feature photo: Prudence Upton
Vazesh is a multi-national trio but one of a completely different kind that makes this one of the uniquely genre-bending exercises in the world fusion realm.
What makes Vazesh stand apart? Firstly, there’s Iranian Hamed Sadeghi, who plays a tar, a six-stringed Iranian lute. With this traditional Persian instrument, Sadeghi also brings the country’s traditional classical music Radif, music that lies in the heart of Persian musical culture.
Add to Sadeghi are two Australians who come from the Western jazz of things: multi-reedist Jeremy Rose and bassist Lloyd Swanton. Rose is a fine improvisor in the jazz idiom who is also someone who we asserted back in 2017 possesses “an unquenchable thirst to learn and discover.” As one third of the Necks, Swanton’s bonafides in the minimalist side of improvisation are second to nobody’s.
A single performance – broken apart into fourteen tracks at seemingly random spots – is meant to be absorbed completely in a single listen. This uncommon blend that progresses along a single strand results in music that’s meditative and peaceful while also capricious.
Many of these tracks act as a perfect exhibit of the special kind of magic that happens when disparate cultures mesh together so well. Rose on sax or bass clarinet typically undertakes sketching out the loosely-defined melody and Sadeghi enhances it by providing a harmony that speaks to it from and Middle Eastern perspective. Swanton on his arco bass acts akin to an interpreter, the bridge between two musical languages, though there are moments, as on “Demitasse,” where he can be just as poignant with a plucked bass.
It all sounds so uncluttered and naturally progressing. Light in density but rich in detail and a beauty that transcends all cultures, Tapestry is the peacefully assured world vibe salve for a more volatile and uncertain world.
Pick up Vazesh’s Tapestry right now, on Bandcamp.
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