Iran and America Make Music

My neighbor Rich Linnell, the promoter for The Doors, has a special event coming up. Don't miss hearing Doors drummer John Densmore with Persian musician Reza Derakshani. On March 9th in Orange County. On March 10th in Los Angeles. $25-$65.

Iran and America Make Music (and Dance) on March 9th and 10th...

"IRAN AND AMERICA MAKE MUSIC" MELDING EAST-WEST SOUNDS WITH LEGENDARY ROCK-JAZZ & PERSIAN PERFORMERS.

http://www.levantinecenter.org/pages/iran_america.html

Legendary drummer and founding member of the Doors, John Densmore has co-created a new sound that fuses the exotic music of Iran with western instrumentation, performing with master musician Reza Derakshani (vocals, tar, setar, kamancheh and ney). Haunting and spiritual, driving and hypnotic, they are premiering their music in Southern California on March 9 and 10, with "Iran and America Make Music" shows at the OC Pavilion and the Wilshire Ebell Theatre.

The line-up includes the Brazilian-trained Armenian/Italian world percussionist Cristina Berio and Cuban bass player Carlitos Del Puerto, with American Dennis Hamm on keyboards. "We've got a global village going here," says Densmore, who created the world jazz ensemble Tribal Jazz. He also cofounded the group The Reluctant Gurus, which will open the Los Angeles concert featuring Jordanian oud master/percussionist Hani Naser and vocalist Donna Delory, who regularly tours with Madonna.

"This is a beautiful hybrid between two countries that are turning more and more bellicose," says Densmore. "We're not politicians, but I wanted Americans to see the face and hear the sounds of the Iranian people...The Iranian leadership recently banned western music, and here we are making music that combines classic Persian sounds with jazz, folk and rock."

Dancing in public has been banned in Iran since the mullahs took over the student-led revolution in 1979, which is one reason why the March 9 and 10 "Iran and America Make Music" concerts will open with contemporary and mystical Persian dance from the Ney Nava Dance Theatre. The artistic director and choreographer of Ney Nava, Shida Pegahi, has been an outspoken advocate for artistic freedom since she arrived in Los Angeles in the 1980s. The master of ceremonies is Peter Shahriari, the stand-up comedian who stars in The Sultans of Satire comedy series; with degrees in political science and law from UCLA, Shahriari is perfectly suited to host the shows with his unique brand of humor, sending up the stereotypes Americans hold about Iran—and those Iranians may harbor about Americans.

"Iran and America" is coproduced by Levantine Cultural Center, Los Angeles' pan-cultural center for contemporary arts of the Middle East, and produced by veteran Doors promoter Richard Linnell. It is cosponsored in Los Angeles by Namak Magazine and in Orange County by OCPC Magazine.

"Iran and America Make Music: The Reza Derakshani-John Densmore Group," Fri., March 9, 8 pm, OC Pavilion, 801 N. Main St. Santa Ana 92701; Sat., March 10, Wilshire Ebell Theatre, 7:30 pm, 4401 W. 8th St., Los Angeles 90005. Tix $25-$65, available online at ticketweb.com, or call 866.468.3399, or online at levantinecenter.org or call 310.559.5544.