About Me
Salar Nader, of Afghan origin, was in born on June 20th, 1981 in Hamburg, Germany. It was in his early months of life when his mother and father noticed his passion for the "tabla" (percussion instrument from North India). No matter where Salar was, he had to bring along his personal tabla set, which his father bought for him when he was 6 months old. When Salar was 3 years old his parents moved from Hamburg, Germany to Queens, New York where Salar began playing at family parties. According to his parents, he would weep over the tabla while others were performing. In New York ,Salar's family had to make one more life changing move to Northern California where, at the age of 7 Salar attended his first tabla class in Berkeley, CA. The instructor of the class, Ustad Zakir Hussain, who is now Salar's Guru is a world renowned master of the Tabla. While Salar continued his guidance under legendary tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain, he was rapidly progressing from beginning to advanced levels. Sooner than expected, Salar was making public appearances on nationwide television screens including; "Nowrooz" festival TV, Nima TV and Jaam-e-Jaam TV. One of his memorable appearances was with Ustad Mawaash {notable Afghan vocalist}, when Salar was only 11 years old. Salar continued to play with folk Afghani and other traditional afghan musicians. As time progressed Salar became more and more devoted to his tabla training. In the "GURU SHSIYA" tradition there is "Ustad" {Guru/Master} and "SHAGIRD" {student} and this is where student dedicates his or her life to the Guru not only for music but guidance and spiritual and moral support in life. Salar had his official Gandaband ceremony at the age of 12 where, he was blessed by both his Guru and Ustad Salamat Ali Khan. At this point Salar realized the significance of the tradition and began playing classical concerts with Ustad Salamat Ali Khan and other great musicians. Salar participated in many non profit fundraisers to raise funds for Afghanistan. At 16 years old, Salar was blessed to Ustad Sultan Khan, the world famous sarangi master. And at the age of 18 Salar participated in the Monterey Music Festival, in collaboration with Ustad Sultan Khan and Rob Wasserman. Salar is featured on the album, Space Island, _Atlantic Records release which he played with Sultan Khan Saheb and Rob Wasserman. In 2003, Salar traveled to India where he had the opportunity to study tabla in Mumbai and attend many major music festivals in India. One of the finest experiences he had was attending Ustad Allah Rakha's {father of Ustad Zakir Hussain} annual festival which is put together by his son. Salar was very blessed to have this experience because it was very enlightening and influential for Salar to be in an environment that is filled with aspiring tabla players and scholarly musicians. When Salar returned to the US, he began a very strict reyaz {practice} regimen in addition to pursuing his B.A. at the University of San Francisco. At the age of 22, Salar began teaching young aspiring tabla players. Salar graduated high school and began university at San Francisco State University. At SF State, he began to accompany Pandit Chitresh Das during his Kathak class. Salar was invited to Pandit Ji's school to practice and also accompany principle dancers in the Cchandam Dance Company. Not only did Salar enjoy accompanying classical singers and musicians but he found a passion for accompanying Kathak Dance. According to him, the intensity and spontaneity of Kathak dance challenged the strength of a tabla player. In 2005, Salar was invited by Pundit ji to accompany him at MIT University in Boston, Massachusetts where Salar performed professionally with Kathak dance for the first time. Currently, Salar enjoys collaborating with the Dj Chebi Sabbah, a legendary Dj for the Asian underground scene. Salar enjoys improvising with different percussion instruments including the dhol, timbales, etc. Salar is also collaborating with the Fareed Haque Group, an Indian jazz fusion style of music. He occasionally performs with the Rumi Ensemble and Afghan Orchestra led by Ustad Mawaash. Salar would like to thank his mother and father for supporting him throughout his life and express his deep admiration and respect for his Guru ji, Ustad Zakir Hussain.
