https://elanasasson.com Elana Sasson Fri, 05 Apr 2024 00:25:53 +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 An international ensemble merging contemporary jazz with Kurdish, Persian, and Mediterranean musical traditions. Through modal melodies, intricate rhythms, and improvisation, the group creates a vibrant cross-cultural sound. Nominated for Best New Artist 2026 by Upbeat World Music Platform vote here ★★★★ All About Jazz ★★★★ Songlines Magazine https://elanasasson.com/about Fri, 14 Apr 2023 13:52:34 +0000 Elana Sasson https://elanasasson.com/about The Elana Sasson Quartet is a Valencia-based ensemble whose music sits at the crossroads of contemporary jazz and the folk traditions of the Kurdish, Persian, and Mediterranean worlds. Formed during their master's studies at Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain, the group brings together four musicians from across the globe: Elana Sasson (voice, USA), Santiago Bertel (piano, Colombia), Manos Stratis (double bass, Cyprus), and Victor Goldschmidt (drums, Belgium).  Inspired by poetry and mountain songs, the ensemble blends modal melodies and odd-meter grooves, bridging ancient sounds with a personal search for belonging. The result is ensemble music that is at once intimate and expansive, deeply rooted and genuinely original. The quartet has performed across Europe and the United States, appearing at festivals and venues including the UPV Jazz Festival (Valencia), AtoJazz Festival (Sofia), Isole Che Parlano Festival (Sardinia), and Fundación Juan March (Madrid), among others. They have collaborated with distinguished figures across the jazz and world music scenes, including Ara Dinkjian, Perico Sambeat, Matthieu Saglio, and Miron Rafajlovic. Their debut album In Between reached #4 on the World Music Charts Europe in July 2025. The record has drawn praise from leading international outlets: Songlines described the music as "filled with both longing and joy," and BBC Radio 3 called it "a magical fusion."   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 04 JUNE 2026Formentera Jazz Festival, Formentera, Spain 20 JUNE 2026Can Balmes, Catalunya 25 JUNE 2026Barcelona, Spain 28 JUNE 2026 Burning House, Valencia, Spain07 AUGUST 2026Dalsbruk, Finland 07 NOVEMBER 2026La Rioja, Spain PAST:26 APRIL 2026Emruz Festival, NYC 16 APRIL 2026 Magnes Center, UC Berkeley 7 FEB 2026 Red Poppy, SF 12 NOV 2025Capella de la SapiènciaCentro Cultural La NauValencia, Spain28 NOV 2025Utopia (con Adriana Ospina)Barcelona, Spain29 NOV 2025Museu de Pintura de Sant Pol Sant Cebria de Vallalta, Spain 02 NOV 2025Burning HouseValencia, Spain 31 OCT 2025Byron LibreriaBarcelona, Spain TICKETS 24 SEP 2025DB MusicLondon, UKTICKETS 12 SEP 2025Corte dei MiracoliMilan, 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 2025Elana at Archive Sounds, Stone Nest, London, England 11 MAY 2025 Elana Quartet presents “in between” at Sala Matisse, Valencia, Spain tickets 28 APRIL 2025 Elana Quartet at Fundación Juan March, Madrid, Spain 27 APRIL 2025 Elana Quartet at Fundación Juan March, Madrid, Spain 17 APRIL 2025 Elana Quartet at La Xarranta, Valencia, Spain 12 DECEMBER 2024 “From Sanandaj to Essaouira: Journey through Modal Music” 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