Edris Rezaei

Edris Rezaei, a performer and composer from Kermanshah, is one of the figures of the new generation of tanbur music; his efforts focus on expanding the expressive language of the instrument and offering a new approach to tanbur playing. He was born in 1985 and began learning the tanbur with his father in his teenage years. His interest and perseverance led him in later years to continue his training with eminent tanbur masters, including Ali Akbar Moradi and Keykhosrow Pournazeri.

While continuing to play, Rezaei pursued university studies in electrical engineering (power systems) at the Iran University of Science and Technology; yet his artistic path always remained at the centre of his attention. From 2008 he also took up the kamancheh (spike fiddle), learning from well-known players such as Ardeshir Kamkar and Shervin Mohajer.

Edris Rezaei’s artistic vision rests on innovation in technique, the development of melody and the search for a personal voice. Alongside his stage performances, he has been teaching the tanbur for years and is considered one of the active teachers of the instrument in the specialist tanbur community.

The turning point of his career is the release of his first official album, Rahi Digar (“Another Way”), a work that reflects his effort to give the tanbur a different sound and to create a new combination with percussion instruments. The album clearly shows his independent approach to composition and his unclichéd treatment of the maqams (the traditional melodic pieces of the tanbur repertoire) and structures of the tanbur.