Songs of Qadim

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:37:49 -0600

Acclaimed in the San Francisco Bay Area for performances rendered with passion, authentic musicianship and spirituality, this ensemble consists of Eliyahu Sills, Rachel Valfer and Jason Ranjit Parmar.

Rachel Valfer plays oud, the Arabic lute, and performs vocals. She studied Maqam and Persian dastgah modal systems in Israel and Palestine for six years at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. She sings in Greek, Hebrew, Turkish, Arabic and Farsi.

Jason Ranjit Parmar is a dedicated student of tabla master Swapan Chaudhuri and performs tablas with many well known kirtan leaders in the Bay Area. He is also adept on the drum kit as well as with Middle Eastern and African percussion.

Qadim is a word found both in Arabic and Hebrew meaning "ancient past" and "that which preceeds" as well as "forward movement" and "that which will come." Our group is aptly named as the music bridges cultures as well as the bringing old traditions into the contemporary world.

The CD also features Faisal Zedan on riqq, Micha Patri on drums, Alan Bruggman on frame drum, Chuck Wood on shakers and Brian Schachter on sitar.

Traverse the deserts of the Middle East, the mountains of northern India, and the warm waters of the Mediterranean with Eliyahu & Qadim.

New Music From Eliyahu Sills on Calabash Music

Songs of Qadim