Hassan Kassayi
Hassan Kassayi (also spelled Hassan Kassai) is a master of the Persian nay (or ney), a reed flute. He is frequently referred to as the best nay player in history. Kassayi was born on September 26, 1928 in Isfahan, Iran. His father appreciated music and his home was a popular rendezvous for musicians, among them vocalist Seyed Hosein Taherzadeh, tar player Akbar Khan Noroozi, Gholamhosein Saranj (kamancheh), Jallil and Hosein Shahnaz (tar), vocalist Esmayil Addib Khansari, vocalist Jaflal Taj Isfahani, and nay player Maestro Aboihassan Sabba. Growing up in such a home, Kassai developed a keen sense of musical and vocal appreciation.
His father, having noticed his son's being a music prodigy, asked Taj Isfahani to give him vocal training. In 1947, Maestro Mehdi Navai (an expert of the nay flute and one of Nayeb Asdollah's students) agreed to give lessons to the young Kassayi. This tuition period was to last only three months due to the maestro's demise before which he had mentioned to Kassayi's father, "All that I acquired in forty years, this youth learned from me in only three months."
Navai's successor as Kassayi's instructor was Maestro Abolhassan Sabba, who transferred his unique talent and creativity to Kassayi, who in turn took advantage of this opportunity to become acquainted with some of the delicacies of the rich heritage of Iranian music and, thus, achieve the honorable position he holds in music today.
Maestro Kassayi has been playing the nay for over fifty years. It is to his credit and a result of his hard work and creative spirit that this instrument has won such recognition nowadays. Many a tune that is played today on the nay would be unthinkable prior to Kassayi.
Kassayi's music can be heard on the CD "IRAN Hassan Kassai: Le ney", Playa Sound PS65051, and on the double CD compilation with many old recordings released by Mahour Productions "In Honor of Maestro Hassan Kassayi's 50 Years of Contribution to Music". He is featured on the Philips series Modal Music and Improvisations, sponsored by UNESCO. There are many bootleg tapes circulating, none official. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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