ARASH SASAN & JOSEF REßLE

In the organizer's words:

"Arash Sasan's chansons are polaroids of twilight, gentle reflections on the aporias of everyday life, and his four accompanists flank these atmospheric images with restrained sound additions of folklore provenance." (Ralf Dombrowski, SZ) At the center of the music of Arash Sasan and his band is the expressive, oriental-influenced singing. With tremendous intensity, the Iranian from Munich tells of his own experiences or sets classical Persian poetry by poets such as Saadi, Rumi or Hafiz to music. His compositional style on the guitar surprises with strong flamenco influences, a music that has fascinated him since childhood. In Iran in the 1980s, however, a Spanish guitar was no longer welcome, so Sasan acquired his knowledge more or less secretly and self-taught. Gradually, he developed his typical blend of Persian language and Spanish harmony/rhythm. Currently, the music of Arash Sasan and his band features oriental influences from the Caucasus to the Persian Gulf alongside Mediterranean sounds and jazzy impulses. Sometimes Sasan also takes up folk songs - such as the legend of the bride "Sari Gelin", who is forced to marry and takes her own life on her wedding night, sung from the perspective of the loving young man she had actually chosen. Arash Sasan is able to depict such stories in all their depth and drama without being kitschy. And in the next song, rhythm and joie de vivre dominate again. Arash Sasan has found musical partners in Munich for his often rhythmically rousing songs, with whom he has been playing together for several years: Pianist Josef Reßle, winner of the BMW-Welt Young Artist Jazz Award 2016. From one moment to the next, he turns from sensitive accompanist to furious soloist, only to place himself completely back at the service of Arash Sasan's musical poetry in the next.

Arash Sasan (git, voc) Josef Reßle (p)