Seyed Ali Jaberi
The tanbur is a sacred instrument among the Persian-speaking world, a powerful and sonorous cultural icon. Few have made this sound as beautifully accessible as Seyed Ali Jaberi.
Jaberi is an award-winning master of his art, one whose albums remain hugely popular among lovers of traditional Persian and Sufi music.
His most recent best-seller, Psalms of Loneliness, scored four out of five stars with Songlines Magazine.
Born in Kermanshah (Iran) in 1974, Jaberi first studied the tanbur under the tutelage of masters such as Golnazar Azizi, the late Amrollah Shah Ebrahimi, and the late dervish Amir Hayati. He also took setar lessons with maestros Hossein Alizadeh, Ebrahim Sepehri, Mohammad-Rezā Lotfi and Keykhosrow Pournazeri.
Jaberi has been a pioneer for tanbur performing in Iran, North America, Europe and Asia. He gained his first professional experience in Asia with the famous Min-on Orchestra in Japan at the tender age of 20.
Just two years later, Jaberi was awarded the accolade of Best Tanbur Player in Iran. He has also been the conductor and professional tanburist in the Iranian National Orchestra.
Along the way, there have been many international festivals, including a major Sufi festival in India, London's Barbican and most recently, the Mawazine Festival in Morocco .
Today, he lives in the UK and is seen as one of the most significant figures in contemporary Sufi music. To date, Jaberi has composed three world-class albums: Psalms of Loneliness, Dawn Risers, and Hamdeli, which was released when he was just 21 to great critical acclaim.
Jaberi has cooperated with other leading artists including the international composer and singer-songwriter Sami Yusuf. He is currently busy writing his new album and performing a world tour with Sami Yusuf.
This remarkable musician continues to bring his unique take on Sufi and traditional Persian music to an ever-wider global audience.