December 6, 2024 
Doors 7:00 PM // Concert 7:30 PM

Jazz Piano Meets Kurdish Kamanche

A rare musical collaboration at Toronto’s musical heritage venue Canadian Music Centre – the Kurdish Kamānche meets the Jazz Piano to form unique voices of modern musical language. Diane Roblin Toronto’s Jazz pianist and improviser will be joining the Kurdish kamānche player Shahriyar Jamshidi to illustrate a novel picture of the musical imagination inspired by the diverse musical heritage of two traditions. Individual solos, duo improvisations, and epic Kurdish songs will be presented in two sets during the ninety-minute musical journey.    

Diane Roblin’s dynamic career in music has placed her among Canada’s venerable women in improvised music. Composer, pianist, electric keyboardist, improviser, and band leader, Diane effortlessly harnesses technical agility to center music’s power of connection. She is based in Toronto where she currently leads her Life Force sextet, a “virtuosic ensemble of Canadian hotshots” (JAZZFM 91.1) which plays Diane’s diverse compositions that blend her broad influences ranging from high-energy jazz-funk to impressionism.  

 Shahriyar Jamshidi is an illustrious Kurdish Kamanche player, composer and singer with a pronounced cultural background who has devoted his artistic profession to the preservation and transmission of the Kurdish musical heritage. Shahriyar is also well-known for his creative and masterful kamānche improvisations, both as a soloist and in ensembles.