Interview by Dawoud Kringle (DK)
Photo by Yasi Omrani
DooBeeDooBeeDoo NY interviewed Iranian musician Kaveh Haghtalab (KH) (https://doobeedoobeedoo.info/kaveh-haghtalab-an-iranian-musicians-perspective-of-nys-music-scene/). This is part two of that interview, where we delve deeper into Kaveh’s experiences and work as a musician.
DK: You’ve been involved with several bands in New York since you moved here in 2012, one of which is SoSaLa. How did you become involved with them?
“I went to see the musician, Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi of SoSaLa a few nights ago, and I must say, that I was totally impressed by his honesty and sincerity.
That’s perhaps one of the things that is missing in many practitioners of the music.
It was quite refreshing to experience his concert presentation.
Billy Harper
PS. It is sometimes good to get “outside of oneself” and see what someone else may be experiencing about his music.”
Date: December 20, 2017
Venue: CA Music Room (NY)
Text and photos by Jeff Greene
Baku, modern and ancient
The city of Baku, the capitol of Azerbaijan, located below the Caucasus Mountains on the edge of the Caspian Sea, is a fascinating blend of east and west, old and new. In the late 1800s, numerous “oil barons’ mansions” were built alongside the existing ancient Islamic walled city in a strange mixture of architectural styles that mixed European classical, Art Nouveau with Persian eclecticism. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union 20 years ago, Baku has experienced another oil-fueled building boom of modern skyscrapers. But nothing seems to capture the essence of the Azerbaijan psyche the way that traditional Mugham music does.
The two Jeff's with the staff of the conservatory
Posted by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
Photo by Todd Rosenberg
Filmed in Karaj, Iran and New York City, “Songs of Hope” explores the life and music of Kayhan Kalhor, a master of the kamancheh, or Persian spike fiddle.
The love he showed for the instrument as a child led him to the life as a prodigy who left Iran in 1981 after the 1979 Islamic Revolution so he could continue his musical studies. He is renowned as a soloist and composer and as a founder and member of several ensembles, including Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, with which we see him rehearsing one of his compositions in the film. In 1997 he returned to Iran to renew his connections to his homeland and to teach a new generation of musicians, while establishing a life with his wife. His existence was that of a prolific, peaceful, globetrotting musician.
Master Musicians of Persian Music (photo by Mohammad Kheirkah)
Presented by: World Music Institute – WMI CONCERTS
At NYU’s Skirball Center, February 18th, 2010
