Biography

Salar Nader is one of the most sought-after young percussionists of his generation.  He was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1981 to Afghan parents forced to flee their home during the Russian-Afghan war.  Nader was just five-years-old when his family settled in the Bay Area.  At age seven, he began studying with the legendary tabla virtuoso Ustad Zakir Hussain.  Nader already played tabla and was familiar with the basic rhythms of Afghan and Indian folk and pop music.  He began classical training early, first concentrating on the spoken rhythmic system of North Indian percussion, bols.  “It was like learning a new language,” he recalled.  “I spoke Farsi at home, English outside, Tabla bols at night with my lesson book.”  The boy showed such unusual talent that Hussain became his guru, and today counts Nader as one of his most talented protégés ever.  Nader is now a founding member of today’s foremost Afghan music ensemble, Sounds and Rhythms of Afghanistan (SARA), in which he plays dhol and dholak Afghan percussion, in addition to tabla.

Nader began his professional career accompanying world-renowned classical musicians from South Asia during their visits to San Francisco.  He performed with master Pakistani vocalist Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, as well as his virtuoso sons Shafqat, Sharafat and Sukhawat.  Zakir Hussain was so proud to have a student capable of backing such renowned vocalists that he took the unusual step of initiating Nader through the ghandavand ceremony.  In this ceremony, the teacher ties a red thread that has been ritually blessed around the student’s hand.  This act joins student and teacher for life, and normally comes only after many years of study.  Nader was just twelve at the time.  From there, Nader began performing onstage with master musicians visiting from India, including sarangi virtuoso Ustad Sultan Khan.  Even as he made his way with the greats of Indian and Pakistani classical music, Nader kept up ties with his ancestral tradition, accompanying Afghan singers whose music is built around Farsi poetry and specialized musical ideas.

Nader’s parents worried about their son moving into a professional career at such a tender age, and insisted he donate his earnings to organizations aiding people in Afghanistan.  Nader participated in concerts connected with the annual Afghan/Iranian celebration, Nowroz.  This was how he first performed with great Afghan singers such as Farida Mawaash and Ahmad Wali.  Musicians were so amazed by the talent of this teenage boy that they never allowed him to remain in the background, but always insisted he be featured as a soloist during performances.    When the Taliban took over in Afghanistan in the mid-90s, a number of important musicians went into exile.  Nader then began his long association with Homayun Sakhi, one of the great exponents of the 18-stringed rubâb, the national instrument of Afghanistan.  Sakhi is a master of tradition who deepened Nader’s understanding of the distinctive tunings, modes, pitch bends and rhythms of Afghan folk music.   After high school, Nader began attending the jazz program at Diablo Valley College in East Bay, and a new education began.  He joined a variety of jazz combos playing tabla, and watched as his guru Zakir Hussain pursued his own cross-genre projects with world-class jazz artists, and even Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart.  These experiences gave Nader “a green light to experiment,” and he soon began developing new musical ideas with Dave Lewis, a trap drummer who’s father also studied tabla with Hussain, and understood classical Indian rhythms.  Sometimes Nader would fill in for Hussain, and in this way he made the leap from campus combos to “playing with the big cats.”  To this day, Nader performs and records with Fareed Haque, an innovative jazz guitarist who has developed a unique audience for Indo-jazz fusion.  In 2004, Nader spent six weeks in Mumbai, deepening his study of classical tabla.  He performed solo in halls filled with top-notch tabla players.  This proved “an eye-opener,” showing him just how demanding a deeply informed audience could be.  These listeners were not impressed by style and showmanship, but rather content, knowledge of theory and virtuoso execution.  “Those six weeks felt like five years,” he recalled.  But after that, his guru deemed him ready to begin teaching, and soon Nader had 50 students, including some of the most talented tabla players in the United States.    Nader’s circle continued to expand.  He started to get calls to work with Iranian music masters, including vocalist Shahram Nazeri, and his son Hafez Nazeri.  He became the principle accompanist for Ahmad Wali, the most popular Afghan singer of Farsi ghazal’s from 1960 up to the present.  Ghulam Ali Khan, master vocalist from Lahore, Pakistan, called on Nader to be part of his 2008-9 North American tour, introducing him to the Urdu music community.

In 2005, Nader also began accompanying dance performances, in particular working with India’s Pandit Chitresh Das, founder of San Francisco’s Chhandam School of Dance, which has extensions around North America.  Nader also continues to do projects with new artists, The Kronos Quartet, Niyaz (Iran), Fareed Haque, Chebi Sabbah & 1002 Nights (electronica), and a first-time collaboration between Tajik, Uzbek and Afghan instrumentalist (Ustad Surajudin, Ustad Mukhtar & Homayun Sakhi).    Salar Nader has developed a diverse fusion style that allows him to collaborate with American rock musicians including on the 2010 music video and documentary “Citizens of the World” featuring international stars from India, China, Nigeria and Algeria, along with the American rock band Flying Machines.   Nader also has performed with Arab singing legends Assala Nasria (Syria) and Khaled (Algeria) at the 2009 SAHRA spectacle at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

A few years back, the celebrated Afghan novelist Khaled Hosseini approached Nader to collaborate on a stage adaptation of his acclaimed novel, The Kite Runner.  The production was adapted by Mathew Spangler [San Jose State University] and directed by David Ira Goldstein.  Nader composed and performed the music score for an initial, two-month run in San Jose in 2007.  He then reworked the score, arranging and composing works entirely from the world of Afghan, Farsi folklore and ghazal.  This production debuted in 2008 at the San Jose Repertory Theatre in 2009 in Arizona, and in 2010 Kentucky and Ohio, before moving on to other cities around the world.

Amid all these other projects, Nader and Homayun Sakhi co-founded the Afghan music ensemble SARA, featuring percussion, dance, vocal and instrumental elements.  The group debuted in December, 2009, in Abu Dhabi, and has performed since throughout the United States to packed theaters.  Following the Abu Dhabi performance, Nader and Sakhi went to Afghanistan—a first for Nader—and they performed spontaneous, well-received duo concerts around Kabul, a deeply gratifying experience for both musicians.  SARA has become a key focus in Nader’s busy life.  “It’s a group of masters,” he said, “and I feel like the baby in this group.  I am still learning from all of them.”