Elana Sasson – In Between (PKMusik, 2025)
With her beautifully crafted debut album In Between (PKMusik, 2025), Persian-Kurdish-American vocalist and composer Elana Sasson unveils an autobiography of musical experiences. Drawing from Persian poetry, Kurdish lullabies, jazz improvisation, and modal traditions across the Mediterranean, Sasson presents a stirring and delightful album that is a deeply felt meditation on memory, migration, and identity.
In Between represents years of thoughtful study, artistic dialog, and cultural immersion. Sasson began shaping this vision in eastern Spain, during her Master’s studies at Berklee College of Music’s Valencia campus, where her passion for cross-cultural composition found fertile ground. There, she met Colombian pianist and co-producer Santiago Bertel, whose exquisite piano performances, harmonic sensibilities and rhythmic clarity helped bring her vision to life.
Together, they assembled a band that reflects the project’s jazz-infused world fusion global spirit. With Manos Stratis (Cyprus) on double bass and Victor Goldschmidt (Belgium) on drums, the splendid rhythm section lays down flawless grooves. Meanwhile, special guests such as Spain-based musicians Matthieu Saglio on cello, Iranian ney master Kaveh Sarvarian, and Bosnian trumpeter Miron Rafajlovic add striking emotional melodies.
Each musician contributes perspective, nuance, and a sense of cultural rootedness. For instance, on the opening track “Akh Leil,” a Kurdish love song, Saglio’s cello soars over an odd-meter groove, lending the traditional melody a fresh urgency. In contrast, “Bahari Digar,” a composition inspired by the Persian poet Forough Farrokhzad, sinks into a more introspective mood. Sarvarian’s ney drifts like smoke through Sasson’s crystal-clear vocals, echoing the album’s central themes of longing and displacement. The poignant line, “تا به کی باید رفت از دیاری به دیاری دیگر” (“How much longer must I go, from one land to another?”), resonates long after the track ends.
Notably, the album’s sense of place is not limited to lyrical content. Much of the music was composed in Valencia, where Sasson found creative kinship among musicians from around the globe. Yet it was in Madrid, Spain’s bustling, multicultural capital, that the album took final shape. The energy of the city, with its vibrant intersections of past and present, subtly permeates the recording. This is especially apparent in “Ay Ke Buena,” a joyful Sephardic wedding song that brings together Persian tombak, Spanish rhythms, and jazz instrumentation in a spirited celebration of coexistence.
Moreover, In Between distinguishes itself through its restraint and intentionality. Sasson gives the music room to breathe. Tracks like “Laye Laye,” a graceful, reimagined Kurdish lullaby, unfolds gently, highlighting each instrumental voice, from Saglio’s moving cello to the crystalline Rhodes electric piano.
Throughout, Sasson serves not only as vocalist but also as curator, bridging multiple traditions with respect and originality. Her background is shaped by her own Persian and Kurdish roots and enriched through collaborations with artists like Mahsa Vahdat and Hadar Noiberg. Her voice, featured in the 2023 Venice Biennale film Tatami, has a striking clarity that cuts through even the densest arrangements.
Musicians: Elana Sasson on lead vocals (USA); Santiago Bertel on piano (Colombia); Manos Stratis on double bass (Cyprus); Victor Goldschmidt on drums (Belgium).
Special Guests: Matthieu Saglio on cello (France); Kaveh Sarvarian on ney (Iran); and Miron Rafajlovic on trumpet (Bosnia).
Elana describes this project: “As an artist of Persian and Kurdish heritage growing up and creating contemporary music in a Western context, I often find myself navigating the spaces between tradition and modernity, East and West, belonging and longing. I struggled for many years with the concept of home, which I now feel that music has given me. This album embraces that in-betweenness—not as a place of confusion, but as a rich, expressive space where contrasts meet, and new meanings emerge. Each piece on the album explores this concept in a different way, weaving Persian poetry, Kurdish folk, jazz harmony, and vivid rhythm into one unique musical voice. “In Between” is about the experience of living between cultures, identities, and emotional states.”
Buy In Between.
Elana Sasson Tour Dates Spring + Summer 2025
17 April, Elana Sasson Quartet at La Xarranta, Valencia, Spain
27 April, Elana Sasson Quartet at Fundación Juan March, Madrid, Spain
28 April, Elana Sasson Quartet at Fundación Juan March, Madrid, Spain
11 May, Elana Sasson at Sala Matisse, Valencia, Spain
5 June, Elana Sasson Quartet at UPV Jazz, Valencia, Spain
3 July, AtoJazz Festival, Sofia, Bulgaria
4 July, Nits de Música a la Xopera, Algemesí, Spain
More at elanasasson.com/shows
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.