Strunz & Farah: Costa Rican-Iranian Global Fusion Guitar Duo
Originally from Costa Rica and Iran respectively, Jorge Strunz and Ardeshir Farah have brought the musical influences of their native lands into their highly virtuosic, rhythmic, and improvisation-rich original instrumental compositions, inspiring fans and many guitarists worldwide. Their meeting in 1979 in Los Angeles, where they are still based, marked the first time that Latin American and Middle Eastern music, along with other important elements, came together on the guitar. Our conversation touches on all of these points and more. Enjoy! Here’s an external link to every Musical Mention in this episode: 0:16 Strunz & Farah 1:32 Caldera 2:21 Vittorio Monti – Csárdás 2:25 Hungarian Gypsy music 2:28 Paco De Lucia 2:33 Sabicas 2:54 Plectrum 5:12 Flamenco 5:16 The Beatles 7:39 Jazz Fusion 10:49 Surf Music 11:04 The Animals 11:34 The Ventures 11:36 The Shadows 11:40 Cliff Richard 12:21 Persian Music 14:18 Carlos Montoya 14:39 Mario Escudero 14:57 Electra Records 15:10 Calypso 16:05 Pete Seeger 16:08 The Kingston Trio 16:10 Peter, Paul and Mary 16:48 America Folk 17:35 RCA Victor Records 17:37 ABC Paramount 17:39 Bob Theile 17:44 John Coltrane 18:27 John McLaughlin 18:29 Mahavishnu Orchestra 18:30 Chick Corea 18:33 Miles Davis – Bitches Brew 19:09 Capitol Records 20:14 Indian Music 20:15 Harihar Rao 20:20 Ravi Shankar 20:24 L. Subramaniam 20:37 Richard Bock 20:47 Jean-Luc Ponty 20:48 Wes Montgomery 20:54 Fantasy/Milestone Records 21:58 Luis Conte 22:07 Mosaico (album) 22:30 Ganesh Records 22:47 Persian Musicians 22:54 Frontera (album) 22:55 Manoochehr Sadeghi 22:58 Santur 23:04 Guitarras (album) 23:09 Hayedeh 23:33 Mirage (song) 24:11 Jazz Fusion 24:12 Jazz 24:13 Blues 24:14 Rock 24:20 Persian rhythms 24:21 Persian melodies 24:26 Tar 24:27 Santur 24:27 Oud 24:34 Reng (song) 24:37 Manoochehr Sadeghi 24:38 Majid Ghorbani 24:40 Randy Tico 24:40 Bass guitar 24:50 Mirage (song) 24:53 Iranian Percussion 25:04 Persian āvāz 26:27 Tale of Two Guitars (Album) 26:42 Folk (Persian) 26:43 Pop (Persian) 26:44 Keyavash Nourai 26:50 Violin 26:57 Chaharmezrab 27:22 Ethnic Persian modal 27:59 Chaharmezrab 28:02 Plectrums 28:48 Kayhan Kalhor 28:51 Kamancheh 28:54 Yo-Yo Ma 28:55 Silk Road Ensemble 29:01 Hossein Alizadeh 29:03 Setar 29:40 Tar 29:44 Sahba Motallebi 31:00 Flamenco 31:01 El Regalito (song) 31:10 Palmas 32:11 Spanish 32:46 Latin America 32:51 Cumbia 32:55 Mexico 32:55 Columbia 33:09 Diego Alvarez 33:12 Venezuela 33:14 Afro-Latin 33:15 Afro-Andean 33:19 Cajon 34:07 Juanito “Long John” Oliva 34:08 Cuban 34:13 Rhythms 34:34 Africa 35:44 Hubert Laws 35:45 Stanley Clarke 35:46 Katisse Buckingham 40:34 ABA Structure 43:31 Wild Muse (album) 43:36 Camino Real 43:54 Nengue Hernandez 44:10 Flamenco 45:01 Carlitos Del Puerto 45:18 Chick Corea 45:19 Barbra Streisand 45:47 Thomas Brooman 45:48 World Music 47:29 Mosaico (album) 48:54 Primal Magic (album) 48:57 Américas (album) 51:28 Iranian Music 52:21 Viguen 53:45 Accordion 56:22 Tales of Two Guitars (album)