STRUNZ & FARAH - Performing
together since 1979, Strunz & Farah are the innovators of an entirely new
expression for the acoustic guitar. Decades ahead of their time, they originated
an exotic style that now is widely followed. From Costa Rica and Iran
respectively, Jorge Strunz and Ardeshir Farah have brought the cultural riches
of their native lands into their highly virtuosic, rhythmic, and
improvisation-rich original instrumental compositions, profoundly influencing
guitarists worldwide. Their meeting in 1979 marked the first time that Latin
American and Middle Eastern music came together on the guitar. They remain the
undisputed masters of the form they created.
Jorge Strunz was born in Costa Rica to a family with lineage that includes a
past Costa Rican president on one side and on of Simon Bolivar's favorite
lieutenants on the other. Given his first guitar at age 6, he grew up also in
Colombia, Mexico, Spain, England and Canada, studying and playing flamenco and
classical guitar. He performed flamenco guitar professionally as a teenage,
accompanying Spanish dancers and singers. He then turned to focus more on his
own Latin American roots, Caribbean and Latin folk, and later, jazz. Jorge
single-handedly invented a new style of Latin guitar playing that is an original
synthesis of hand techniques from flamenco, Latin folk and classical guitar with
state-of-the-art high-speed linear plectrum playing.
Ardeshir Farah was raised in a beautiful old house in Iran that echoed with the
sounds of the violin of his uncle, who performed with the Teheran Symphony.
Later, he moved to England for schooling. He played guitar since childhood,
focusing on popular music and improvisation. He has performed and recorded
extensively with many of the top expatriate Persian singers and musicians in the
US who fled Iran after the Revolution. Ardeshir was the first to use Middle
Eastern inflection in a contemporary guitar setting. His style has a unique
exoticism.
The travels of his diplomat father finally brought Jorge to the United States,
while Ardeshir arrived as a student of architecture. Ardeshir came to see Jorge
perform with his Latin jazz group Caldera (4 albums on Capitol), and decided to
meet him. The day the two guitarists met, it was instantly obvious that they
were brothers of the guitar from opposite ends of the earth, even playing
Czardas (a devilishly fast Hungarian Gypsy piece) flawlessly in harmony at top
speed. They quickly prepared a repertoire, began performing, and recorded their
first project, Mosaico in 1980 (self-produced). Although record companies at
that time were not ready for this exotic new music, jazz radio embraced it and
world/jazz industry pioneer Richard Bock got the duo signed to the prestigious
jazz label Milestone for whom they recorded their revolutionary albums Frontera,
1983 and Guitarras, 1984. These records defined world music on guitar years
before the “world music” category even existed.
Muriel Anderson's All Star Guitar Night benefits the
Music For Life Alliance
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