Musician and composer Sahba Sizdahkhani serves as a unique crossroad of East meets West. Influenced heavily by both 1960’s spiritual free-jazz and Persian Classical Music, he channels the fire-energy and longing for connectivity these two stormy histories represent.
At age 12, his self-proclaimed “aha moment” occurred while listening to The John Coltrane Quartet for the very first time. He was hooked.
As the years passed, however, his ferocious love of jazz and improvisation would gradually open pathways and pointers to his native roots of Persian Classical Music, and, eventually, he would begin formal studies on the Iranian santur with master santur player Faraz Minooei.
“Sahba Sizdahkhani starts playing his instrument as if he’s pleading for his life. His playing is breathtaking. . .”
Sahba has completed two Bachelor of Arts degrees: one at Berklee College of Music, in Jazz performance, and the other at The University of Maryland, in Art History & Archeology. He then worked in Paris for several years in textile design but ultimately moved to New York city to further pursue jazz drumming.
He has composed film scores for Chelsea Winstanley (JoJo Rabbit), Whalerock Industries, maverick avant filmmaker Paul Clipson, as well as a live score performance for the Cinema 16 series in the legendary tunnel underneath the Manhattan Bridge.
His first solo work, Ganj, was released by Important Records in 2021. It was recorded in solitude during the Winter Solstice of 2019 without any prior formal training on the mystical 102-stringed trapezoid dulcimer. The consequent emphasis was placed on pure sonics, overtones, resonances, as well as an homage to minimalist composers such as Terry Riley, La Monte Young, and early Miles Davis.
Days after completing this work, Sahba did begin formal studies of the Persian Classical Radif with his current teacher, mentor, and close friend, Faraz Minooei.
Sahba has also recently recorded with Michael Morley(Dead C) and currently has running musical collaborations with Derek Monypeny, Rob Magill, and Zachary James Watkins + Ross Peacock.
He has shared live bills with a vastly diverse class of artists including Laraaji, C Spencer Yeh, Susan Alcorn, Steve Gorn, Henry Kaiser, Rova Saxophone Quartet, Sunwatchers, Wizard Apprentice, Talibam!, Plankton Wat, Peter Brötzmann, and Don Dietrich (Barbetomagus). He has performed at The White House, Park Avenue Armory, Kennedy Center for the Arts, Basilica Hudson’s 24 Hour Drone Festival, WFMU live performance, “Fire Over Heaven” at Outpost Artist Resources, The Embassy of France, VOA studios Washington DC, and The Garden of Memory Festival at The Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland.