Rita Sahai With Hafez Modirzadeh at California Jazz Conservatory

Hafez Modirzadeh (saxophones) and Rita Sahai (vocals) perform originals in Hindustani and other creative musical traditions, with quartets steeped in both jazz and North Indian classical music.

The first set will feature Hafez Modirzadeh's Creative Music Quartet, with Hafez - tenor saxophone, Dahveed Behroozi - piano, and Keshav Batish - drums (bass TBA). The second set will feature Rita Sahai on Hindustani vocals, with Modirzadeh on saxophones and Batish on tabla (other members TBA).

Ritaji’s uniqueness comes from her being simultaneously a soulful performer, a brilliant and prolific composer and a venerated music teacher (currently on music faculty at UC Davis). She is a senior disciple of Sangeet Samrat Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Saheb, and is the only vocalist and composer to carry forward the heritage of the Seni Allaudin Gharana. She has served as an ambassador of India’s rich musical heritage over the three decades that she has been in the United States....

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Hafez Modirzadeh (saxophones) and Rita Sahai (vocals) perform originals in Hindustani and other creative musical traditions, with quartets steeped in both jazz and North Indian classical music.

The first set will feature Hafez Modirzadeh's Creative Music Quartet, with Hafez - tenor saxophone, Dahveed Behroozi - piano, and Keshav Batish - drums (bass TBA). The second set will feature Rita Sahai on Hindustani vocals, with Modirzadeh on saxophones and Batish on tabla (other members TBA).

Ritaji’s uniqueness comes from her being simultaneously a soulful performer, a brilliant and prolific composer and a venerated music teacher (currently on music faculty at UC Davis). She is a senior disciple of Sangeet Samrat Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Saheb, and is the only vocalist and composer to carry forward the heritage of the Seni Allaudin Gharana. She has served as an ambassador of India’s rich musical heritage over the three decades that she has been in the United States.

Artist Bios

Hafez Modirzadeh is active in all realms of expressing original cross-cultural musical perspectives. His Grammy nominated work has been documented on dozens of creative LP/CD releases (most notably on Pi Records), and has intersected with such artists as Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Steve Lacy, Zakir Hussein, Oliver Lake, Leo Wadada Smith, as well as Tyshawn Sorey, Vijay Iyer, and many Asian Improv aRts pioneers. Modirzadeh is currently a Professor of Music at SF State and on faculty at the California Jazz Conservatory.

Rita Sahai is a rare Hindustani vocalist residing in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States. Ritaji’s uniqueness comes from her being simultaneously a soulful performer, a brilliant and prolific composer and a venerated music teacher. She is a senior disciple of Sangeet Samrat Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Saheb, and is the only vocalist and composer to carry forward the heritage of the Seni Allaudin Gharana. She has served as an ambassador of India’s rich musical heritage over the three decades that she has been in the United States.

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