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In May 2008 we went into the studio to professionally
document some of the tunes we've played through the years. Working with
multi-talented engineer/producer Jesse Plack, the idea gradually changed to
creating an album we hoped could give a good representation of our sound
and approach. The result, more than a year later, is way beyond what we
originally planned. ....
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The album we've come up with fits nicely on an LP,
with one side in Mahûr and the other in Dashti and Shûr.
The pieces are a mix of standards (from the classical radîf of
Persian music) and folksongs, with a couple of originals. The Persian
instruments are augmented by fretless bass, Persian-tuned keyboards, and
occasional special effects. Vocal pieces are often performed instrumentally and
vice versa. Some tunes have been stretched to make room for solos, and others
shortened for a tighter arrangement. We are fortunate to have many of the
players who have played with us through the years play somewhere on the
album.....
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We hope you
enjoy listening to this music as much as we did playing and recording it!....
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A few special notes about this project. We are a collective
of musicians - now spanning two generations - who've been playing Iranian music
together in ....San Diego....
since 1985. Our goals, in addition to friendship and fun, include learning the
musical tradition, fostering creativity, and crossing cultural bridges. Having
young players who have never lived in ....Iran.... is a testament to the
power of music. I am proud of Kamron, Nima, and Golsanam for playing this music
as if it were their own (which, of course, it is). ....
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Two Lovers دو دلداده ....
A simple
folk-like melody in Mahûr supported by a tone-row played in two speeds
on top of which dances the santûr.....
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Dedicated
to young hearts.....
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Masnavi مثنوی ماهور....
A traditional
piece in Mahûr from the vocal radîf arranged
as an instrumental with solos for ney and
qanûn.....
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Verses from Rumi’s Masnavi are sung in several of the dastgah.
The Masnavi in Mahûr, covers several important gûsheh, from
which, for this arrangement, we’ve selected the following: Shekasteh and
Delkesh. Though traditionally the Masnavi is sung freely based on the
rhythm of the poetry, our arrangement sets each gûsheh in a different
rhythmic cycle.....
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Nasir نصیرخانی یا چهارپاره....
Nasirkhani
is a vocal form from the radîf. Here is it performed as
an instrumental with solos for tar, qanûn, and keyboard (in gûsheh
Eragh). ....
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Marhaba مرحبا....
A song by
the great songwriter AliAkbar Shayda (1844-1909) sung to a poem by Hafez. ....
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Feauturing
Mahmood Shamshiri on vocals.....
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Marjon رنگ مرجان....
An original
reng concluding Mahûr.....
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Choopi رقص چوپی....
Our arrangement (featuring fretless bass) of a composition in avaz
Afshari by maestro Abolhasan Saba (1902-1957). Ostad Saba himself adapted
the piece from a dance tune from Gilan.....
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Bolbol بلبل....
Instrumental
version of a song from Baluchestan. Modified slightly to fit into Afshari.....
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Malija زرد ملیجه....
A famous
piece in avaz Dashti by Ostad Saba, also originally adapted from a Gilaki folksong. Our version includes solos for tar, ney, santûr,
and keyboard.....
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Famous
recordings of this piece include the earliest by masters Payvar (santûr)
and Tehrani (tombak), then by masters Lotfi (tar), Omoumi (ney),
and Farhangfar (tombak), and recently by Ostad Omoumi (ney) with
the Kia (setar) and Zia (tombak) Tabassian.....
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Karevan کاروان....
Another famous piece (also in Dashti) by Ostad Saba. ..Saba.. was not only a talented composer, teacher, and
multi-instrumentalist, but one of the first Iranian ethnomusicologists. During
his travels (mostly in Gilan, where he founded the first conservatory of music in
the early twentieth century), he collected and transcribed many folk melodies,
which later made their way into his compositions.....
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The earliest recording of this piece is by the Iranian Radio
orchestra for Golha program number 217. Other notable recordings are by
masters Lotfi, Omoumi, and Farhangfar, and more recently, by Ostad Omoumi and
the Tabassian brothers.....
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Osul ضرب اصول....
An
instrumental piece from the radîf of Shûr, sung
to a poem by Hafez. Features solos on tombak, daf,
and modifed drumset.....
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A recent
recording of this piece by Ostad Lotfi and Shayda Ensemble can be found on the
album “Remembering Boroumand.”....
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Vayemo وای مو....
A folksong
from Khorasan (in Shûr) from the 1st year honarestan textbook
for tar/setar! Features solos on octapad and cymbals.....
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Zolfayar زلفای یار....
Another
folksong from Khorasan (also in Shûr) as a showcase for ney.
I learned this tune from Ali Sadr and
we played it with Darvak; only years later I heard the version arranged by
master Payvar and sung by Sima Bina.....
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Mastan مستان سلامت میکنند....
An original
composition in Afshari set to a poem by Rumi.....
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Feautures
Mahmood Shamshiri on vocals.....
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Musicians:....
Ali Sadr (daf)....
Dara Bamoradi (qanûn)
Farhad Bahrami (tar)
Farzaneh Foroughi (daf, daireh)
Golsanam Fazel (santûr)
Hamid Radvar (Persian-tuned keyboard)
Kamron Bahrami (tombak)
Mahmood Shamshiri (ney, vocals)
Nima Heydari (fretless bass guitar)
..Richard.. Steiger
(modifed drumset, tabla) ....
حمید رادور (ارگ)
دارا بامرادی (قانون)
ریچارد ستایگر (جاز، طبلا)
علی صدر (دف)
فرزانه فروغی (دف، دایره)
فرهاد بهرامی (تار)
کامران بهرامی (تمبک)
گلصنم فاضل (سنتور)
محمود
شمشیری (نی،
آواز)
نیما حیدری (گیتار باس)....
Recorded at
Monolith Studio by Jesse Plack.....
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Many thanks
to all the musicians, our families, and our teachers/masters especially Dr.
Hossein Omoumi and Ostad Lotfi.....
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This album
is dedicated to the memory of Don Truesdail (1974-2009).....
Farhad
would like to dedicate this album to his late musical uncles: ....
amu Ahmad Kashef-Bahrami (1938-2008)
and daii Zaki Alhosseini (1915-2008).....
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Thanks to
our friends Reza Khabazian and Shahin Tavili, who, even though not playing on
this album, are central to its music.....
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