Talk:Iranian jazz

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Actually what Iranians called jazz had no resemblance to real jazz, it was just a really low level pop form in silly 6/8 with electronic western instruments trying to be something American but miserably failing. Starting in 1970, real jazz came to Tehran and was featured on NIRTV for 6 years thanks to Los Angeles jazzman Lloyd Miller. The full history of jazz in Iran began in 1968 and burgeoned in the 1970s due to efforts by international jazzman and Persian music scholar Lloyd Miller although there were concerts by touring artists such as Dave Brubeck in the late 1960s and a few in the 1970s. In 1958, rising young American jazzman Lloyd Miller from Glendale, California traveled with his parents to Iran. Lloyd was on the verge of joining the upper echelons of California jazz society often seen at the Red Feather, the Digger, the Purple Onion and even once at the huge California Flower Show along with occasional appearances at The Downbeat and the Last Word in the Central Avenue area of Los Angeles. Miller’s father had been offered a government assignment through USC to help set up a school of business in Tehran. On their trip through Japan, Thailand, India and Pakistan, young Lloyd was fascinated with the various forms of traditional Eastern music and when possible played piano in various venues. He perceived traditional Eastern music to be a form of jazz from other geographical regions.

When Miller arrived in Tehran, he turned on the radio and heard the music he had been seeking all his life; it was a skillful soulful skin-covered banjo type instrument called the tar playing blues type phrases but with highly intellectual overtones both in long meaningful non-rhythm passages and also in an exciting 6/8 beat provided by dazzling virtuoso drum accompaniment. It seemed to represent the best of what jazz could be but in a wiser even more sensitive manner. Young Lloyd decided that he would master Persian traditional music, instruments and even singing someday. During his one year in Tehran, Miller organized a small jazz ensemble with students from the American school who played trumpet, sax, trombone, drums, bass etc. The group performed for various occasions some at the American Club and other time in venues attended by Iranians as well as Americans. This was the first effort by jazzman Lloyd Miller to establish authentic cool jazz and some traditional New Orleans jazz in Tehran.

Miller decided to try his luck in the jazz scene in Europe and left Iran to spend few weeks in Beirut writing jazz scores for groups there and playing at the Caves de Roy and other venues. From Beirut Miller flew to Frankfurt to become part of the German jazz scene often playing at the Domicile du Jazz and later leading the house band for months at the Jazz Keller in Mainz. One night the famous US army Jazz Three ensemble came to the Keller to jam and Miller played with Don Ellis and Eddie Harris. After the jam, Don and Eddie played some of Miller’s Oriental Jazz scores he had written in Tehran and Beirut but never heard. Don was blown away and swore he would further investigate Eastern rhythms and ideas in the future.

From Germany, Miller went to Geneva playing at the Cave de Hot Club while struggling with French in order to study 7 Eastern languages including a few ancient dead ones. After Geneva Miller traveled to Sweden again in search of jazz and there became art of the scene as a sought after arranger and composer as well as a strong pianist. From Sweden Miller left with two of Stockholm’s jazz giants to end up in Brussels playing at the famous Rose Noire and the international jazz festival at Comblain la Tours. After Brussels Miller ended up in Paris where the real jazz scene flourished. He was a mainstay at the Cameleon across from his room at the Hotel Saint Andre des Arts. He also appeared frequently at the Club St. Germain and occasionally sat in for Bud Powel to play with Kenny Clark at the renowned Blue Note. He met famous French jazz innovator Jef Gilson who in 1960 recorded his first piano LP and another small disc with his first Iranian jazz creation. With Gilson’s band, Miller hit the top of the French jazz charts performing at huge concert halls and on national radio tours with famous jazz DJ Andre Francis.

After 6 years in Europe, Miller returned to the US to earn a BA in Asian Studies at BYU, an MA in Persian Studies at U of U and eventually a PhD in Persian with a dissertation on Persian music from U of U. Meanwhile in the late 1960s, Miller won first place trophies three consecutive years at the Inter-collegiate jazz festivals and in 1969 was sent to the ICJF finals in St. Louis to compete and nearly win in the vocal category. Since he played 7 instruments and sang scat with Iranian classical vocal overtones, the vocal category was the only place the judges could put him.

In 1970 Miller was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to return to Tehran to research Iranian classical vocal music and accompanying song text poetry for his PhD dissertation which became his book Music and Song in Persia. From 1970 to 1977, Miller was fully active in the Tehran music scene as a PR person and advisor to Dr. Daryush Safvat at his Center for Preservation and Propagation of Iranian Music. Miller was awarded his own one-hour weekly prime-time jazz show on National Television which reached several million viewers. He also had a weekly Farsi jazz history show on the intellectual channel and a documentary program on English TV where h discussed aspects of Iranian and neighboring music. Meanwhile he offered many concerts at the Iran-America Society, the Goethe Institute and other Tehran cultural venues. During the 1970s, Miller trained jazz musicians who became quite expert and he often invited the respected Filipino Roger Hererra jazz combo who played at the Intercontinental Hotel to join him on his various shows where he played piano, clarinet, sax, flugelhorn, valvebone, French horn, jazz pizzicato cello, bass, Iranian santur, zarb, oud, Afghan dutar, rebab, Turkish saz and other instruments for his weekly jazz/ethnic music hour. Since jazz had been nearly totally eliminated from the world’s music scene by the plague of rock during the 1970s, Tehran was a bastion of authentic jazz promoted and promulgated by Lloyd Miller in a magnificent skillful and classy manner.

Dozens of video postings of Miller’s jazz programs as well as his Eastern music shows are all over Youtube and the internet demonstrating that there was vibrant jazz in Iran during the 1970s and in fact Tehran might be considered a center for jazz since everywhere else it had been purposely nearly wiped out according to Miler by pop-pushing mega music industry despots through their globally contrived noisy musically bereft rock take-over. Lloyd Miller’s Oriental jazz efforts are yet to be realized and acknowledged except for by the small handful of inner-circle intellectuals in Europe and his contribution to jazz and the preservation of Iranian music in Tehran has been all but erased from history by the materialism of contemporary culture.Dopojazz (talk) 05:50, 12 July 2015 (UTC)