improvised what you said to me," he responded. "Did you stay up last night, planning out what you were going to say to me? Jazz is a language, and the more familiar you are with it, the more articulate you can be in it."

There is no doubt that Juilliard speaks fluent jazz, and as numerous ovations and compliments made clear, the searing freedom of that language is welcome in Qatar.

William Harvey (M.M. '06, violin) traveled to Qatar to play Duke Ellington's Up and Down with the Jazz Ensemble, present an outreach concert in Al Wakra, work with the Doha Community Orchestra, and develop an international music festival there.