Lucid Culture Review

This might be the best world music album of the year, a frequently haunting, unabashedly romantic collection of popular acoustic songs from Iran from the era before the mullahs took over after the fall of the Shah in 1979 (to call what happened there a revolution is revolting). New York-born Monika Jalili comes from a musical theatre background, which makes sense when you hear her clear, minutely nuanced soprano, to which she’s expertly added the trademark ornamentation of Iranian classical song, using a delicate vibrato which often trills off at the end of a phrase for emphasis. The songs, mostly dating from the 60s and 70s, combine the austere microtonality of traditional Iranian music with the vivid emotionality of French chanson and a lush Mediterranean romanticism. Jalali sings in Persian and Azeri as well as English and French on two songs. The musicianship is equally nuanced and haunting: for this album, her second collection of songs from Iran, she’s enlisted the extraordinary New York-based oudist/composer Mavrothi Kontanis as well as his bandmate Megan Gould on violin, Erik Friedlander on cello, Riaz Khabirpour on acoustic guitar, Marika Hughes on cello and Silk Road Project percussionist Shane Shanahan. To call their performance inspired is an understatement.

Jalili communicates an intense sense of longing on the opening track, Ghoghaye Setaregan (Dance of the Stars), a jangly cosmopolitan ballad in 6/8 with incisive violin. Arezooha (Wishes) evokes 60s French folk-pop with sparse violin and cello behind Jalili’s subtle vocals. Gonjeshgake Ashi Mashi (Little Sparrow) is not a Piaf tribute but an upbeat take of an old folksong, done anthemically with some stirring oud work by Kontanis and the string section.

Ay Rilikh (Separation) is masterfully evocative, Gould’s violin dark and distant with reverb, a chilling contrast with Jalili’s warm interpretation. The upbeat, happy medieval folk dance Evlari Vaar (To Bemaan) has an almost Britfolk feel; by contrast, Biya Bare Safar Bandim (Let’s Be on Our Way) has a slightly Asian tinge, especially on the vocals. Kontanis’ oud holds it to the ground as Gould’s violin soars skyward, Jalili following in turn and then adding some spectacularly flashy vocalese at the end.

Peyke Sahari (Messenger of Dawn) builds to a crescendo with a haunting three-chord descending progression at the end of the verse, illuminated by a beautiful string chart that grows more insistent. The mood turns in a considerably brighter direction with the coy, percussive, bolero-ish Bia Bia Benshin (Come Sit by Me), Kontanis and Gould again taking brief but memorable turns on the bridge. The cd ends with its best song, the darkly swaying, dramatic Ay Vatan (Oh, My Homeland)

“Freedom’s here, not in the distance
Oh, my land…
You’re the hero, oh this madness
Oh, my land,”

Jalili wails delicately over Kontanis’ eerily swooping oud riffs. The ensemble takes it out with an elegantly fluttering, understatedly chilling conclusion. With the people of Iran uniting against the repression of the past thirty years, there could not be a more auspicious time for this album to come out: the anthem for the next real Iranian revolution could be on it. Watch for this high on the list of the best albums of 2009 here at year’s end. – Lucid Culture

Wildy’s World Review: Monika Jalili – Élan

Jalili’s voice is eminently beautiful; a full and rich soprano that caresses each note with its texture and tone.

Monika Jalili stumbled into Persian music much the way destiny finds most people; it was something that was never entirely distant from her life based on her background, but took her quite surprise. Jalili was pursuing a career in musical theater when bitten by the bug of Persian music. After starting NoorSaaz with Megan (nee Weeder) in 2004, Persian music filled more and more of Jalili’s musical vision. The culmination (thus far), is the album Élan. Jalili takes traditional folk songs of Iran/Persia prior to the Iranian revolution and breathes life into them with readings that mix both eastern and western perspectives. Jalili sings in Persian, Azeri, French and English, and her love of the songs shows through in every note. Many of these songs have been banned in Iran since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, but continue to inspire and move people all around the world. Élan is produced by Jamshied Sharifi, himself a prodigious composer (Muppets In Space, Down To Earth, Harriet The Spy, Clockstoppers), Arranger (Ray Charles, Paula Cole, Dream Theater) and band leader.

Élan opens with Ghoghaye Setaregan (Dance Of The Stars), an uplifting song full of hope and grace. Jalili’s voice is eminently beautiful; a full and rich soprano that caresses each note with its texture and tone. Arezooha (Wishes) pulls in some serious Western Influence ala Windham Hill. The acoustic guitar here serving as the perfect complement to Jalili’s vocals. This is one of those songs you just won’t want to end, and the language barrier won’t matter either. You don’t need to understand the words to get the wistful hope with a slice of melancholy that pervades the song. As if to balance the western feel of Arezooha, Jalili heads resolutely in the other direction on Gonjeshgake Ashi Mashi. The violin and guitar nearly steal the show on this song, but Jalili owns the stage even on CD.

Ay Rilikh (Separation) is as close to an operatic recitative that Jalili gets on Élan. There’s no Wagnerian fire and brimstone, but the emotive quality of the song is startling. The song itself is a thing of beauty, and Jalili draws every ounce of subdued drama and sorrow out into the open in the texture and tone of her voice. Evlari Vaar (To Bemaan) is one of the more interesting songs on Élan with clear Persian roots but an almost Eastern European/Slavic feel to it. The arrangement here is somewhat simplistic but that works to showcase Jalili’s voice on a particularly challenging vocal line.

Biya Bare Safar Bandim (Let’s Be On Our Way) has an almost Rock N Roll feel to it, bowing to distinct western influence. This is another relatively bare arrangement, relying primarily on guitar, violin and percussion. Peyke Sahari (Messenger Of Dawn) may well be the most beautiful composition on the disc, and finds Jalili in her most lyric vocal line yet. Bia Bia Benshin (Come Sit By Me) takes full control of the Persian scale, making the most of those two extra half-steps. Bia Bia Benshin sounds like it might have stepped right out of a movie or musical. Élan closes out with what must be described as the keynote song of the album, Ay Vatan (Oh, My Homeland). This is not so much a song of nationality as a musical ode to the land where an entire people’s roots are driven deep. You’ll be moved by Ay Vatan regardless of your nationality, and Jalili’s rendition is absolutely haunting.

Monika Jalili comes along with a collection of poignant and beautiful Iranian/Persian songs that predate the Iranian Revolution at a time when the residents of that country are closer to turning back the revolution that binds them than at any point since 1979. Élan speaks to the goodness and yearning for a better life of a beautiful people; one who is striving right now for the freedom to choose their own path. If Jalili’s album is reflective of the culture and nature of the people of Iran when free from oppression and fear, then it is an amazing tribute to a national spirit that has been hidden from the world for three decades. Élan is an amazing collection full of beauty, hope and the fragile yet vital strength of the human spirit. -  Wildy’s World

Sound Roots Review

From Sound Roots Review

“Prior to the 1979 revolution, Iranians were not listening to Persian hip-hop, but rather traditional tunes and love songs. Preserving a slice of this pre-revolutionary history is Monika Jalili. Her self-released album NoorSaaz (a combination of the Farsi words for “light” and “creator” or “musical instrument”) includes 10 songs (totaling just over 40 minutes of music)…….incorporating her strong, crisp, almost operatic voice with violin, oud, guitar, and percussion. A fine Persian diversion.”