Category Archives: The Street Musician

Voice Of America Feature #2: Sohrab The Music Activist

Interviews, The Music Activist, The Street Musician, , , , ,

 

Photo by Jessica Peng
Photo by Jessica Peng

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Here is a link to a Voice Of America feature of NY’s street musicians Busking in New York- Part 2 which is in Farsi.

The director is Melody Safavi (Abjeez). She features and interviews a brass band, a piano player, an official of the NY Subway, a group of subway break dancers, a violinist,…and Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi (leader of the band SoSaLa).

Melody’s coverage proved that NY’s street musicians are hard working people and are not “just” entertainers or “artists”, but WORKERS!

In this film report Sohrab is featured not just as a musician (he’s shown playing on his tenor saxophone in a tunnel), but also as a music activist who speaks about musicians’ rights.

In Farsi he explains and describes that musicians are not different from other workers. They work like anybody else and should be respected for “their work” and get paid fairly like any qualified worker.

He also explains why he calls himself an activist.

Due to this feature which went on air Saturday, September 20, 2014, Sohrab has received some positive responses from Iran.

Performing In Public

The Street Musician, , ,

Sohrab jamming with Chinese musicians @ Columbia Park (NY), June 15, 2013

 

This video is a documentation of a happening in the park, in front of the Delacroix Theater in summer of 2009. Sohrab was playing at his spot and the dancers just passed by doing their performance. The producers liked Sohrab’s sound and asked him to play for the dancers. He is playing the new song Welcome New Iran, a homage to the Iraninan pro democracy Green Movement.

The producer’ comment reg. this video

One uncut take of a scene from director Ed Haas’ new short film entitled “Death and the Dancer”, filmed one summer day in New York City’s Central Park. This silent film tells the story of a Dancer in love with life, who is suddenly confronted with Death who has come to take her away. Dancer played by Nancy Vining Van Ness. Death played by Lorenzo Valoy. Saxaphone player is Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi. Producer is Johanna Heinemann-Haas