Recording: Araz Salek & Friends

Artist: Araz Salek & Friends

Songs: Goshāyesh 11 & 15 + Chahārmezrāb

Recorded at The Tranzac (Main Hall), June 8, 2025.

Araz Salek & Friends - Goshāyesh 11 & 15

Araz Salek & Friends - Chahārmezrāb

This joyful party had a twofold purpose, not only celebrating a birthday for Araz Salek, but also serving to launch his new Peripheries of Nahavand album. To the latter end, an ensemble of friends from within and beyond the Labyrinth Ensemble played both pieces from the album as well as a couple tunes that helped inspire it. Lots of families and kids out enjoying the music and snackage, making for a charmingly casual time.

Recording: Labyrinth Ensemble with Âriâ Mohâfez

Artist: Labyrinth Ensemble with Âriâ Mohâfez

Song: Tasnif-e Parastu [composer: Habibollah Badiei]

Recorded at the Aga Khan Museum, May 3, 2025.

Labyrinth Ensemble with Âriâ Mohâfez - Tasnif-e Parastu

Another excellent night at the Aga Khan with the Labyrinth Ensemble, this time hosting Iranian santur player Âriâ Mohâfez. Although the concert followed the template that Labyrinth has been developing for the past couple years (an intensive rehearsal and teaching process leading up to the show, followed by a concert with suites of pieces punctuated by solo spots for the ensemble members) this had a different vibe than the previous shows — certainly a different sonic feel in how the strings related to the rest of the ensemble, but more strikingly, there was a shape to the presentation that saw the show's end eschew the "big finale" to instead close on a morally-resolute and solemn note with Mohâfez's pieces "Shokufan/Abloom" and "Nika", dedicated, respectively, to Iran's womens' movement and Nika Shakarami.

Recording: Labyrinth Ensemble with Maliheh Moradi

Artist: Labyrinth Ensemble with Maliheh Moradi

Song: Dar deyr-e moghan [composer: Arshad Tahmasebi]

Recorded at the Aga Khan Museum, November 2, 2024.

Labyrinth Ensemble with Maliheh Moradi - Dar deyr-e moghan

The latest in the Labyrinth Ensemble's series of group intensives/public concerts saw them working with Iranian vocalist Maliheh Moradi and exploring a mix of classic makam pieces and new sounds that emerged during the workshop process. And as usual, in between the graniose sweep of the full ensemble, some of the most striking moments came when that pulled back to duos and solos, showing off the diverse array of sounds that the ensemble contains.

[Labyrinth's Makam Nights series will not have a November edition, but will return on December 19th to the Tranzac's Living Room — and before that, some members of the ensemble (Roa Lee, Marta Solek and Sasan Salaseli) will be performing at Drom Taberna on Sunday, December 1st.]

Recording: Labyrinth Ensemble

Artist: Labyrinth Ensemble

Songs: Makam Ussak [excerpt]^* + Makam Toronto

Recorded at Aga Khan Museum, April 15, 2023.

Labyrinth Ensemble - Makam Ussak [excerpt]

Labyrinth Ensemble - Makam Toronto

It's always a delight to be able to catch the Labyrinth Ensemble in full flight. Once more, this concert was based on the principle of bringing in a world-class expert (in this case, Greek mandolinist Evgenios Voulgaris) to spend some intensive rehearsal time with the group before presenting what they've learned to the public. Voulgaris brought a selection of 17th-century works collected by Romanian prince Dimitrie Cantemir, showcasing the cultural connections being forged in the court of the Ottoman Empire. The show was presented as a pair of suites, each united by a particular makam, or mode, with the ensemble seguing from one piece to the next by honing in on individual members, giving everyone space in the foreground before showing how their sound is woven into the larger perspective. The first piece here highlights MFS fave Naomi McCarroll-Butler's saxophone work while the latter is a brand new piece (in the combiniation-of-things "Toronto mode") that Voulgaris wrote for the group while in the city.

The full ensemble for this show was: Evgenios Voulgaris – oud and yaylı tambur; Sadaf Amini – santur; Yang Chen – riqq, bendir; Burak Ekmekci – baglama; Michael K. Harrist – yayli tanbur; Pedram Khavarzamini – tombak; Roa Lee – gayageum; Naomi McCarroll-Butler – saxophone, clarinet, and bass clarinet; John McKinnon – electric bass; Scott Peterson – upright bass; Araz Salek – tar; Marta Solek – cello and greek lyra; Tev Stevig – tanbur and oud; Aysel Taghi-Zada – violin; Amely Zhou – erhu.

[Labyrinth Ontario will be hosting an instrument library at City Hall as part of Doors Open Toronto next weekend (May 27th + 28th). Visitors are welcome to come by all weekend and explore the space and hear demonstrations!]

^* As mentioned above, this is a segment of the set-long suite of ussak music. Please leave a comment in you know the name(s) of the partricular piece(s)!

Recording: Labyrinth Ensemble with Lamia Yared

Artist: Labyrinth Ensemble with Lamia Yared

Song: Layali el wasl

Recorded at the Aga Kham Museum, November 13, 2021.

Labyrinth Ensemble with Lamia Yared - Layali el wasl

An auspicious beginning to this new phase from Labyrinth Ontario, debuting their full ensemble for the first time. This concert (and the ones slated to follow) expand on Labyrinth's mandate to foster cultural exchanges and musical education, bringing in an esteemed artist-in-residence — in this case vocalist/oudist Lamia Yared — for a period of extended rehearsals to give the musicians a chance to really dig into the material. The results were excellent across the board as the group stretched out in a series of traditional Turkish and Arabic musical styles, finding space to give each of the members a chance for their own instrument to stand out.

The full ensemble for this show was: Sadaf Amini (santur), Yang Chen (percussion/hand drums), Burak Ekmekci (baglama), Michael K. Harrist (yayli tanbur), Pedram Khavarzamini (tombak), Roa Lee (gayageum), Naomi McCarroll-Butler (saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, sallow flute/konvovka), John McKinnon (bass), Scott Peterson (bass), Araz Salek (tar), Marta Solek (cello, Greek lyra, plock fiddle), Tev Stevig (tanbur, oud), Aysel Taghi-Zada (violin), and Amely Zhou (erhu).

If you have access to facebook you can (at this writing) still watch the excellent-sounding archived webstream.

screenshot from Aga Khan webstream.

Recording: Labyrinth Ensemble

Artist: Labyrinth Ensemble (II) [Araz Salek, Amely Zhou, Yang Chen]

Song: [edited excerpt]

Recorded at The Music Gallery (X Avant XVI – Night 3), October 16, 2021.

Labyrinth Ensemble (II) - [edited excerpt]

The Music Gallery's annual X Avant Festival felt like a return and a renewal in all the right ways. Although these weren't the first events presented by new-ish Artistic Director Sanjeet Takhar, they were the first ones in person, with performers and audience sharing space — a long-awaited return from all sides. Each of the nights played off the festival theme "You in Mind", looking for ways to amplify and support the overlapping communities being drawn together. Day Three ("Process") was "dedicated to the global thread of sustained tone as a healing modality" — by way of an eight-hour drone zone, letting the audience lay back on 918 Bathurst's sanctuary floor and watch projections planetarium-style on the high-arched ceiling.

The day was bookended by a pair of trios drawn from the larger Labyrinth Ensemble, joining musicians of different backgrounds together in deepening their understanding of modal traditions. This final grouping saw Labyrinth's Artistic Director Araz Salek (tar) joined by Amely Zhou (erhu) and Yang Chen (percussion). (The latter was a special delight, especially in the overlapping transition from the previous set that saw a two-note synth pattern matched by bowed vibraphone tones.) This was a quiet set to ease out the long day's droning (because of which my recording is accordingly a little lo-fi, by the way), and perhaps the most formally meticulous — exploring small incremental changes within a rigourous rhythmic framework. A reminder that "drone", so casually used as a catch-all musical category, has deep, deep roots in many musical traditions, based on centuries of joyful experimentation in how to keep humans entranced.

Recording: Araz Salek

Artist: Araz Salek

Song: [last section]^*

Recorded at Tibet Kitchen's back patio (Music at Tibet Kitchen), August 18, 2018.

Araz Salek - [last section]

Bringing back a favourite summer excursion after a couple years away, Jonathan Adjemian hosted this lovely afternoon of music, tasty eats and good vibes on the back patio of Parkdale's Tibet Kitchen, still offering the same tangle of backlane wires overhead and the same serene peacefulness away from the hurly-burly of Queen Street. Leading things off, tar master Araz Salek closed his eyes and played a selection of melodies in a duet with the cicadas and summer breezes.

^* Does anyone know the title(s) to the song(s) here? Please leave a comment!

Recording: Go:Organic

Artist: Go:Organic

Song: Dastgah [2nd set excerpt, in two parts]

Recorded at The Music Gallery @ 918 Bathurst, November 17, 2018.

Go:Organic - Dastgah [2nd set excerpt, part 1]

Go:Organic - Dastgah [2nd set excerpt, part 2]

The local manifestation of Adam Rudolph's portable improvising big-band concept a couple years back apparently made a lasting impression on the musicians, especially local tar player Araz Salek, who wondered how it would work to apply Rudolph's m.o. to the modal frameworks of Persian music. The end result of their considerations on the topic was this local remounting, with some adaptations to Rudolph's open-ended scores and a cadre of top-notch local players from Persian traditions in the ensemble. Elaborate preparations not only included what I've heard were some intense rehearsals, but also having the piano specially retuned for the Persian modal scale.

As with the previous organic encounter with Rudoph, the project's biggest achievement remains finding ways to co-ordinate all these musicians while still leaving room for their individual voices to be heard. From designated solos to call-and-response cues to arranged cells, there was a thrilling sense of movement through two sets.

The musicians this time around were:

• Santour: Sadaf Amini
• Kamanche: Hamidreza Khalatbari
• Tar: Araz Salek
• Tuned Piano: Jonathan Adjemian
• Ney: Ernie Tollar
• Violin: Aline Homzy
• Violin: Nelson Moneo
• Double bass: Rob Clutton
• Clarinet: Karen Ng
• Trumpet: Emily Denison
• Bassoon: Peter Lutek
• Saxophone: Jay Hay
• Tombak: Pedram Khavarzamini
• Congas: Ruben Esguerra
• Drums: Nick Fraser

Recording: Araz Salek & Colin Fisher

Artist: Araz Salek & Colin Fisher

Song: [excerpt from first piece]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #44), November 6, 2018.

Araz Salek & Colin Fisher - [excerpt from first piece]

Tar master Araz Salek is one of the more astonishing musicians in the city, so I was thrilled that he took me up on an invitation to come out for some casual playing at TCB. Often seen these days playing in a more rigourous classical style, Salek nevertheless comes from a tradition that reveres improvisation and has deep roots in the city's creative music scene. Salek and Colin Fisher used to play together regularly, but the two hadn't been on stage together for quite awhile — so this was a case of two musicians deeply intent on listening to each other, holding back and appreciating what they were hearing before darting in to mix it up a little.

[The first Tuesday of January is New Year's Day, so TCB is making a rare shift to the second week and joining forces with Andrew Furlong's JAOIM series. We'll be co-presenting Lina Allemano's Titanium Riot plus McEachern/West/Zurawinski on January 8th. Not to be missed!]

Recording: This Tale of Ours Quartet

Artist: This Tale of Ours Quartet

Songs: Little Black Dog + Neveser 14 / Synkathistos

Recorded at Eastminster United Church (Labyrinth Musical Workshop Ontario Concert Series), May 12, 2018.

This Tale of Ours Quartet - Little Black Dog + Neveser 14

This Tale of Ours Quartet - Synkathistos

This was the first in a series of concerts that were the public-facing segment for a busy first year of the Labyrinth Musical Workshop. Labyrinth's central component was a series of workshops giving students a chance to have close-up encounters with masters of different modal traditions from around the world — and the chance to hear many of those same masters making rare local concert appearances was the icing on the cake. This opening show saw an ongoing project that mixes two amazing local musicians (Pedram Khavarzamini: tombak; Araz Salek, tar) with two of the founders (Ross Daly: lyra, tarhu, and rabab; Kelly Thoma, lyra) of the original Labyrinth Workshop on Crete.

Two sets of music from the quartet mixed traditional tunes with new compositions and saw solo turns all around become embroidered by the group's effortless collective flow. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make any of the other shows in the series, but I kept hearing amazing things about the visiting headliners as well as the emerging local musicians who opened the shows — and the skills and techniques learned will linger on in the practices of a whole host of local players. Labyrinth is truly something that our "music city" needs more of, so hopefully the conditions will be put in place for this concept to thrive in our soil.

Recording: The Iranian Modal Music Ensemble of Toronto

Artist: The Iranian Modal Music Ensemble of Toronto

Song: Chahamezrab

Recorded at 918 Bathurst (Labyrinth Ontario Launch / Fundraiser), September 15, 2017.

The Iranian Modal Music Ensemble of Toronto - Chahamezrab

This night was the formal public launch of Labyrinth Ontario, a new initiative founded by local musicians Araz Salek and Jonathan Adjemian to promote "the study and enjoyment of global traditions of modal music". Bringing together some diverse ensembles, this night featured music of the highest calibre — an auspicious sign of things to come as the group begins to organize a number of teaching workshops and concerts next year.

I recognized some of the players here from other shows — most notably Araz Salek (tar) and Pedram Khavarzamini (tombak), who I saw recently exploring some Javanese/Persian crosscurrents with Evyind Kang and Jessika Kenney. The ensemble was completed by Mahan Nohroudi (santour), Padideh Aharnejad (tar), Kianoush Khalilian (ney), and Ava Ayoubi (bass tar). The set consisted of a few longer songs linked by solos and improvisations — all of it really beautiful stuff.

Recording: Kang-Kenney-Timar-Khavarzamini-Salek

Artist: Evyind Kang/Jessika Kenney/Andrew Timar/Pedram Khavarzamini/Araz Salek

Song: unknown title, in two parts^*

Recorded at Jam Factory (Intersection – Day 2), September 1, 2017.

Evyind Kang/Jessika Kenney/Andrew Timar/Pedram Khavarzamini/Araz Salek - unknown title, part 1

Evyind Kang/Jessika Kenney/Andrew Timar/Pedram Khavarzamini/Araz Salek - unknown title, part 2

In recent years, the Intersection Festival would normally consist of a paid concert, usually the night before the day-long extravaganza in Yonge-Dundas Square. This year, however, under the continued guidance of Burn Down The Capital's Tad Michalak the festival expanded to four events, including a pair of concerts at The Jam Factory.

When Jessika Kenney & Eyvind Kang last came to town, their set included an ad hoc throwdown with some local musicians, including suling player Andrew Timar. This time, that concept was more fully-fleshed out into a full-on new band, bringing in local ace Persian musicians Pedram Khavarzamini (tombak) and Araz Salek (tar). The resulting group mixed its Persian and Indonesian instrumentation with a mix of music traditions (even including some Korean round singing that Kenney & Kang had picked up on a recent trip there). Kenney's vocals (taken from Rumi's poetry and related sources) pulled everything together in the mystic haze of a modal trance. Hopefully this far-flung group will get more opportunities to dig deeper in these veins.

[You can see some footage from this set over at Brandon Caswell Douglas' Intersection playlist.]

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Recording: Adam Rudolph & Go: Organic Toronto Orchestra

Artist: Adam Rudolph & Go: Organic Toronto Orchestra

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at The Music Gallery, January 23, 2016.

Adam Rudolph & Go: Organic Toronto Orchestra - [set 1, 1st piece] [excerpt]

Adam Rudolph & Go: Organic Toronto Orchestra - [set 2, 3rd piece] [excerpt]

Adam Rudolph is a master percussionist who has worked with many luminaries, including Yusef Lateef. But this visit to the Music Gallery saw him working as teacher and conductor to a large-format ensemble¹ brought together to get an intensive grounding in his musical philosophy and methods. Speaking to Nilan Perera before the show, he described the project as "a 21st century idea of what an orchestra could be", designed to create room for "mi", a word of the Dogon people of Mali that expresses how the inner voice of a musician can be brought forth in the music they play — very much the contrary of the image of the ensemble player in European "classical" music whose function is to remove themselves to express the composer's ideas. (He also spoke of African-American call-and-response as one of his foundational musical experiences, which was a revealing lens on the night's music.)

Conducting solves what's often the biggest problem of large-group improvisation: finding a shape and knowing when to stop. The most visible aspect of several days' work with the crew of local musicians was his use of elaborate hand signals and vivid body language — he was the most animated conductor I've seen leading an ensemble since Gergiev. Obviously, there was a lot more going on under the surface in terms of how his compositions created a structure but left lots of room for indeterminacy. The upshot of all of this was a group whose textures ranged widely — from the more formally-arranged sounds of the short first extract here that wouldn't sound out of place at a typical "New Music" concert to the free-spirited blaxploitaion big-band improv of the second, which showed how this large group could nimbly stop-and-start on a dime. Really quite wonderful stuff. This played to a full house at the Music Gallery, where it looked like many people were attracted by Rudolph's involvement. Here's hoping some in the crowd will be inspired to seek out some more from the local participants who can be found joyfully improvising in the city's creative music scenes.

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¹ The ensemble was as follows:

• Vocals : Tova Kardonne, Zoe Alexis-Abrams
• Horns: Lina Allemano, Heather Segger, Jay Hay, Karen Ng
• Strings: Ilana Walniuk, Aline Homzy, Araz Salek, Rob Clutton
• Drumkit/percussion: Joe Sorbara
• Hand percussion Raphael Roter, Rakesh Tewari
• Keys: Simeon Abbott
• Turntables/Electronics: SlowPitchSound
• Guitar: Luan Phung