Meet Hesam Abedini: East Meets West with Persian Jazz

Sibarg Ensemble

I had the privelege of meeting Professor Hesam Abedini this month following my research on Iranian music and its application for social change. Abedini is a musician and composer specializing in fusion music. He created a groundbreaking Iranian jazz ensemble called Sibarg which combines the two musical styles. I first discovered Abedini through the Stanford Iranian Studies Program website. Abedini recently spoke at Stanford about Iranian Diaspora music and its potential for modernization.

Fusion Music:

Abedini introduced to the concept of world fusion music, or music that combines styles from different parts of the world. This music not only is able to combine the best aspects of each tradition but has the potential to open new avenues that are inaccesible when aproaching music from only one tradition. For example, combining Eastern and Western music can result in more possible note choices as composers from the Western school are nolonger limited to 12 pitches. Furthermore, Abedini exposed me to how this music can relate to cultural idenity. He said, "Intercultural music should be where you can bring two or more cultures together to liberate the musicians and cultures from set and fixed identities”. As a multicultural individual myself, I found this especially captivating.

Abedini applies fusion music in his work with the Sibarg Ensemble. This jazz group combines jazz, a uniquely American art form, with traditional Iranian music. When I asked him how he is able to mix two seemingly completely different styles, he explained how jazz and Iranian music share a common ground: improvisation. Through the use of improv, Abedini is able to combine these two aspects of his identity using music. Additionally, some members of the ensemble play traditional Iranian instruments to share their unique timbre.

Telling a Story

At the end of the day, from whatever part of the world one is from, the purpose of music is to tell a story. Abedini revisited this throughout our conversation and expanded by explaining how his role as a musician is to learn the traditions of different musical styles in order to tell more meaningful stories. As a result, he doesn't identify as specifically a "jazz" musician or an "Iranian" musician, and his style is constantly evolving.