Kayhan Kalhor: Kalhor Kayhan

The ancient and quietly thriving world of Persian classical music is an intricate and fascinating tradition, too little heard or made available through the expanding universe of world music marketing. For a good recent example available in music outlets near you, proceed to a new recording by Kayhan Kalhor (Traditional Crossroads 4288; 47:23). Here, the virtuosic Kalhor plays the Persian violin known as the kamancheh, in duet with Pejman Hadadi performing on tombak, a drum with timbral similarities to the tabla. Together, they improvise over given structures, with a resulting passion and refinement that tips us off to a musical realm deserving wider recognition in the general public ear.

Originally Published January 1, 1999