https://elanasasson.com Elana Sasson Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:20:46 +0000 https://elanasasson.com en https://elanasasson.com/Home-page Fri, 14 Apr 2023 13:52:33 +0000 Elana Sasson https://elanasasson.com/Home-page A vocalist and composer merging contemporary jazz with Kurdish, Persian, and Mediterranean musical traditions. Through modal melodies, intricate rhythms, and improvisation, she creates a vibrant cross-cultural sound. Nominated for Best New Artist 2026 by Upbeat World Music Platform, and Premios Andrea Parodi 2026 ★★★★ All About Jazz ★★★★ Songlines Magazine https://elanasasson.com/about Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:20:46 +0000 Elana Sasson https://elanasasson.com/about Elana is a vocalist, composer, and bandleader creating music at the intersection of Kurdish and Persian traditions, contemporary jazz, and Mediterranean folkloric influences. She explores themes of identity and duality: weaving emotive modal melodies, intricate harmonic textures, and diverse instrumentation to dialogue between tradition and modernity. Shaped by years of private training with master musicians and studies at the Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Elana’s clear voice reflects a fusion of rich tradition and personal expression. Her music has been celebrated with nods from global press such as Songlines Magazine, who described her voice as “an arrestingly beautiful focus” and gave a 4 star review to the album ‘Golestan’. Her new album, ’In Between’ released with PKMusik in April 2025 and received shining reviews from press, including a 4 star review from Songlines. She has graced global stages at prestigious venues such as Fundación Juan March (Madrid, Spain), Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofia (Valencia, Spain), Stone Nest (London, UK), Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco, California), and Fabrica Research Centre (Treviso, Italy). Elana has been featured in festivals across Europe such as UPV Jazz Festival (Valencia, Spain), Isole Che Parlano (Sardigna, Italy), University of Cyprus’s Cultural Festival (Nicosia, Cyprus), and AtoJazz Festival (Sofia, Bulgaria).Elana’s voice can be heard on Growing Songs, a 2024 album produced by esteemed Iranian vocalist Mahsa Vahdat, and her music was featured in the 2023 Venice Biennale-premiered film Tatami. She has collaborated with renowned musicians such as Ara Dinkjian, Matthieu Saglio, Melisa Yildirim, Mahsa Vahdat. Elana holds a Master of Music in Contemporary Performance and Production from Berklee College of Music in Valencia and a BA in Design Media Arts from UCLA. She was a resident at Fabrica Research Centre in 2019 and is a member of the Iranian Female Composers Association (IFCA). https://elanasasson.com/videos Fri, 14 Apr 2023 13:52:37 +0000 Elana Sasson https://elanasasson.com/videos body { animation: fadeInAnimation ease 3s; animation-iteration-count: 1; animation-fill-mode: forwards; } @keyframes fadeInAnimation { 0% { opacity: 0; } 100% { opacity: 1; } } Laye Laye Live Studio Recording  MADRID, SPAIN Voice – Elana Sasson Bass – Manos Stratis Cello – Matthieu Saglio In Between Live at AtoJazz Festival SOFIA, BULGARIA Voice – Elana SassonPiano – Santiago BertelBass – Manos StratisDrums – Victor Goldschmidt Lachin Live at UPV Jazz FestivalVALENCIA, SPAIN Guest: Perico Sambeat, Saxophone Voice – Elana SassonPiano – Santiago BertelBass – Manos StratisDrums – Victor Goldschmidt Dar Hejiroke (Live at Fundacion Juan March)MADRID, SPAINVoice – Elana SassonPiano – Santiago BertelBass – Manos StratisDrums – Victor Goldschmidt Ax Eman (Live at TunedIn London)LONDON, UK Voice – Elana SassonBass – Manos Stratis https://elanasasson.com/shows Mon, 17 Apr 2023 19:42:39 +0000 Elana Sasson https://elanasasson.com/shows 15-17 OCTOBER 2026 Premios Andrea Parodi, Cagliari, Sardinia 04 NOVEMBER 2026 Masterclass at Berklee Valencia, Valencia, Spain 07 NOVEMBER 2026La Muestra de Jazz, Arnedo, Spain 13 NOVEMBER 2026 Global Music Nights, Rotterdam, Netherlands PAST:23 SEPTEMBER 2026 Baumstrasse, Athens, Greece 22 SEPTEMBER 2026 Soul SKG, Thessaloniki, Greece 17 SEPTEMBER 2026 University of Cyprus Cultural Festival, Nicosia, Cyprus 07 AUGUST 2026Festival Norpas, Dalsbruk, Finland28 JUNE 2026 Burning House, Valencia, Spain 25 JUNE 2026Piyut Festival, Barcelona, Spain 20 JUNE 2026Santa Maria de Palautordera, Catalunya, Spain 19 JUNE 2026Malgrat de Mar, Catalunya, Spain 04 JUNE 2026Formentera Jazz Festival, Formentera, Spain26 APRIL 2026Emruz Festival, NYC, USA 16 APRIL 2026 Magnes Center, UC Berkeley, USA 7 FEB 2026 Red Poppy, SF, USA 12 NOV 2025Centro Cultural La Nau, Valencia, Spain28 NOV 2025Utopia (con Adriana Ospina), Barcelona, Spain29 NOV 2025Sant Cebria de Vallalta, Spain 02 NOV 2025Burning House, Valencia, Spain 31 OCT 2025Byron Libreria, Barcelona, Spain TICKETS 24 SEP 2025DB Music, London, UKTICKETS 12 SEP 2025Corte dei Miracoli, Milan, Italy 11 SEP 2025Isole Che Parlano Festival, Sardigna, Italy3 JULY 2025AtoJazz Festival, Sofia, Bulgaria 19 JUNE 2025 TunedIn London, London, UK tickets7 JUNE 2025 Espacio Ronda, Madrid, Spain 5 JUNE 2025 UPV Jazz Festival, Valencia, Spain 28 MAY 2025Archive Sounds, Stone Nest, London, England 11 MAY 2025 Sala Matisse, Valencia, Spain 28 APRIL 2025 Fundación Juan March, Madrid, Spain 27 APRIL 2025 Fundación Juan March, Madrid, Spain 17 APRIL 2025 La Xarranta, Valencia, Spain 12 DECEMBER 2024 Workshop/Performance at the Magnes Museum, UC Berkeley, CA7 DECEMBER 2024Growing Songs with Mahsa Vahdat Concert at the Hillside Club, Berkeley, CA 12 JULY 2024Camaleón, Nits de Musica a la Xopera,  Algemesí, Spain 06 JULY 2024 FABRICA30 Festival, Fabrica Research Centre, Treviso, Italy 19 JUNE 2024Festival Dels Horts, Picanya, Spain 11 MAY 2024Elana Quartet at Espai Sankofa, Valencia, Spain 31 MAR 2024Elana Quartet at La Fabrica De Hielo, Valencia, Spain 24 FEB 2024Elana Quartet at La Pinada, Valencia, Spain, Curated by La Mundial Music12 NOV 2023Featured guest, Camaleón, Sala Matisse, Valencia, Spain  26 AUG 2023 Diaspora Arts Connection Presents: Elana in Concert, The Back Room, Berkeley, CA, tickets 20 AUG 2023 “Growing Songs” with Mahsa Vahdat, Musaics Salon, Private Residence, Los Altos, CA, info 01-02 MAR 2023 Teatro Sony, Madrid, Spain, De Norte a Sur, de Este a Oeste: Berklee Valencia and Reina Sofía 28 FEB 2023 Teatro Marti y Soler, Valencia Spain, De Norte a Sur, de Este a Oeste: Berklee Valencia and Reina Sofía 23 FEB 2023 La Sala, Valencia, Spain: CAMALEÓN de Sergio Martinez feat. Jorge Pardo video, press10 FEB 2023 Festival Fronteras, Teatro Marti y Soler, Valencia, Spain with Hamsa Ensemble 02-03 DEC 2022Berklee a Les Arts: Sastipén Tali Palau de Les Arts, Valencia, Spain video, video 17 NOV 2022 La Mundial, featured guest, La Sala, Valencia Spain  11 SEP 2021 Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA, Let Her Sing, featured vocalist video press https://elanasasson.com/music Fri, 14 Apr 2023 13:52:41 +0000 Elana Sasson https://elanasasson.com/music LISTEN ORDER CD/DL in between by Elana Sasson “an eloquent and affecting music that lives between worlds in a liminal state of bittersweet yearning“ ★★★★— All About Jazz★★★★— Songlines Magazine Produced by Santiago Bertel & Elana SassonArranged and performed by Elana Sasson Quartet https://elanasasson.com/press-1 Fri, 05 Apr 2024 00:25:53 +0000 Elana Sasson https://elanasasson.com/press-1 “[Elana] has a clear voice that she projects with crystalline purity and without affectation; she makes the lyrics her own and lives them with an intimate, natural emotion.” “[Elana’s] naturalness is what gradually captivates the listener, because there is no trickery or disguise—what you see (and hear) is what there is, and it is truly beautiful.”— Club de Jazz Review of Concert at Byron Llibrería, Barcelona 31/10 Read Review In Between (2025, PKMusik) “[Elana’s] singing is at once unaffected and highly refined... an eloquent and affecting music that lives between worlds in a liminal state of bittersweet yearning“★★★★— All About Jazz Read Review “the haunting title-track is the perfect distillation of what the album achieves – a vocalise for voice and piano filled with both longing and joy“★★★★ — Songlines Magazine Read Review “Fresh from the release of her ambitious ensemble album, In Between, the singer-composer waxes lyrical about cultural life in her new home of Valencia“ Songlines Magazine Read Interview “Persian vocals add a magical touch to this fusion sound“★★★★★ — Kulturtipp “Elana is brilliant, and In Between is yet another elegant work treating tradition and high art with dignity and reverence while finding new ways to present them” Rating: 9/10 — Pop Matters Read Review “What a beauty with In Between, where vocalist of Kurdish and Persian origins, Elana, interacts with a truly multiethnic ensemble formed in Spain...a marvel” — Il Manifesto Read Review “An internationally oriented work of exceptional quality. Not always easy, but precisely for that reason hard to match. Top album!” — Rootstime, Belgium “A stirring and delightful album that is a deeply felt meditation on memory, migration, and identity.” — World Music Central Read Review “A sonic space that shines with Mediterranean light… and stirs with the nostalgia of melodies soaked in longing…” “A luminous voice, piercing in its emotion…” — Club de Jazz Read Review “It is hard to imagine a musical project of a more international nature than this one... throughout the album, the high, slightly melancholic voice of Elana seems to penetrate the soul” — JazzQuadRead Review “[Elana] has a voice like cool water and an impressive ability to adapt to the subtle differences in delivery and ornamentation... in each of the different musical styles from which she draws... this is an album I guarantee to be unlike anything you’ve heard before, but in a radically different way” — CD Hotlist