Photo by Walter Wagner
Text by Dawoud Kringle
The approach to improvisation that Ornette Coleman pioneered in the late 1950s and early 1960s rewrote the book on musical improvisation. However, Coleman’s paradigm shift was only the beginning. San Francisco based composer, saxophonist, and musical theorist Hafez Modirzadeh is among the forerunners of a significant transformation in improvised music, picking up where Coleman left off, and taking it into new places.
Text by Dawoud Kringle
Austin, TX based composer, vocalist, poet, Persian setarist and multi-instrumentalist Fared Shafinury is one of the more iconic and unique figures among the Iranian-American diaspora, balancing two seemingly dissimilar cultures.
It has been said of him that he “effectively unearthed his ancestral roots in classical Persian music and poetry, as well as reinvigorating the ancient sound with a modern touch.” Shafinury’s music morphs between American folk, rock, blues, and the classical and folk of music Iran. His lyrics vacillate between Farsi and English.
Iranian Music which is about today…The Cutting Edge of Iranian Avant GardeText by Dawoud Kringle
This is the second installment of a series of articles focusing on the cutting edge of Iranian Music.
Text by Dawoud Kringle
Despite what our political leaders would have us believe, Iran has centuries of traditions of music and musical innovations. The aforementioned political friction and idiocy notwithstanding, this innovation has shown no signs of stopping. After being driven underground in 1979, and forced to survive with hostilities on several fronts threatening its existence, Iranian musicians are emerging with a renewed purpose. And finding acceptance among not only Iranian expatriates, but also among open minded western listeners.
Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
My dear friend, music colleague and FB friend (I think FB brought us together) Kamran Hooshmand passed away a couple of days ago. When I was drinking a coffee with my wife at Zabar’s last Sunday afternoon I checked my FB page and booms there was his wife’s Jill’s announcement of his death. I was shattered by this news, tears dropped out of my eyes. Immediately I commented to the news and asked Jill to get back to me, because I didn’t know her cell number.
She hasn’t responded yet.
This is what I know…He died of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). He told me about it in February; and I believe since than he has went through three chemos or even more?
