Vas the Latin word for vessel was a collaboration between Persian born vocalist Azam Ali and American percussionist Greg Ellis. They met at a Master Musicians of Jajouka concert at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1995 and at an impromptu gathering afterward they heard each other perform for the first time. There was instant recognition of a shared vision and they began creating music together the very next day. Within a year they signed to the Narada label and went on to release five acclaimed albums three as Vas and two solo projects.
The world music duo spent much of 2001 and 2002 recording and releasing solo projects and doing extensive touring with Mickey Hart’s band Bembe Orisha.
Azam Ali and Greg Ellis can be heard as featured performers along with Laxmi Shankar (vocals) and Deepak Ram (bansuri flute) on the end title track by Juno Reactor’s Ben Watkins on the movie The Matrix Revolutions.
After Vas, Azam Ali later formed a new group called Niyaz.
Discography:
Sunyata (Narada World, 1997)
Offerings (Narada World, 1998)
In the Garden of Souls (Narada World, 2000)
Feast of Silence (Narada World, 2004)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
Updated biography