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 (I) [Naomi McCarroll-Butler/Pedram Khavarzamini/Scott Peterson]

Song: [excerpt]

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

Labyrinth Ensemble (I) - [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 first grouping saw Naomi McCarroll-Butler (reeds), Pedram Khavarzamini (tombak) and Scott Peterson (double bass) ease the crowd into the dronespace, taking a steady pulse and slowing it down in smaller solo/duo explorations.

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: 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: Bassam Bishara with Pedram Khavarzamini

Artist: Bassam Bishara with Pedram Khavarzamini

Song: two unknown songs^*

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

Bassam Bishara with Pedram Khavarzamini - unknown #1

Bassam Bishara with Pedram Khavarzamini - unknown #2

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.

It was a genuine treat to close out the night to see this duo of two local masters of their instruments. I had seen tombak player Pedram Khavarzamini a few times before (including earlier in the evening) but witnessing Bassam Bishara on oud was a joyful revelation. With no setlist, the pair would simply suggest songs to one another and then go, usually leading off with Bishara establishing the tune on his own before Khavarzamini would join in to buoy him along. With a slight smile and playful twinkle in his eye, Bishara looked like any musician engaged in a casual back porch jam session, but that would belie the sheer staggeringly advanced level these two were operating at. A real reminder of the musical richness that exists in this city around us.

^* Does anyone know the titles to these? Please leave a comment!

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: Michael Keith + Pedram Khavarzamini

Artist: Michael Keith + Pedram Khavarzamini

Songs: [second piece, in two parts]

Recorded at Array Space (The Music Gallery's Departures Series), June 18, 2016.

Michael Keith + Pedram Khavarzamini - [second piece, part 1]

Michael Keith + Pedram Khavarzamini - [second piece, part 2]

This Music Gallery off-site show brought together three guitar heroes in quite different contexts. Leading off the night, and representing the local side, was Michael Keith with his three-stringed baritone ukulele. This was originally scheduled as a set with his occasional duo partner Saab Narayan, but unforeseen circumstances meant he wasn't available. The silver lining was that tombak master Pedram Khavarzamini was available to fill-in. The complete ease with which he added gloriously-subtle elaborations to Keith's Persian-inspired lines might have left the impression that this was a carefully-rehearsed performance — but it was, in fact, fully improvised by a pair of musicians who had never played together before. After two mid-length instrumental pieces, Keith closed out the set with an improvised "combination blues" song, combining his keen interests in two diverse traditions, and uniting them quite seamlessly.