Pejman Hadadi

Pejman Hadadi, Tombak, Daf
Considered the "finest Iranian percussionist in the West" (KPFA Radio and Rhythm Magazine), Pejman Hadadi began playing tombak at the age of ten with the masters of the instrument Asadollah Hejazi and Bahman Rajabi. In 1990, upon immigration to the United States, he began his professional career, performing and recording with ensembles of Persian c1assical music as weil as Indian,
Turkish and American musicians.
In 1995, Pejman joined the Dastan Ensemble, one of today's leading, "most-forward looking Persian music ensembles" (LA Weekly). With Dastan, he has performed at many important music festivals world-wide and toured extensively throughout the US, Europe and Iran. Over the years, he has also performed with some of the masters of Persian music including Hossein A1izadeh, Shahram Nazeri, Hossein Omoumi, Parisa, Ali Akbar Moradi and Ardeshir Kamkar both locally and on tour in the US and Europe. Since 1998, Hadadi has collaborated with Banafsheh Sayyad and been the resident composer and performer with the Persian dance group, Namah Ensemble.
Daf Pejman Hadadi's modern approach to the traditional tombak lies in his ability to produce melodic patterns within rhythmic structures as weil as in his experiments with creating complex variations on the basic sounds of the tombak. He also brings to Persian rhythm an Indian percussive sensibility that he has studied over the years.
Hadadi has a deep interest in uncovering ancient Persian rhythms that were later adopted by Indian music and can be traced in their repertoire.
The recipient of the prestigious Durfee Foundation Master Musician Award, Pejman Hadadi is the founder of the Neyreez World
Percussion Academy in Sherman Oaks and Newport Beach in Southern California, where he teaches tombak and daf.

For more information about Pejman please visit: the website of Ensemble Dastan | Pejman Hadadi's Official Website | Dafdrum

"Hadadi's music can be mystical and contemplative but also stirring and ce/ebratory, his more frenetic songs inspired men and women ta applaud wildly" Jonathan Curiel, Dirty Linen World and Folk
Music Review, 6/01

"Pejman Hadadi is the finest lranian percussionist living in Americo" - William Bloomhuff, Rhythm
Magazine, 6/0I

"Hadadi delivered a mighty tombak solo that had the whole house aut oftheir seats and yelling" - GregBurk, LA Weekly, 10/00