Tombak virtuoso Pezhham Akhavass to join international musicians on U.S. tour

TEHRAN –(Iranart)- Iranian tombak virtuoso Pezhham Akhavass, who is also skilful in other percussion instruments, will join two international masters of percussion on a U.S. tour beginning in April.

Akhavass together with the master of Indian Tabla, Ustad Zakir Hussain, and Uzbek doyra virtuoso Abbos Kosimov will be giving live streaming concerts in several U.S. states running from April 8 to 18. 

The three musicians combine the music cultures of India, Iran and Uzbekistan through their performances. Each musician performs one piece and together they will perform several other compositions.

Born in 1980, Akhavass earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Sureh University in Tehran in 2005, a second bachelor’s degree in world music from the San Francisco State University in 2016, and a master’s in music history in 2019.

From 2001 to 2007, he performed professionally with the renowned vocalist Shahram Nazeri during several international festivals and concerts across the world. 

He has performed in Iran, Europe, United States, Australia and in numerous festivals, including the Festival del Popolo in Italy, Theatre de la Ville and Theatre du Soleil in Paris, Fes Festival in Morocco and Sodran Theatre in Sweden. 

In 2009, he performed in Konya, Turkey, as part of the Mystic Music Festival. He later became a music director of the San Francisco World Music Festival for Iran.

Amid the pandemic in November 2020, Akhavass was invited to join and record with Ustad Zakir Hussain and Abbos Kosimov at the Bing Concert Hall as part of the Stanford Live Stream Project. 

He has performed with some of the masters in Persian music, including Hossein Alizadeh, Ali-Akbar Moradi, Saeid Farajpuri, Hossein Omumi and Masud Shoari. 

source: Tehran Times