Last Thursday night I made my way across the Williamsburg Bridge to check out SoSaLa – a band lead by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi. The show was interesting for a number of reasons the first of which I shall point out being that the band is comprised of a unique arrangement of instruments. Sohrab, the leader and front man of SoSaLa plays the saxophone accompanied by Michael Wimberly on drums and djembe, Dave Ross on guitar, John Pietaro on vibraphone and Bradely Madsen on trombone, and at times Jeremy Danneman on clarinet as well. As the preceding list indicates, SoSala, is without a bass player.  Although this, as I understand is not a stylistic choice, and rather a matter of circumstance, it certainly pushes the band’s sound in a certain direction. To put it bluntly, SoSala is missing out on some low end frequencies. In lieu of no bass player, it appeared as though the trombone player, with the aid of some effects through a mic, was experimenting with some synth-like bass tones.

Experiencing Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi (leader of NY’s SoSaLa) perform at a small-yet-packed house show was a unique night.  Not only was the audience of roughly 30 people (half of them children) different from the usual house shows, but Sohrab’s ability to combine commentary on each song and then blast into high volume horn blowing created an intimate and entertaining evening. I was moved by his personal accounts and melodic songs that mixed Iranian influences with the passionate tone of a well seasoned club musician.