Jazz Articles about Kayhan Kalhor

Kayhan Kalhor: Hawniyaz

by Karl Ackermann
August 1, 2016

Western music listeners may not be quick to conjure a connection with Iran and improvised music but there is much spontaneity across genres throughout the Central Asian region. One of the few artists known to U.S. markets is kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor. The kamancheh, sometimes called the “spike fiddle," is common to Central Asia and dates back to the eleventh century. It has had a long-time presence in Middle Eastern classical music but is frequently used in folk and religious ...

Kayhan Kalhor / Erdal Erzincan: Kula Kulluk Yakisir Mi

by John Kelman
September 8, 2013

When Kayhan Kalhor and Erdal Erzincan released The Wind (ECM, 2004), it was often shockingly beautiful evidence that jazz doesn't own the concept of improvisation--already a millennial concept when jazz first emerged in recognizable form at the turn of the 20th century. There are academics who now assert that “America's classical music" actually dates farther back, its roots easily found in older cultures. Does that mean, then, that the music played by Kalhor--Iranian-born child prodigy and virtuoso of the kamencheh ...

Kayhan Kalhor & Ali Bahrami Fard: I Will Not Stand Alone

by Eyal Hareuveni
March 21, 2012

Iranian kamanche virtuoso and innovative composer Kayhan Kalhor is known for his international collaborations with cellist Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, the Persian-Indian ensemble m: Ghazal = 23569, and the Brooklyn Rider string quartet . I Will Not Stand Alone, is a spellbinding meditation on one of the most difficult stages in his life. Kalhor was part of the Green Movement civil uprising in Tehran, which was later squashed by the Iranian regime after disputed national elections. ...

Kayhan Kalhor - Erdan Erzincal: The Wind

by AAJ Italy Staff
May 16, 2007

Il musicista iraniano Kayhan Kalhor, conosciuto in Occidente come membro del duo Ghazal, con cui ha inciso tre album per l'americana Shanachie e uno per la tedesca ECM (The Rain), è un virtuoso del kamancheh, sorta di violino arabo che si suona con l'archetto, tenendolo però in posizione verticale. In questa occasione non ha più al suo fianco il sitarista indiano Shujaat Husain Khan, suo partner nei Ghazal, sostituito dal turco Erdal Erzincan al baglama (strumento appartenente alla famiglia del ...

Kayhan Kalhor and Erdal Erzincan: The Wind

by Nenad Georgievski
January 27, 2007

The Wind, a collaboration between two master musicians, is as good an example of musical interaction as you will ever hope to hear. Duet albums between master musicians from different traditions used to be a rare occurence in the past. But in this rapidly shrinking world, more and more musicians are trying to expand their musicial spheres by collaborating with artists from other cultures.

Kayhan Kalhor has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the world's greatest kamancheh (Iranian spike ...

Kayhan Kalhor: The Wind

by Budd Kopman
September 25, 2006

In an exquisite moment on Kayhan Kalhor's last recorded collaboration, The Rain (ECM, 2003), tabla player Sandeep Das hits an “out" note on his tuned drum. This momentarily shocks Kalhor and sitarist Shujaat Khan, but soon brings a smiling murmur when he repeats it as if to say, “I meant that." The two soloists, Kalhor (from Iran) and Khan (from Northern India) had been blending their related but distinct musical traditions, battling while creating long, mystical and spiritual waves of ...

Kayhan Kalhor: The Wind

by John Kelman
September 17, 2006

Improvisation isn't strictly the purview of jazz, although it's certainly one of the genre's defining foundations. But it's also an area of fertile exploration for artists operating far outside its conventions. Iranian kamancheh (spike fiddle) player Kayhan Kalhor has been exploring the improvisational possibilities at the nexus of Persian and North Indian music for nearly a decade with his cooperative group Ghazal. With The Wind he forges a new musical relationship with Turkish baglama player Erdal Erzincan and divan baglama ...