Strunz & Farah
Performing together since 1979, Strunz & Farah (S&F) are the innovators of an entirely new expression for the acoustic guitar. Decades ahead of their time, they originated an exotic style that now is widely followed.
From Costa Rica and Iran respectively, Jorge Strunz and Ardeshir Farah share the cultural riches of their native lands in their highly virtuosic, rhythmic and improvisation-rich original instrumental compositions.
S&F’s music is perhaps best described as original international acoustic instrumental improvisational guitar music, world guitar or ethnojazz. Their music is saturated with their cultural roots: Afro-Caribbean, Latin American folk, flamenco and Middle Eastern music, and draws heavily from the jazz concept of improvisation.
Strunz & Farah recorded their first self-produced project in 1980 and signed to the jazz label Milestone. It wasn’t until almost a decade later, though, that their music gained a wider audience. The 1990 recording Primal Magic won Billboard’s World Music Album of the Year and the 1992 Américas garnered a Grammy nomination. The pair started their own record company, Selva, as an artist-friendly alternative and has continued to release award-winning albums. Their most recent recording, Fanteseo, is a journey through folk and urbane Latin America, rustic Iran and includes an appreciative nod to American jazz.