Raising Voices: Rana Farhan, Saba Zameni + beatmap and Zahra Habib

Popular New York-based Iranian musician and jazz and blues singer Rana Farhan returns with her five-piece band after a four-year hiatus for a stacked night that includes charismatic Toronto-based singer and dancer Saba Zameni backed by beatmap as a quartet and local creatrix Zahra Habib on decks for a feel-good show co-presented by Link Music Lab and Small World Music as part of the 2023 Small World Music Series.

Farhan’s music has been called “seductive, exotic and absolutely gorgeous” by Indiemusic.com. Fusing classical Persian poetry with contemporary jazz, think Diana Krall meets Everything But the Girl while reminiscent of Sade Adu infused with blues. Mixing new releases from her 2022 EP Baz A into an established repertoire of original songs, Steven Toub on guitar, Travis Sullivan on saxophone, Trifon Dimitrov on electric bass, and Christian Coleman on drums join Farhan.

Saba Zameni offers uplifting and soulful songs firmly rooted in her long career at the intersections of Persian traditional music and contemporary jazz. Among three singles in Farsi released last year, “Bizaram Az Dine Shoma (Women Life Freedom)”, in collaboration with The Kiffness, highlights Zameni’s versatility as a songwriter. She sings with Toronto mainstay beatmap – Alan Davis on drums, Neil Gardiner playing keyboard, multi-instrumentalist Sina Momtahan and bassist Jeronimo Acuña – drawing on funk, rock and jazz merged with Persian traditions, Latin, African and Arabic rhythms, and electronica.

Rooted in soul connection, Zahra Habib promises a fresh DJ set from her extensive musical library combining hip-hop, deep house, funk, soul, reggae, rock and more. Sharing intimate energy with new takes on old-school sounds through her love of vinyl, Habib won the London Music Awards DJ of the year in 2020, is the host of Lunar Rotations and founder of ISO Project London, Ontario.

The 2023 Small World Music Series is generously supported by TD Bank of Canada, the Government of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council.