Persian master dishes up some tea, bourbon and a big dose of sympathy

The pungent taste of Persian black tea, laced with a shot of bourbon, was the infusion on offer from Iranian-Australian musician Hamed Sadeghi for Sydney Festival crowds.

Ahmed Sadeghi with Sonya Holowell and the Eisan Ensemble performing in the Sydney Festival. Picture: Jacquie Manning

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The pungent taste of Persian black tea, laced liberally with a shot of bourbon from the clubs of New Orleans, was the infusion on offer when Iranian-Australian musician Hamed Sadeghi and his eclectic group performed a 70-minute set as a one-off event as part of the Sydney Festival.

Sadeghi, a master of the tar – a double bowl shaped lute with three pairs of strings tuned in unison and a single bass string – led the Eishan Ensemble and Aboriginal guest vocalist and improviser Sonya Holowell on an engaging survey of songs from their recently released album, Afternoon Tea at Six.

Each of the seven songs was built on traditional Persian folk melody and rhythm, often driven by the plangent banjo-like sound of the tar, during which Sadeghi would “throw” to his band members for an improvised solo. The format was perfectly suited for the six musicians on stage, Michael Avgenicos on alto saxophone, percussionist Adem Yilmaz, Maximillian Alduca on double bass and Adnan Barake on oud.

EXPRESSIVE

Holowell’s wordless vocals added a richly expressive layer to the sound, with her expansive range and tonal athleticism particularly on show in the song Signs, while the second number of the night, Street, followed the jazz improvisation format with Avgenicos’s sax and Alduca’s bass each getting a generous solo.

Why the name of the album and show? “The record tells seven stories,” said Sadeghi. “We drank a cup of Persian black tea before every rehearsal and tried to narrate the stories with a different texture. The idea of writing this album was to create a strong foundation where guest musicians can join and easily blend in. I discovered the great potential in this band and started writing music based on every musician’s character.”

It’s a winning formula with Yilmaz laying down mesmeric dance rhythms and the mellowness of Barake’s oud complementing the twang of the tar in passages which range from the atmospheric to finger-bending shredding. This was music of the quality you would expect from US banjo maestro Bela Fleck or Australia’s own oud guru Joseph Tawadros.

Social distancing regulations proscribed dancing so the audience had to make do with foot tapping and head nods, but the infectious groove of the evening’s music wasn’t lost and Sadeghi and his band of friends were given a well-earned standing ovation.

SYDNEY FESTIVAL

● CONCERT Afternoon Tea at Six

● WHERE Seymour Centre

● WHEN Tuesday, January 12