Experimental Link Music Nights: Shaho Andalibi & Scott Peterson

Link Music Lab presents Shaho Andalibi, renowned Iranian singer and nay player, with Toronto-based bassist Scott Peterson for a night honouring the great Kurdish singer and musician Ali Asghar Kurdistani on June 30, 2022, at the Small World Centre. Their legendary voice and unique style influenced Iranian-Kurdish traditional music as one of the first Kurdish singers recorded in Tehran in 1930. The power of Ali Asghar Kurdistani’s compositions continues with elements incorporated into this performance in light of the economic conditions and the tragic incident that happened in the south of Iran recently. The extensive background in Middle Eastern music that Andalibi and Peterson share promises a unique revisioning of Ali Asghar Kurdistani’s music in dialogue with contemporary Iran.

Andalibi’s connection to Kurdish music runs deep, having learnt its melodies and modes at a very young age within a well-known musical family in Sanandaj, the capital of Iran’s Kurdistan Province. A prolific performer and musician, he has recorded 22 albums, toured and performed internationally, established the Andalibi Ensemble and Andalibi Music Academy in Toronto, and served as principal of Neyzar Music Academy in Tehran. In 2019 the multi-instrumentalist and esteemed music teacher was a finalist for the Aga Khan Music Awards. Link Music Lab last presented Andalibi in collaboration with Aria Rostami in 2019 for Experimental Link Music Nights.

As the bassist in Asiko Afrobeat and Labyrinth Ensemble with a solid foundation in jazz, Peterson’s experience with globally diverse music is impressive, from producing with Zimbabwean band Nhapitapi to throat singing for Jonathan Goldsmith’s score for the film Burn Your Maps. Having studied throat singing in Tuva, guitar in Brazil, gamelan in Bali and composition and piano in Toronto, Peterson will bring a fascinating musical vantage point as a multi-faceted composer, producer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and singer.

Experimental Link Music Nights contemplates the Persian-Canadian experience by reinvigorating, re-exploring and re-imagining Persian traditional music within contemporary and cosmopolitan Toronto by inviting different musicians from the diaspora to collaborate and perform together. The series will explore connections between identity, culture, and musical creation with four concerts in its new season from December to March 2023.