Hey there, I’m Salar Nader. I’m a percussionist and composer based in Hollywood, CA.

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 San Francisco, 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 language of North Indian percussion, tabla bols.  “It was like learning a new language,” he recalled.  “I spoke Farsi at home, English outside, Tabla at night with my lesson book.”  Nader began his professional career accompanying world-renowned classical musicians from South Asia during their visits to San Francisco.  His first classical concert was with master Pakistani vocalist, the late Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, as well as his virtuoso sons Shafqat, Sharafat and Sukhawat.  It was during this period in Salar’s life where he became an official disciple of 2-time Grammy award-winning artist, Zakir Hussain. 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 the late 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 Dari/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 charity 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.  After high school, Nader began attending the jazz program at Diablo Valley College in East Bay and eventually joined the music program at San Francisco State University, a new education began.  He joined a variety of jazz combos, lead by saxophonist, Hafez Modirzadeh and accompanied Kathak dance teacher, the late Pandit Chitresh Das. This all took place while watching his guru, Zakir Hussain pursue his own cross-genre projects with world-class Rock and Jazz artists, such as Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, saxophonist Charles Lloyd, Bela Fleck & Edgar Myer, Herbie Hancock, Tabla Beat Science, and drummer Steve Smith of the band “Journey”.  These experiences gave Nader “a green light to experiment,” and he soon began developing new musical ideas; “Salar System” .

In 2004 Salar spent six weeks in Mumbai, deepening his study of classical tabla. Every year on February 3rd, artists from all over the world gather in Mumbai, India to pay homage to the late Tabla Maestro, Ustad Allah Rakha. This event proved to be “an eye-opener,” showing Salar 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 75 students, including some of the most talented young tabla players in the United States.  Nader’s circle continued to expand.  He started to get calls to work with Iranian musical masters, including the “Pavarotti of Iran” Shahram Nazeri & son Hafez of the “Rumi Symphony Project”.  He became the principle accompanist for Ahmad Wali, the most popular Afghan singer of Farsi ghazal’s from 1960 up to the present.  Even master vocalist Ustad Ghulam Ali Khan and Sarode Maestro, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan called on Nader to be part of his North American tours.

In 2019, he founded the Salar Nader Tabla Foundation to expose Afghan cultural traditions for the

next generation of aspiring artists. With the generous support of Rhea Designs Inc., a

total of 30 instruments and mentor scholarships have been awarded to students from all

over the world. In March 2022, Salar curated and produced “Nezam-e-Shams” (Constellation) at the

Getty Museum as a part of the Sounds of LA series in partnership with the Smithsonian

Folklife Festival. Current album releases include “Live in San Francisco Volume I” and “The Forgotten

Empress.” Additionally, he has released multiple singles and EPs which include “Tabla

Fit,” “Orbit,” and “Nomad,” With the ensemble Grand Tapestry he issued an Instrumental

album in 2022. Prior to the pandemic, Salar performed more than 150 concerts and global festivals a

year with his mentor, four-time Grammy award-winning bassist and film composer

Stanley Clarke. Salar will be making his Broadway debut for Khaled Hosseini’s stage adaptation of The Kite Runner this summer in NYC!

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Much love,

A