HAFEZ MODIRZADEH
Genres: Avant-Garde Jazz, Jazz Related Improv, Composition • United States

For over two decades, composer/saxophonist/theorist Hafez Modirzadeh has developed his pioneering chromodal concept, a cross-cultural musical approach developed from his own American jazz and Iranian dastgah heritages. He has published extensively on the subject while developing alternative performance techniques to adapt the saxophone to the Persian tuning system. Dr. Modirzadeh studied the dastgah repertoire extensively with Iranian violinist Mahmoud Zoufonoun, followed by a stint at New England Conservatory to study saxophone with Joe Allard and musical concepts with George Russell. He received his Masters from UCLA and his Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University. He was twice named an NEA Jazz Fellow (1989, 1991) and was granted a Fulbright to work with Gnawan and Flamenco musicians in Morocco and Andalucia in 2005-06, which resulted in his latest CD, Bemsha Alegria (2007, Disques Chromodal). Dr. Modirzadeh is currently a full-time professor of World Culture in Music at San Francisco State University read more...